Somewhere for the weekend... Aix-en- Provence

WHY GO NOW?

WHY GO NOW?

Aix-en-Provence's reputation as a cultural hub is reinforced this weekend with the start of Les Nuits Pianistiques, a festival of some of the finest piano music. It starts on Friday with a performance of Beethoven piano concertos. During the next 10 days, there will be concerts featuring music by many other greats, including Bach, Chopin, Ravel, Saint-Saëns and Prokofiev. However, it's the location as much as the music that appeals to visitors, with many concerts being given in beautiful venues, such as the Théâtre du Jeu de Paume, under clear and warm Provençal skies.

Tickets cost between €15 (£11) and €25 (£18). It is advisable to book at least the day before through the festival office on 00 33 4 42 99 12 00, though you may be able to get tickets on the day. For further information, contact the Aix tourist office at 2 Place du Général de Gaulle (00 33 4 42 16 11 61; www.aixenprovencetourism.com).

DOWN PAYMENT

The nearest airport is Marseille, served by British Airways (0870 850 9 850; www.ba.com) from Gatwick; fares for travel this Friday, returning on Monday 6 October, are available at £179 return. A shuttle bus runs from Marseille airport direct to Aix every hour or half-hour, taking around 30 minutes. A single ticket costs €7.50 (£5.50). A taxi costs around €45 (£32). By rail, Eurostar (08705 186 186; www.eurostar.com) will get you there from London Waterloo in around seven hours via Lille or Paris (where you must change stations) for as little as £109 return. Aix-TGV station is six miles from town. The stop for the connecting bus service (€3.70/£2.60) is difficult to find, and the waiting taxi drivers won't go out of their way to help you to find it; they charge around €30 (£22) into town.

INSTANT BRIEFING

It makes sense that Aix is twinned with Bath: architecturally, it's a delight, ranging from Roman to medieval to neoclassical to fin de siècle. Despite the influx of Brits precipitated by Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, it remains a pleasingly authentic French town. It manages (just) to strike the right balance between providing enough of those items on the British tourist's wish-list (the ubiquitous smell of lavender, hanging flower baskets, gaily decorated shops, etc) while remaining a vibrant place where local people actually go about their daily business. It's a stylish but very conservative place, with some of the snootiness of Paris - plenty of grande dames carrying their poodles around.

REST ASSURED

Hotel rates reflect Aix's popularity - around 20 per cent higher than you might expect in other Provençal towns. The most luxurious retreat, for grandes dames, their poodles, and other well-heeled guests, is the Villa Gallici, a short hike outside the old town (00 33 4 42 23 29 23; www.villagallici.com). Doubles are €300 (£215) per night. In the centre of town, the atmospheric Hôtel des Augustins, at 3 rue de la Masse (00 33 4 42 27 28 59), was a convent in the 15th century, and was where Martin Luther booked in following his excommunication in Rome. Doubles are €138 (£95), including breakfast. In the Quartier Mazarin, the friendly two-star Hôtel des Quatre Dauphins at 54 rue Roux-Alphéran (00 33 4 42 38 16 39) offers traditionally furnished rooms from €64 (£44) with breakfast. On the edge of Aix's old town, at 10 avenue Pasteur, is the Hôtel Paul (00 33 4 42 23 23 89), with its charming courtyard; doubles with breakfast from €34 (£23).

MUST SEE

Start on the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, a sun-filled square with a fountain at its heart and flanked by the impressive town hall and its adjacent clock-tower. From here, squares fan out into surrounding areas, allowing for hours of pleasant wandering. The most attractive feature of the cathedral, St-Sauveur, on rue Gaston de Saporta, is the cloisters, which, sadly, are often locked up. It's worth checking at the reception desk to see whether they will open them for you.

At Aix's heart is the Cours Mirabeau. It's a lovely spot for a lazy lunch or a lingering coffee, though the tourist office's claim that it is France's loveliest boulevard would carry more weight were the stream of traffic that meanders in front of its sleek cafés, plane trees and mighty mansions, banned. South of the Cours is the graceful Quartier Mazarin, full of 16th-century mansions and, at Place des Quatre Dauphins, a delightful fountain.

Due west, on the rue des Allumettes, stands the Cité du Livre, an arts complex that is hosting some of the piano concerts. It is worth visiting on its own account for its fantastical entrance portals designed as huge bookends.

Aix is the birthplace of Paul Cézanne, and the city has an avenue named after him - on which, at No 9, you can find his studio, the Atelier Cézanne (00 33 4 42 21 06 53). It's a 10-minute walk uphill from the centre. The location is striking for its ordinariness, with its high ceilings, huge windows, smocks and easels. It opens daily from 10am-noon and 2.30-6pm, admission €5.50 (£4).

A signposted walk 15 minutes up the hill leads you to Les Lauves, a vantage point from which Cézanne would paint the Mont Sainte-Victoire over and over again, under different lights and in different seasons. It was one of his favourite themes. Unfortunately, the Musée Granet, which holds a number of Cezanne's paintings, is closed until 2006.

MUST EAT

The swanky Le Clos de la Violette at 10 avenue de la Violette (00 33 4 42 23 30 71) offers entrées such as artichoke and smoked bacon for €36 (£26) followed by sole and vegetables for €43 (£31). They have a more manageable set menu at €54 (£39). Aix's many ethnic restaurants reflect the city's proximity to cosmopolitan Marseille, and one of the best is the Divan d'Antioche at 8 Forum des Cardeurs (00 33 4 42 21 19 38), where a plate of mezze and kebabs, and wine, costs €40 (£29) for two people. Alternatively, you can put together a tasty little lunch of olives, bread and local cheeses from the Saturday market stalls on Place des Prêcheurs for around €5 (£3.50). Make time, too, for a coffee at Les Deux Garçons at 53 Cours Mirabeau, a real Aix institution.

MUST BUY

Saturday is market day in Aix, and the central squares are taken over by stalls offering flowers, fresh local produce and bric-a-brac. Visit L'Esprit de Lieux at 10 rue Gaston de Saporta (00 33 4 42 21 20 74) for a traditional Provençal glazed terracotta serving-dish decorated with herbs and olives at €45 (£32). Aix's wines are well regarded, so pick up a bottle of the superb Château Simone for €25 (£18) at the Cave du Félibrige, 8 rue des Cordeliers. Calissons d'Aix are the local sweet delicacy - diamond-shaped almond and melon confits. A beautifully presented box can be bought for €12 (£8.50) at the chocolate shop called Riederer at 67 Cours Mirabeau.

INTO THE NIGHT

Start with a shot of pastis in the shaded Coquet bar on the corner of the Forum des Cardeurs and rue Venel. Later on, Le Scat Club at 11 rue de la Verrerie (00 33 4 42 23 00 23) offers live jazz and rock music, while dancers should head for Le Richelme, a few doors down at 24 rue de la Verrerie (00 33 4 42 23 49 29).

Additional research by Kelly Macnamara

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