By aixcentric What a great idea – 640 tonnes of sand to be dumped on the MUCEM esplanade to make a big beach for the summer. It will be open all day for walks, picnics at shaded tables, pétanque games, Ping-Pong and, on Sundays, dances. There will also be workshops …

By aixcentric If you fancy giving your painting skills a boost, I can recommend from personal experience the Atelier Ombres et Lumieres in Les Milles. Owner and artist Muriel Moutel will be teaching one-week courses during July, for adults and ados. Muriel encourages her classes to start with interesting backgrounds …

By aixcentric Are artists visionaries? How did they see the future 100 years ago? How do they see the future today? These are the questions posed by FUTURS the new expo at Marseille’s Vieille Charité which opened on Friday. There are a hundred works grouped chronologically by Léger, Ernst, Matisse, …

The Musee des Beaux Arts at Marseille’s Palais Longchamp is the venue for two sets of art classes this summer. Watercolour lessons are on July 8-10th and 15-17th while instruction in charcoal drawing takes place on August 12-14th and 19-21st. 18€ per 3 days. Click here for Explore this Post

Who is Alfred Lombard? I wondered as I visited the Musée Regards de Provence in Marseille this week. It’s a special experience here in the south of France to discover painters, often local, mainly little-known, who turns out to be quite thrilling. And Alfred Lombard is one such. He had …

By aixcentric Another great idea. An aquarium for Marseille to be built beside and in the sea, perhaps on the J1 site. The Marseille Aquarium should be as stunning as the Blue Planet in Copenhagen This has been proposed by the town authorities. The project is being headed by Gérard …

By aixcentric If you like photographing Provence, here are details of a major competition being run at the airport – and, who knows, you could be one of those chosen to have their work displayed in grand format to greet visitors this summer. The theme is Provence from an economic, …

By aixcentric There’s a lovely, fresh, Spring-like exhibition of Cécile Colombo’s work in Marseille at the moment. She is a Gemenos-based artist who uses tissue, fabric, bits of text, inks and paint to make colourful collages. It’s at Galerie Charivari, 7 rue Fontange, Marseille 6, near Notre Dame du Mont. …

By aixcentric Book quickly if you want to climb the stairs to Marseille’s Gare St Charles and hop on a train to London. Tickets are now on sale for the service which begins in May. During May and June, it will run on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. During July and …

By aixcentric Oh no Bateaux! …problems in port. Apparently the popular batobus, that runs from the Vieux Port down to Pointe-Rouge in one direction and up to L’Estaque in the other, is losing money big-time. It’s taken 1 million euros in ticket sales but has cost 3.6m euros to operate. …