Lavender fields, hilltop villages and spectacular rocky fjords, rosé wine and bouillabaisse, Cézanne and Van Gogh, cutting edge rap and hip-hop music, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, pétanque, scuba diving and Olympique de Marseille: Provence is a vibrant mix of romantic tradition and surprising, fast-changing modernity. This is an insider's guide to the best of it, from a professional journalist living there.
Le Corbusier's masterpiece of modernist architecture, the Radiant City, is in the
spotlight this year. Its panoramic roof terrace is being turned into an
exhibition space, named MaMo, by the cult designer Ora Ïto. Le Corbu
himself is the centre of an upcoming show at the J1 hangar, Marseille.
And film director Agnes Varda's two photographs of the terrace, in 1956 and today, are part
of a current show at the Galerie d'Art du Conseil Général in Aix en
Provence. Click here to read more.
The big day is almost here! The year of Marseille-Provence European Capital of Culture starts tomorrow, 12 January, when Marseille and Aix en Provence explode in a frenzy of celebrations - and we've listed the best of them, with links to interactive maps and details of the late-night transport that will get revellers home in the small hours of the morning. Click here to read more.
Here's another view of the Cours Mirabeau in Aix en Provence - a rather different one. Those austerely elegant old plane trees have metamorphised into something resembling red and white polka-spotted giraffes. This is a sneak preview of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's psychedelic transformation of the Cours as part of the contemporary art
trail through Aix being inaugurated next Saturday for the
opening weekend of Marseille-Provence 2013 European Capital of Culture. Click here to read more.
