Les Baux-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the province of Provence in southern France. It has a spectacular position in the Alpilles mountains, set atop a rocky outcrop that is crowned with a ruined castle overlooking the plains to the south. Its name refers to its site: in Provençal, a bauç is a rocky spur. The village gives its name to the aluminium ore bauxite, which was first discovered there by geologist Pierre Berthier in 1821. Les Baux-de-Provence is part of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (meaning “the most beautiful villages of France”). read more…
Antibes is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It lies on the Mediterranean in the Côte d’Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is within the commune of Antibes. The Sophia-Antipolis technology park is northeast of Antibes. Sport is an important part of the local culture; the town hosts the National Training Centre for basketball. On 25 May 1999 the town was the first in the départment to sign the State Environment Charter, which pledges to actively conserve the natural environment. There are 48 beaches along the 25 km of coastline that surround Antibes and Juan les Pins. The city of Antibes hosts seveal museums and sights. read more…
Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a city-commune in the south of France, about 30 km (19 mi) north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix numbers approximately 143,000. Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains. Aix-en-Provence is situated in a plain overlooking the Arc, about a mile from the right bank of the river. The city slopes gently from north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aix’s position in the south of France gives it a warm climate. Aix is among the cities with the highest quality of life in France. In particular, the mix out of art and culture as well as bars and nightclubs are making the city attractive. Aix-en-Provence was part of Marseille-Provence 2013, the year-long cultural festival when the region served as the European Capital of Culture, together with Košice in Slovakia. Aix hosted several major cultural events including one half of the Grand Atelier du Midi gala exhibition and an episode of the Révélations pyrotechnical performance. The city also unveiled major new cultural infrastructure to coincide with Marseille-Provence 2013, including the Darius Milhaud Conservatory designed by Kengo Kuma. read more…
Salon-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France with 43,000 inhabitants. Every Wednesday the Place Morgan is host to a Provençal market. Salon-de-Provence Air Base is the site of the French Air Force Academy, as well as the home of the French Aerial Demonstration team, the Patrouille de France. read more…
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône River on the west to the Italian border on the east, and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on the south. It largely corresponds with the modern administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and includes the départements of Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and parts of Alpes-Maritimes and Vaucluse. The Romans made the region into the first Roman province beyond the Alps and called it Provincia Romana, which evolved into the present name. It was ruled by the Counts of Provence from their capital in Aix-en-Provence until 1481, when it became a province of the Kings of France. While it has been part of France for more than five hundred years, it still retains a distinct cultural and linguistic identity, particularly in the interior of the region. The original Roman province was called Gallia Transalpina, then Gallia Narbonensis, or simply Provincia Nostra (‘Our Province’) or Provincia. It extended from the Alps to the Pyrenees and north to the Vaucluse, with its capital in Narbo Martius (present-day Narbonne). In the 1940s, Provence underwent a cultural renewal, with the founding of the Avignon Festival of theatre (1947), the reopening of the Cannes Film Festival (begun in 1939), and many other major events. With the building of new highways, particularly the Paris Marseille autoroute which opened in 1970, Provence became destination for mass tourism from all over Europe. Many Europeans, particularly from Britain, bought summer houses in Provence. The arrival of the TGV high-speed trains shortened the trip from Paris to Marseille to less than four hours. Most of Provence has a Mediterranean climate, characterised by hot, dry summers, mild winters, little snow, and abundant sunshine. Within Provence there are micro-climates and local variations, ranging from the Alpine climate inland from Nice to the continental climate in the northern Vaucluse. The winds of Provence are an important feature of the climate, particularly the mistral, a cold, dry wind which, especially in the winter, blows down the Rhône Valley to the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Var Departments, and often reaches over one hundred kilometres an hour. read more…
Cassis is a commune situated east of Marseille in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southern France. It is a popular tourist destination, famous for its cliffs (falaises) and the sheltered inlets called calanques. The wines of Cassis are white and rosé, and not to be confused with crème de cassis, a specialty of Burgundy which takes its name from blackcurrants (cassis), not the commune. read more…
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