Sarah Pernet spends her days guiding visitors around Provence. Her company Discover Provence founded only four years ago, has already achieved Trip Advisor certificates of excellence and Rick Steves’ stamp of approval. You can read the full story here. We asked Sarah to share her Perfectly Provence picks with readers: …

Millions of years of seismic activity, tectonic plate movement and freeze-thaw cycles created the diverse geology of present-day Provence. The region is also known as the Bouches de Rhône where the Mediterranean shoreline runs the gambit of beaches, brackish wetlands and vertigo-inducing cliffs. Other natural phenomena in the area include …

You can almost hear the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves maneuvering their master’s carriages on the cobblestones. Glance through the majestic iron gates into the cour d’honneur at l’Hôtel de Caumont and let the elegant limestone façade transport you to another era. The grand entrance was unique even in the …

Before we moved to France I had read Peter Mayle’s account of his idyllic year in the Luberon region of Provence, and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, when planning our great escape from the grey-skied rat-race that is the City of London we never contemplated moving to the Luberon. Somehow it …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric This restaurant is 2 miles outside Jouques and feels quite remote, lost in Provencal trees and garrigue. But the interesting thing is that when we went for Sunday lunch, it was packed. I have since learned that it has a very enthusiastic local following, quite …

By aixcentric There weren’t of course any cameras around in 18th century Rome, London or Venice but right now in Aix, we can get a fairly accurate view of what these cities looked like thanks to careful and colourful paintings by Antonio Canaletto. Although some of his work on show …

Contributor blog post by aixcentric: Anyone who has been living in Aix for the past ten years will have witnessed the strong growth of restaurants in town, and specifically the increase in casual eating. La Provence recently reported that there are now nearly 700 places to eat in the commune …

By aixcentric We locals have been watching the ongoing work on the 300 year old mansion, the Hotel Caumont, for two years now as workmen repaired the roof, stonemasons worked on the ancient façade, and lorries drove in and out of what would be the garden area. Twenty million euros …

Contributor blog post by aixcentric: Celebrating 30 years of bringing contemporary dance to Aix, there is an exhibition of photography of the Ballet Preljocaj which is running until 20th September. There will be photos from the archives but also those taken by three photographers, one of whom is Jean-Claude Carbonne …

The thing I love about Provence is that it’s not Paris. What I mean is: Paris is obvious. There’s the Tour Eiffel, l’Arc de Triomphe, a whole slew of “must-see” tourist destinations. But Provence, on the other hand, still has a lot of hidden secrets that the average tourist is …