Let us be bold. There is no cluster of towns in France - perhaps in Europe -
with the aura of the Provençal A-team, Aix, Arles and Avignon.
They embody the sensual south, with its past of popes, Romans and countrymen,
its bullfighters, painters and sense that things might get warmly out of
hand when the sun goes down.
These places are, in a way, where Provence happens, and, if you haven’t
visited them, you haven’t been to Provence at all. So, do it soon, for a
late-season blast of heat, history and herby dishes on nighttime terraces.
To help you, here’s our assessment of the A-team’s members.
AIX-EN-PROVENCE
Up the road from Marseilles, Aix is the port’s brainier little brother - the
one with glasses, a bow tie and a know-it-all smile. It has been a
university town for ever. In the 15th century, Good King René held his court
here, filling it with artists and intellectuals. Later, the bourgeoisie put
up the grand townhouses of the Mazarin district, which still conceal more
than they reveal.
Then came Cézanne. Aix is terribly proud of him. This is, however, a recent
development. Aix loathed its weirdo artist when he was alive, and for some
time afterwards. It was left to American cash to save Cézanne’s studio (9
Avenue Paul Cézanne; 00 33-4 42 21 06 53, www.atelier-cezanne.com
; £4.60), and it’s now one of Aix’s best visits. The spot where he completed
his last works has been left as if the old boy had just popped out for
another look at the Mont Sainte-Victoire. Behind a huge window are his
bowler hat, a smock and the clutter that starred in his still lifes. “Some
visitors burst into tears,” a local guide says.
Not me, I’m afraid – the studio is fascinating, and the work is easy to
admire, but somehow difficult to love - so it’s back to the Café des Deux
Garçons, where Cézanne drank, though not with excess conviviality, on the
central Cours Mirabeau. Wide, lined with plane trees and townhouses, studded
with fountains and bars, this is the greatest avenue of southern France,
evincing not a shred of self-doubt.
Behind, however, the tone changes. Aix scurries through vital little streets,
bursting into squares made grand for the town hall, courts, churches and
similar. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, much of this old Aix is
overlaid with Provence’s best market, its stallholders so obviously wide
boys, they must be honest. I pick up cherries, pâté and, from a bric-a-brac
stall, a long-needed Lynyrd Skynyrd album.
In Rue Gaston Saporta, Renaissance frontages press in. The cathedral of St
Sauveur has delightful cloisters, but if you’re hoping to see Froment’s
majestic Moses and the Burning Bush triptych (I always am), it’s away being
restored. So, the prettiest thing in town is Baciccio’s wooden model for a
baptistry dome in Rome. It’s in the otherwise dowdy Musée du Vieil Aix (04
42 21 43 55, www.aixenprovencetourism.com
; £3.30), back down the street, and flows with colour, light and movement.
Then it’s evening. Little streets such as Rue Bédarrides and Rue des Tanneurs
spill out an entire civilisation of bars and terraces. Heaven knows how
there are enough people to go round them all, but there are. Tucked away in
the heart of the warren, the tiny, table-packed Place Ramus gets lively
later, doubtless because it takes people longer to stumble on it. Take a
low-lit seat outside Chez Maxime, order the daube – and tell me you’re not
happy.
To stay and eat: if money’s no object, try Villa Gallici (Avenue de la
Violette; 04 42 23 29 23, www.villagallici.com
; doubles from £175 in low season, £255 high). Smallish, in
romantico-Provençal style, it has gardens and a classy restaurant; dinner
£72. The credit-crunched might consider the central Hôtel Quatre Dauphins
(54 Rue Roux Alphéran; 04 42 38 16 39, www.lesquatredauphins.fr
; doubles from £55/£61).
Best table in town is the Clos de la Violette (10 Avenue de la Violette; 04 42
23 30 71, www.closdelaviolette.com
; lunch from £40, dinner £72). Old Aix throbs with cheaper eateries, too,
including Chez Maxime (12 Place Ramus; 04 42 26 28 51, www.restaurant-chezmaxime.com
; lunch from £11, dinner £17).
Sweetie this looks fabulous
melanie randall, Toronto,