Aix and Arles, the best Cities to start with
March 10, 2009 by admin
Filed under Two Great Cities
The great cities of Provence – Aix, Arles, Avignon, Marseille – have different qualities. We most recomment to visit Aix-en-Provence and Arles first.
To visit a city, the best advice we can give is don’t try to do too much. You must take time, sit, people-watch, absorb the atmosphere and personality of the city … and feel well.
Aix-en-Provence old center
Aix is handsome with a kind of sophisticated style. It looks attractive, wealthy , with many trendy stores, a lot of young people (there is a good University). In fact it is known as one of the best cities to live in France. As a tourist you will see France almost at its best with many good characteristics of our Country. What we call “Quality of Life”. And finally we are proud of this city. Everybody wants to live here. You can walk easily and get to most of the city in less of a day… A place we have on our list of potentialities, Annette and I, for the “next step” …
Arles is different. It is smaller but there you have a very well preserved side of Provence. Quiet and you can imagine very well the olden times back to the Romans. Arles is to-day in the headlines as a statue of julius Caesar has just been found in the river with many other artifacts of the Roman City. A new Archeological Museum seems to have a lot of interest.
We advise to clearly forget Marseille. he city is just too huge (the second largest in France) and specific. It’s like NYC for a Frenchman on the first time. In general it is out of the scope.
Avignon : Le Palais des Papes
And Avignon, why not ? Avignon is the closest from us largest city. It has a lot of History. But something goes wrong : Impossible to drive, a lot of unusual people, a dispersed center without unity. So it is good for a few spots like Palais des Papes or the famous Pont d’Avignon and that’s it. We would prefer much Villeneuve-lez-Avignon which is “human” and has a lot of spirit.
Anyway, in Avignon, a critical point is resoled when you know taht there is a unique excellent parking lot almost under the Palais des Papes. You get there from the Rhone River banks. It’s easy. We have a map.
To go back to Aix and Arles …
La Montagne Ste Victoire
Aix is about one hour from Gordes. Our advice is to go with the highway A7 you will take at Avignon Sud (Exit 31). It is better to avoid Cavaillon which is messy and you never know when you are going to get out. A7 has no interest except that you go very fast and you arrive in Aix fresh for doing things. An alternative is to go there through Cheval Blanc and Rognes ( look on the map). On the way back you might try to come back through Lourmarin or the N7. However on these roads do not expect to be fast and better take your time. In Aix, the parking might be a problem if you are not prepared. This city trafic is a nightmare if you get lost.We have a map for you and you will be very close from Cours Mirabeau which is the center spot. Our advice is you hae a lunch in one of the restaurants of Cours Mirabeau or near-by. We have a few good ones on hand.
Another point : Aix is at the foot of Montagne Sainte Victoire. For me, it is one of the most fascinating mountain in Provence. You might have a glimpse to it. There are several ways to do it. One scenic one is to take the road to Pourrieres and to comeback by A8.
Arles is also about one hour from us. But the approach is very different as you can combine several things and have an exceptional day.
Arles, a well-preserved city
I am not going to describe this city in detail. It is charming but it is up to you to appreciate.
To get there I recommend to take the small road from Orgon to Eygalière, Maussane, les Baux (Cathedrale d’Images and the old village), Fontvielle. All these names are worth spending time just to have interesting time : An oil farm here, a brocante there , a defile of guardians fiercely mounted on their horses and cows, a bistro etc …, If you stop in Saint Remy the risk is you don’t have enough time either to take benefit of Arles. Arles is a good spot to have a dinner on a terrace. Then come back with the highway. It’s easy.
Of course, Saint Remy is worth mentionning. Like Lourmarin, it is one of the jet set point of high reputation. There you can cross Caroline de Monaco or famous show bizz personalities I will not detail. You get fancy shops ans also a fine atmosphere in the small streets.
