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 Last summer, I posted about a trip taken down to Pointe-Rouge (Marseille), by navette from the Vieux Port, for lunch by the sea. You can read about “Marseille lunch pieds dans l’eau” here. It was a lovely excursion. Now I read that things are changing down there. The …

Last night, TF1 News reported the results of the best beach in Europe poll, and the award goes to Plage Notre Dame in Porquerolles. This is a 45-minute walk from the tiny port on the island and so, apparently, is rarely busy. Special gardiens are responsible for maintaining the Explore …

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 You might like to mark your diaries with two amazing experiences in early June: Paul McCartney playing Marseille and the flamboyant Groupe F illuminating the ancient Pont du Gard to celebrate its 30 years as a World Heritage site. Paul McCartney will be doing one concert at the …

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. …

By aixcentric Arriving in Cassis by boat must be blissful. But if you need to park, read on. As a follow-up to previous posts on Cassis, help with parking is at hand in that the park and ride service will start again in April. Look for Parking Relais des Gorguettes …

By aixcentric The art world in the US is a-buzz with the discovery of a Cezanne drawing and a watercolour hidden away at the back of two pictures in the Barnes collection in Philadelphia. The drawing illustrated here is, I’m sure, the side view of Jas de Bouffan with the …

By aixcentric A couple of months ago, I posted about the proactive attitude of the tourist office in Cassis who actually reach out to local journalists and writers with quality and timely information on forthcoming events: Coming up in Cassis. Now I understand that the town has been given ‘station …