Are you an intellectually curious traveler? Context Travel aims to be different, far removed from the average tourist tour, and certainly not with just any tour guides. Tour leaders at Context Travel are called docents, with good reason these are multi-degreed (MBA, Ph.D.) specialists in their fields of study who are keen …

In 1999, a decade after the publication of Peter Mayle’s “A Year in Provence”, Georgina Causton and her partner decided to take a sabbatical year. Smitten by the South of France, they never returned to live in London. Instead, they bought a house and three mortgages later ended up with …

Suggested Song: The Ties that Bind, Bruce Springsteen Suggested Drink: Domain Saint Aix rosé I’m back in the U.S. for 3 weeks. I always miss home when travelling, but I’m sharing fun times with people I love, mixing in a bit of work that I enjoy, getting my fix of …

Occasionally, I get asked what do I enjoy the most about Perfectly Provence? Hands down it is the personal connections forged via this online community of contributors and readers. Some of my favourite moments (to date) include a lady’s lunch in Nice, exchanging recipes and wine pairing ideas with new …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: This is an annual musical programme of recitals, rehearsals and concerts in the lead up to the 68th ‘Festival d’Aix-en-Provence’. A 15€ pass will get you in to everything; otherwise you can pay 5€ entry…though some events are free. PARADE(S) is the big free concert …Continue reading …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Yet again I wonder how all this is affordable …compared to our base in England where we have been using the same small, chilly pool for decades. But this new swimming complex looks as though it will be lovely, so lucky for Venelles and for Aix …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Raising the Curtain on Filming in Provence This is the theme of a talk on the local film industry here in Provence at the IAU in Aix-en-Provence, on Tuesday May 3. It’s organised by the MAABN (Mediterranean Anglo-American Business Network), in partnership with the IAU. Provence …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Right here in Aix as it turns out! Le Parisien has just awarded that honour to La Maison d’Aix, a mansion built in 1789, in the Quartier Mazarin. Architect Laure Juhen has renovated the building in the spirit of a previous owner Madame Henriette Reboul, a …

Provence’s pine forests, Mistral winds and the summer symphony of the cigales fuel Tracy Rawles’ creative writing. Rawles published her first book Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers, in November 2015. Charlie is a cigale, a cicada (or at least inspired by the cicadas), this is a description of the book’s central …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: The repaving of the area outside the tourist office has been completed and I was really hoping for something a bit more attractive and tourist-friendly – some benches for instance wouldn’t go amiss. And why has Cezanne just been plonked down on the ground? …Continue …