The Rhône and Durance rivers are like bookends creating fluid boundaries of the Bouches du Rhône (mouth of the Rhône) while providing irrigation for the department’s agricultural land. After an 800 km journey from its source, the Rhône Glacier in Valais, Switzerland, the Rhône River yawns lazily into the Mediterranean …

Since 1990, visitors to Aix have been able to follow in the footsteps of Cezanne courtesy of 3,500 markers on the pavements and footpaths, as he wended from home to studio to painting site and then to cafes in town after a long day at the easel. Now the Aix-en-Provence …

The subject of the next exhibition at the Hotel Caumont, which starts in October, has been announced. The clue is in colour. It is a new look at the work of the internationally famous French artist Yves Klein. He is best known for his love of an intense shade of …

I am a big fan of Cézanne. I visited his studio a dozen times. I like his story and his paintings. I often offer this visit to my students coming for French immersion in Provence. The visit lasts 30 minutes. It can be done with a guide in French, with …

How can you capture the spirit of a city in perfume? That was likely the question that Magali Fleurquin-Bonnard, the founder of Rose et Marius, a luxury perfume creator, asked herself. In collaboration with the Office de Tourisme d’Aix-en-Provence (tourism office), Rose et Marius created a unique fragrance that is …

New to Aix’s dining scene, and therefore new to me, Le Singe Vert presents a stylish terrace, all rattan furniture and fresh flowers, to passers-by at the bottom end of the cours Mirabeau. Stepping inside from the bustling sunny terrace felt like a quieter, more intimate dining experience which provided …

Visit the lavender fields near Aix-en-Provence! Terre Ugo is a 7-hectare family farm located on the outskirts of Aix in Puyricard. In 2017, the family planted 30,000 organic Lavandin Grosso plants on a portion of the property. Now, during the peak of the flowering season, you can visit Terre Ugo …

It’s 8:30 am and I’m walking west on the Cours Mirabeau toward the Fontaine de la Rotonde. The Cours is temporarily lined with wooden stalls for vendors working the holiday market — santoniers with their clay nativity figures, clothiers, toymakers, specialty food vendors, artists. The stalls are beginning to open, …

First published in 2013, Aix-en-Provence The Inside Story was updated and reprinted in colour in 2021. In this book, author Lynne Alderson shares the history of this attractive city and its colourful inhabitants. The Author Lynne Alderson studied English Language and Literature at Edinburgh University. Her career encompassed journalism and …

Delighted to say that my book Aix-en-Provence The Inside Story is being re-issued, brought up to date and now in colour throughout.  It‘s eight (8) years since it was first published, and I believe I am right in saying that it’s still the only book to cover the story of …