A Long Weekend in Aix-en-Provence: A Provençal Itinerary, Aix-en-Provence, France

Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and our guide to A Long Weekend in Aix-en-Provence: A Provençal Itinerary for the Slow Traveller. There are cities you visit, and cities that visit you. Aix-en-Provence belongs firmly to the second kind. From the moment you step beneath its canopy of ancient plane trees and hear the murmur of fountains drifting through honey-coloured streets, something in you slows.

The light is different here — softer, more golden, as though the whole city has been gently warmed by centuries of Provençal sun. The market tables groan with produce that arrived this morning. The café terraces invite lingering. And everywhere, around every corner, the ghost of Cézanne — who was born here, painted here, and loved this city with the particular devotion of someone who understood it completely.

Aix is, above all, a city built for the art of living well. It is elegant without being formal, lively without being loud, and deeply, unhurriedly itself. For the slow traveller, it is close to perfect. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).