Aujourd’hui: La semaine (et le week-end !) à Aix -- Greatest hits for newbies + sneaky gems for returners

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Bonjour, team Aix! Whether you just learned to say bonjour without panicking or you can now conjugate venir in your sleep, here’s a lovingly biased mini-guide for today, this week, and the coming week-end—with public transport baked in so you can save your calves for Sainte-Victoire. 🥐🚌

Today (lundi)

  • Place Richelme food market (morning) — daily fresh-food market in the historic core; perfect vocab practice with fruit & cheese stallholders. (provence-guide.net)

  • Hôtel de Caumont – Centre d’Art (open daily; 10:00–19:00 in summer, 10:00–18:00 in cooler months). Five minutes from La Rotonde; café is a soft-power trap. (caumont-centredart.com)

  • Musée Granet & “Cézanne 2025” — blockbuster season through Oct 12; pair with Granet XXe a few steps away. (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Tourisme)

  • Golden hour at Terrain des Peintres — Cézanne’s favorite vantage, 10–15 min uphill from the Atelier. Bus 5 or 12, stop “Peintres,” then a short staircase. (Lonely Planet)

Mid-week Best-ofs (mar→ven)

  • Guided city walks from the Office de Tourisme (themes include “Aix essentials,” “From Paul to Cézanne”). Book online; most tours leave from the Tourist Office. (Aix en Provence - Office de Tourisme)

  • Atelier des Lauves (Cézanne’s studio) — Bus 5 or 12 to stop “Atelier Cézanne.” It’s a modest, magical time capsule. (booking.aixenprovencetourism.com)

  • Fondation Vasarely — giant op-art cubes; the Aixpress A stops right out front (ask for “Vasarely”). Current hours on the site. (marvellous-provence.com)

Market note: the big Aix street markets bloom Tue/Thu/Sat mornings; Richelme’s food market is daily. Arrive by 10:00 for peak peaches (and fewer elbows). (Lelongweekend.com)

Week-end ideas (samedi & dimanche)

For first-timers (touristy, and worth it)

  1. Cassis + Calanques by boat

    • How: TER Aix → Marseille St-Charles, then train or LeCar L078 from Marseille Castellane → Cassis; boats leave Cassis port for the calanques. (SNCF Connect)

    • Why: Fjord-like coves, turquoise water, instant desktop-background material.

  2. Les Baux & Carrières de Lumières (immersive art in a quarry) — day trips widely offered; if DIY, bus/train combos via Arles/Saint-Rémy. (booking.aixenprovencetourism.com)

For return visitors (off the beaten path)

  • Oppidum d’Entremont — Celtic-Ligurian hilltop ruins just north of town. Check hours (often closed Tue & most weekends except the first). Buses 5/7 get you close. Free. (Aix en Provence - Office de Tourisme)

  • Camp des Milles (WWII memorial site) — sobering, essential. Bus 4 from the Rotonde → “Gare des Milles / Camp des Milles.” Plan ~3 hours. (campdesmilles.org)

  • Le Tholonet → Barrage Zola / Sainte-Victoire foothills — country strolls, pine and thyme scents. Bus 13 to Le Tholonet gets you to trailheads; for Barrage de Bimont, continue on foot/ride-share from the Le Tholonet side. Check fire-risk closures. (itineraires-zou.maregionsud.fr)

  • Fondation Vasarely at dusk — less crowded; combine with the Aixpress A glide and post-visit apéro. (marvellous-provence.com)

  • Lourmarin (Luberon) — café terrace + château vibes. ZOU! line 909 connects Aix Gare Routière → Lourmarin several times daily (~1h15). Friday market is adorable chaos. (itineraires-zou.maregionsud.fr)

Getting around (simple, pinky-promise)

  • Aixpress A (BHNS): fast, central spine—great for Vasarely/Jas de Bouffan ↔ center. (marvellous-provence.com)

  • Aix en Bus network: frequent city lines (5/12 for Atelier/Peintres; 13 for Le Tholonet). Timetables via Métropole Mobilité or Aixenbus. (Aix en Provence - Office de Tourisme)

  • Diablines: tiny electric shuttles inside the old town, Mon–Sat 08:30–19:30, hop-on by hand-wave. Cheap and charming. (Aixenbus)

  • Regional ZOU!: buses & TER for villages/day trips (Cassis, Luberon, etc.). (Votre réseau ZOU)

Handy links (lightly sprinkled)

Musée Granet & “Cézanne 2025” • Atelier des Lauves • Hôtel de Caumont • Vasarely • Guided tours • Markets • ZOU! line 909 (Lourmarin) • Cassis boats. (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Tourisme)

Mini French-learning boosts (pick your level!)

  • A1: At the market, order three things using “Je voudrais… s’il vous plaît.” Practice numbers & weights (100g, 250g).

  • A2: On buses, ask politely: “Est-ce que ce bus s’arrête à … ?” then “Je descends au prochain arrêt.”

  • B1: Join a guided tour and note 5 new words (e.g., façade, arche, rempart, atelier, quarries). Retell the route in French to a friend.

  • B2: Do the Terrain des Peintres panel texts aloud; summarize Cézanne’s composition choices in 5–6 sentences. (Lonely Planet)

  • C1+ (hard-mode): Compare museum wall-texts at Granet with English audio notes; write a 150-word critique using connectors (cependant, en revanche, par ailleurs). (museegranet-aixenprovence.fr)

Your turn 👇

New in town or back for seconds? Drop a comment: What did you try, how did you get there (line number please!), and one tiny win in French you’re proud of this week. Pro-tip threads welcome: best shady benches, calm study cafés, and your favorite off-hour museum moments. On papote à Aix! 💬

Location: Aix-en-Provence, France