Arts de la Table, Bastide We are blessed here in Provence to have the best ingredients when it comes to producing scents (and eating!). Grasse is the perfume capital of the world; not surprising considering the endless fields of lavender, roses, fruit blossom and wild scented herbs that create the …

Contributor blog post by Ashley Tinker: Last Saturday Robin and I took a guided tour of Aix en Provence with Frédéric Paul. A Tour Guide Local with Passion for Sharing History A rising television star and truly passionate about history, Frédéric aims to share insights into the history of his …

Provence Gourmet This autumn, I was lucky to be able to participate in one of Gilles Conchy’s cooking classes in Aix en Provence. Gilles leads English cooking classes in Aix en Provence, Eygalières, and Marseille. Each class focuses on Provençal cooking, with particular regard for the different traditions of the …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: The ‘dig’ being carried out ahead of the redevelopment of the Place de la Madeleine has already yielded results in that skeletons are being exhumed and taken for examination. As expected, there was a 16-18th century cemetery beside the church. The archaeologists are also hoping …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: It’s so fascinating that every time people start digging in Aix, they come up with remains from Roman times. And the latest to be uncovered is 50 metres of a road near to the hospital. There is to be a new car park for the …

Frédéric Paul is the founder of Le Visible est Invisible, a company that offers guided tours in Aix en Provence and the region. What he hopes to demonstrate to clients during the walking tours is that the history of Provence is in your face, but you need to be ready …

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 …

By Aixcentric: At last a chance to try Segond, the patisserie run by Philippe Segond who is apparently the only ‘meilleur ouvrier de France’ in action in Aix. At the top of the Cours Mirabeau, it is in the building which used to be ‘Riederer’, a family of Swiss origin …

Contributor Blog Post By Aixcentric: ‘L’art d’apprendre le francais’ and ‘l’art de vivre en Provence’ are combined for those signing up for courses with Destination Francais. It’s an Aix-based company started by two French teachers, tired of the classroom-based teaching methods they’d been tied to in the traditional system. They …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Next week sees the start of a month of Ken Loach films at the Institut de l’Image (at the Cité du Livre). The British film-maker is known for his realistic directing style and for his socialism, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues …