In Search of Romans and Artists in Saint Rémy de Provence

Saint Rémy de Provence is one of the most popular tourist spots in this part of France and last week I went along to find out its secret. Simple, really: this unassuming little place has something to suit pretty much all interests. History buff? The huge Roman city of Glanum is one of the key archeological sites in Provence (you can eat Roman food there too). Art-lover? Today the area is a magnet for painters and Saint Paul de Mausole, where Vincent van Gogh spent the last year of his life and created some of his greatest works, is a moving, unmissable experience. I loved the illustrated self-guided walk you can do in the surrounding countryside comparing his visions with the real thing (pictured above: van Gogh's Olive Trees, in an olive grove near Saint Paul). And, if you just like mooching around cafes, galleries, markets and pretty cobbled streets and squares, well, Saint Rémy has all those too. Click here to read more.

On the Wine Trail in Cassis

I'm very partial indeed to the white wines of Cassis and so I jumped at the chance recently to visit a couple of the vineyards there and find out more about them - and taste a glass or two as well, of course. Monsieur Bontoux, at the Château de Fontblanche (whose vines are shown in the picture, with Cap Canaille in the background) very kindly took a lot of time to chat to me about some of his secrets, about why Cassis doesn't make a sparking wine and why in this town, even more than elsewhere, you should never drink and drive.....  Click here to read more. 

When A Former Wine-Maker Opens a Restaurant

I took advantage of last weekend's trip to Marseille to try out a restaurant I'd heard quite a lot about. Prettily located at the bottom of the Old Town, Vinonéo is run by an ex-vigneron, Renaud Pierlot, who has transferred his passion into creating some very unusual food and wine pairings. Click here to read more.

The Dream of Colour in Marseille

Last weekend we went to have a look at the big summer show in Marseille: an exhibition, called The Dream of Colour, dedicated to the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser at the Vieille Charité in the Old Town, one of my very favourite venues for shows, whatever their subject. The place was jam-packed with families (the kids were having a ball with Hundertwasser's brightly coloured work) and, though I've never been a huge fan of his painting, his woodcuts, lithographs, screen prints and other graphic experiments were a revelation. And it's all part of a much wider installation that will take over much of the centre of Marseille for the next few months. Click here for details of the show.

A Tour Through The Best Street Markets Of Marseille

At last I've got around to writing my guide to the best street markets in Marseille - and what a colourful and varied lot they turn out to be. You will find the traditional farmers' markers here too, of course, with olives, goat's cheeses, succulent fruit to die for and the whole nine yards. But Marseille is a big city as well, and its markets contain some surprising and original discoveries. Click here to read more.

A Walk In The Footsteps of Paul Cézanne

Few artists are as intimately identified with a city as Paul Cézanne is with Aix en Provence. He was born there, spent most of his life there (apart from two decades in Paris) and died there. In fact, it's just a ten minute walk from his birthplace to his grave. On a lovely spring afternoon recently, I went on a self-guided tour in the footsteps of the grand Aixois. It's a great way, too, of seeing some of the main sights of the city. Click here to read more.

A Spa Hotel On The Site of An Ancient Roman Baths

The Hotel Aquabella sits in a very pretty location, right by the walls of the Old Town of Aix en Provence on the site of the ancient baths which made the city so attractive to the Romans all those centuries ago. But is it an exclusive luxury spa destination, or a bland mid-market conference hotel? Click here to read more.

A Fishy Lunch on the Cassis Harbour Front

La Poissonerie in Cassis seems to be one of those love-it-or-loathe-it places. Some people swear by the warm welcome and fresh-from-the-slab fish at this traditional fishmonger's shop with restaurant attached right on the harbour, a stone's throw from the boats that supply it. Others say it's an overpriced tourist trap with indifferent food and terrible service. On a lovely spring day recently, I went along there for lunch. Click here to read more.

Stay in Marseille's Hippest New Hotel from 69 €uros a Night

Mama Shelter Marseille - from the team which created the acclaimed and awarded Mama Shelter Paris - opens today and is already being hailed as the coolest hotel in town. Plus its rooms start from a truly unbeatable 68 €uros. So is there a hidden catch? I went along to the press launch last night to take a look. Click here to read more

Exploring the Old Town and Harbour of Cassis

Another recent visit to Cassis, this time shown around by the lovely Christine Francia from the town's tourist office, left us with an enormous treasure trove of new material and insider discoveries about this delightful little resort. Many tourists to Cassis just zip through town with a quick visit to the calanques and maybe the beaches, plus lunch at one of the colourful restaurants on the port. Nothing wrong with all that, of course. But Cassis has a lot more to offer. Click here to read more.