Contributor blog post by Ashley Tinker: Velleron night market is one of the best producer’s markets in Southern France. It has been continually included within the 100 “marchés d’exception” in France by the Conseil National des Arts Culinaires. The market is open daily, except Sunday of course, in the hot …

Well, I did it again. I’ve made almost every blunder imaginable since moving to France. And I keep adding to it. First I was locked out of my apartment when returning from a visit to the States. I t wasn’t enough that I had endured a grueling 23-hour travel day. …

Contributor blog post by Liz Gabay: Hiding away in southern French blends, Carignan is often unnoticed by wine drinkers. However, an enthusiastic trend amongst a few growers in southern France, Spain, Chile, California and Israel to produce this variety in all its glory, has captured my imagination. The more I …

Contributor blog post by Access Riviera: If I had a euro for every time someone asked me ‘Is Monaco cheap to visit?’ I’d probably be able to buy a penthouse apartment there myself. There’s no doubt about it that Monaco is a destination of legend – luxury everything from hotels …

The quality of the produce is impressive here in Provence. However, all produce is not created equal. The first year I was here, I grew many of my own vegetables. I later wondered why I went through all that trouble. There are some producer’s markets where farmers sell their pickings …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: This book, with an initial print run of 10,000 in September, sold out in two weeks. It would normally take three years to sell such a number. It sold like hotcakes at Christmas and Hachette have printed 300,000, a record. So what is this phenomenon? …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: The tourist office in Aix has come up with a very good 32-page digital magazine ‘Le Mag’ to help visitors this coming summer: there are details of events, music, markets, lavender fields tours, where to play golf, the Cézanne map, where to picnic and key …

Contributor blog post by Ashley Tinker: We’ve recently painted our upstairs with chaux/lime wash. We wanted to apply a wall covering that respected the age of the building. It’s important that old walls breathe in order to reduce trapped moisture. We quite liked the texture of the traditional lime wash …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Van Gogh was so incredibly productive that, while in Arles and in Saint-Remy, he produced some 500 works; so it’s always seemed sad that there was, until recently, only one of his paintings in Provence (in Avignon). Two more have arrived (one in Aix and …

Bilingual guide Chiara Orlandi grew up in the heart of Italy, in Umbertide, a place that she still holds dear in her heart even after several years away in the United Kingdom and Edinburgh, Scotland. Orlandi studied event management at Edinburgh’s Napier University, her second Masters (her previous degrees are …