Aix established one of France's first public museums here, on the site of a former Hospitallers' priory, in 1838. Nearly 200 years of acquisitions (including bequests by the eponymous François Marius Granet, himself a painter of note) have resulted in a collection of more than 12,000 works, including pieces by Picasso, Léger, Matisse, Monet, Klee, Van Gogh and, crucially, nine pieces by local boy Cézanne. This fabulous art museum sits right near the top of France’s artistic must-sees.
Shutterstock / Franck Legros
Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±'s must-see attractions
9.6 MILES
East of Aix rises Cézanne’s favourite haunt, the magnificent silvery ridge of Montagne Ste-Victoire, its dry slopes carpeted in garrigue (scented scrub),…
27.3 MILES
Named after its fiery red and orange landscape (which locals likened to Colorado), this former ochre quarry is one of the best places to appreciate the…
21.1 MILES
The calanques (coves) of the coast surrounding Marseille became France's 10th national park in 2012, preserving their astonishing beauty and harbouring an…
Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
17.16 MILES
Occupying Marseille’s highest point, La Garde (154m), this opulent 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica is Marseille's most-visited icon. Built on the…
21.26 MILES
In the scrubby hills about 6km south of Bonnieux, a twisty back road slopes up to this wonderful cedar forest, whose spreading boughs provide welcome…
16.2 MILES
'The Basket' is Marseille's oldest quarter – site of the original Greek settlement and nicknamed for its steep streets and buildings. Its close, village…
Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
16.45 MILES
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
0.19 MILES
The Caumont is a stellar art space housed inside the Mazarin quarter’s grandest 18th-century hôtel particulier (mansion). While there are three quality…
Nearby Aix-en-Provence attractions
0.02 MILES
This 13th-century Gothic church in Aix’s Quartier Mazarin, built as a fortified place of worship by the Knights Hospitaller, was the first of its kind in…
0.13 MILES
This especially charming square in the Quartier Mazarin has a baroque fountain (1667) with water-spouting dolphins.
0.15 MILES
In the centre of cours Mirabeau is this lovely sculpted fountain from 1823, depicting the 15th-century king holding muscat grapes (which he reputedly…
0.18 MILES
Dating to 1667, this small fountain, the first along the Cours Mirabeau, is fed by 18ºC spring water that encourages the diversity of greenery with which…
0.19 MILES
The Caumont is a stellar art space housed inside the Mazarin quarter’s grandest 18th-century hôtel particulier (mansion). While there are three quality…
0.25 MILES
No streetscape better epitomises Provence’s most graceful city than this 440m-long, fountain-studded street, sprinkled with Renaissance hôtels…
0.27 MILES
South of Aix’s centre is the peaceful Parc Jourdan, home to the town’s Boulodrome Municipal, where locals gather beneath plane trees to play pétanque. An…
0.28 MILES
Across from the Palace of Justice, this 17th-century church only received its monumental facade in the 19th century, and has an imposing obelisk out the…