Spent an interesting Sunday in Toulon but….have a look at the photo below. It was Sunday, tick It was 11 am, tick …but the gallery was firmly shut! It is so exasperating when this happens after driving all the way from Aix.  I found out, finally, later in the day, …

What is it? The Foundation owns one of the largest collections of paintings, sculptures and graphic works of the 20th century in Europe and shows contemporary artists’ work…and it’s just a 2-hour drive from Aix. Who were the Maeghts? Aimé and Marguerite Maeght who were art dealers and collectors based …

Last week we spent the morning in Grasse, a town I hadn’t visited for years. Of course it’s perfume-central with lots of parfumeries offering free tours and shops with tempting arrays of bottles, sprays, soaps and creams. Plus there’s the Musée International de la Parfumerie which takes visitors through centuries of …

Tour Avignon the best way – gourmet food, away from the noise, in the secret spots and with time to soak it all in… There is something about standing at the comptoir with a double expresso in a french looking coffee cup and starting the day with the locals. It …

The Musée Regards de Provence does a great job focusing on local artists who haven’t had much national recognition and their latest show, David Dellepiane arts et modernité, is a case in point. Born in 1866 to a Genoese family, Dellepiane came to Marseille aged 9 and was brought up …

It’s suddenly very chilly and autumnal, so warming dishes are very welcome. This recipe is especially so because it makes use of some of the colourful pumpkins that are brightening market stalls in Aix. For this, I used a shiny red potiron, but any sort of squash would work. Serve …

The following guest post on La maison de Line is a literary gift from Patricia Sands a seemingly tireless author and “possibilitarian.” Sands is a Francophile to the core, having recently completed her “Love in Provence” trilogy she is working on another novel based in the region. Is Provence calling you? It …

‘Marilyn I Wanna Be Loved By You’ is the new exhibition at Aix’s Caumont Centre-d’Art. Sixty images from top photographers will highlight her career – most of them are from private collections. The narrative will focus on her relationship with photography and ask how they Marilyn and the photographers – …

Wandering through Les Docks Village last week, late morning, I was surprised how quiet it was. It’s been open a year now and is an imaginative conversion of a very characterful industrial building. Visitor’s Guide to Marseille This 1858 dockside warehouse, is 365m long (for the days of the year), …

Have you heard of Galerie Pentcheff in Marseille? I just stumbled across it on the internet and was amazed to read about the scale of its enterprise. It’s a commercial gallery and bookstore which mounts exhibitions. The current one is ‘Seyssaud, Verdilhan, Chabaud’, focusing on three very colourful details on …