Stand by for the Aix Music Festival

I know it's still a way until the summer <sigh> but this is an early heads-up for the Festival d'Aix, one of Europe's most important classical music festivals. Alongside Avignon (theatre) and Arles (photography), it forms the Big Three of Provence's July cultural landscape. Tickets go on sale at midday on 1 February and business is likely to be brisk, so stand by your keyboards at that time. The full programme will be announced on 26 January but early details are already available of the operas lined up in the programme, including two world premieres. Click here to read more.

A Passion for Pagnol

Seems like Daniel Auteuil has a passion for Pagnol. The actor's international breakthrough was in Jean de Florette (1986) and his first film as director was The Well-Maker's Daughter, also by Pagnol, last year. Now it has just been announced that he will direct and star in the writer's most celebrated work, his Marseille Trilogy (Marius, Fanny, César), in Provence this spring. Click here to read more.

Avant-Garde Art for Kids

As I'm on a bit of an art kick at the moment, I thought I'd flag up this show, opening today at Marseille's great little Préau des Accoules Children's Museum. Ten contemporary sculptures are here for kids to explore, including Nana by Niki de Saint Phalle, a gloriously langorous reclining figure from 1972. Click here to read more. 

Paying Tribute to the Father of Op Art

Though we've lived in Provence for well over a decade, we'd never got around to visiting the Fondation Victor Vasarely, a museum in Aix dedicated to the man often described as the father of Op Art. So we decided it was about time to check it out and found quite a few surprises - both at the Fondation itself and when we started to learn about the sad and turbulent story behind it. Click here to read more. 

A Zen Barge Moored Opposite Avignon's Palais des Papes

This will be my last report for a while on places to stay in Avignon but I did want to post on the bizarre and rather amazing Zen barge we stayed on when we visited the Papal City again last month. Click here to read more. 

Stay in the Shadow of Avignon's Palais des Papes

While we were still in the area of the Popes' Palace, I took a quick tour of the Hotel du Palais des Papes, whose self-explanatory name indicates that it's one of the most central spots to stay in Avignon. Formerly the Spanish consulate, this building dates back in parts to the 15th century and still boasts stacks of atmosphere. Click here to read more.

Tea and Tranquility in Avignon's Petit Palais

I stumbled across the rather whimsically named Autour d'un Thé, un Voyage in Avignon recently while visiting the superb collection of Italian art in the Musée du Petit Palais. This gorgeous little tea-room is tucked away in a 15th century chapel and its garden (you don't have to stump up the museum admission charge to get in) and is a marvellous sea of tranquility a stone's throw from the tourist crowds. Click here to read more.

In the Footsteps of Napoleon in Avignon

The Hotel d'Europe in Avignon has a superbly romantic history. Napoleon Bonaparte (who lobbied to have this lovely old 16th century house converted into a hotel in the first place) stayed here. So did Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her brand-new husband Robert B, having just eloped together. Salvador Dali was here, as was Picasso and Jackie Kennedy. And, at these prices, you could be too. Click here to read more.

Mad About Fou de Fafa

In Avignon recently we thought we'd try a restaurant going by the curious name of Fou de Fafa that had been highly recommended on travel forums. The meal was, indeed, superb, and the bill reassuringly reasonable. But what surprised us was the fact that one of the best eateries in a town not short of excellent restaurants is run single- (or rather, double-) handedly by a British couple. Click here to read more.

The Wheat of Saint Barbara

If you're in Provence at this time of year, you might be surprised at all the little saucers of green shoots that suddenly appear, today, 4th December, on shop counters and in people's homes. Well, this is the wheat of Saint Barbara (for today is her feast day) and it signals the beginning of the long Christmas season in the South of France. If the shoots thrive, it's an auspicious sign for a prosperous New Year (and don't we all need that right now?) And this is just one of many strange and beautiful Christmas traditions unique to Provence. Click here to read more.