A Culinary Trip to Provence
Nice, Cannes, Grasse, St Paul de Vence, Cassis, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Les Baux de Provence, Lourmarin, Arles, Avignon.
Besides the sunshine, the deep blue sea, and the most unique landscapes, Provence is well-known for its Art de vivre. Indeed, good food and wine are the heart of life in Provence. Discover Provence best specialties and places to visit !
The architecture of Nice can be astonishing with the wild exaggerations of the Belle Epoque style or the Baroque influenced houses and marisions on the hills of Mont Boron. Fabulous creations have been realized in the floral gardens and parks of the hills of the Chateau, the Chambrun park or the Espace Masséna.
Nice, the fifth largest city in France, acts as a magnet attracting people from all over the world, for a multitude of reasons. Both elegant and simple, Nice's charm comes from its exceptional climate as well as its beauty. Even in the winter the café terraces are filled with people happily drinking and contemplating the ultra famous Promenade des Anglais.
The only way to get to know the real Nice is by strolling through the ochre colored streets listening to the "Niçois" speaking their own language (Nissart) and by tasting their savory cooking, One musn't miss the onion, anchovy and olive tarts called Pissaladières, the vegetable and tuna sandwiches known as Pan Bagnat, the Salade Niçoise or the famous Ratatouille (tomatoes eggplant and zucchini squash stew). The main cooking ingredient is olive oil ot course, and many of the dishes are garnished with the succulent little black Nice olives called Caillettes.
Two centuries ago, Cannes was nothing more than a fishing village. Today, it has become an elegant city round the world and attracts an international clientele.
The Croisette is one of the most famous promenades in the world. For three kilometers following the curve of the bay one can see flowering gardens, lawns planted with palm trees, umbrella pines and other trees all the way to Port Canto, Palm Beach and a sea water health spa. Strollers can find their way back to the center by taking the renowned rue d'Antibes.
Clinging to the slopes of the Pre-Alpes 17km (11mi) north of Cannes, Grasse has been one of the country's most important centres of perfume production for centuries. It is here that master perfumers - or 'nez' (noses), as they're often called - combine their natural gift with years of study to identify, with no more than a whiff, 6000 scents. The town, with its distinctive orange roofs sheltering densely packed cottages, also produces some of France's finest flowers, including jasmine, Centifolia rose, lavender, mimosa, orange blossom and narcotic narcissus.
Of the 40 perfumeries, only three are open to the public. The conveniently placed Fragonard is housed in a 17th-century former tannery. A tour will take you through cellars filled with stacks of soaps, bales of scented leather, and chests and crates stuffed with spices. Every stage of perfume production is evidenced here, from extraction and distillation to the work of the nez, as well as the vast number of flowers needed to make one liter of essence. At the end you'll be squirted with a few house scents, invited to purchase as many as you'd like and will leave the scene reeking. You can visit perfume factories and in some places you can invent your own perfume !Typical village in the county-side where you can find
lots of painting
galleries.
Every year, over 2.500.000 people come and visit St Paul. Statistically, it's the third most visited historical site in France after the Mont St Michel and the Chateau de Versailles. St Paul's landscape, natural site, architecture and buildings are all protected by law as a part of a natural heritage.
‘‘The Sun in St Paul is, by far, the most beautiful of the entire Provence. It is also the country where the best variety of oranges grow...’’
Beautiful sea-shore, famous for its cliffs. ( “Les Calanques” ).
Between those cliffs you can find splendid little beaches with very few people.
This is pretty rare along the French Riviera.
Marseille, in the south-east of France, has a strong personality, a combination of authenticity and stubborn clichés. The old Mediterranean city, however, is not content with this pleasantly quaint image: it is the country’s largest commercial harbour, a modern city which is continuing with modernization and developing a few ambitious projects, especially in the arts and culture.
Town considered as the heart of Provence. It is also called the “Provençal Florence”. It was founded by the Romans. A lot of Cafés and gardens.
Les Beaux is the best ghost town in Provence and a great way to get a genuine feel for the area history. It was built in the 12th Century and destroyed in the17th, but its ruins remain amazingly in tact. Visit early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid crowds and witness the spectacular sunrise and sunset.
Listed as "one of the most beautiful villages in France", Lourmarin nestles in the middle of vineyards, olive groves and almond trees. In the village you will notice the typical Mediterranean architecture in its winding narrow streets, lovely old restored houses, and well shaded public squares where you can immerse yourself in the gentle Provencal ambience. Situated 50 km (80 miles) from Avignon, Lourmarin counts today 1.110 people.
The charming city of Arles, on the Grand Rhône River in Provence, rose to prominence in 49-46 BC when a triumphal Julius Caesar captured and despoiled nearby Marseille. It soon became the region's commercial hub and an important Roman provincial center with enormous public spaces that are still in use today. Vincent Van Gogh settled here in the late 19th century, fashioning hundreds of drawings and paintings when he took a break from pestering his ear. On hot summer days you can watch the waves of heat rising from the plains, just as Van Gogh did a century ago; olive groves and vineyards - often featured in his work - still cover the surrounding limestone hills. Arles is also noted for its houses with striking red barrel-tiled roofs and shady, twisting alleys too narrow to swing a cat (trust us).
Arles' attractions include the Les Arènes, an enormous Roman amphitheater built towards the end of the 1st century AD. Tens of thousands of men and animals were sacrificed here to that most noble of pursuits - sport. Chariot races and hand-to-hand battles were staged with slaughter emphasized over tactics, but the public seemed happy. The Arènes was later transformed into a fortress, then a residential area but its sanguinary origins have been reawakened in the full houses drawn to bullfights. Another of the city's Roman relics is the Théâtre Antique, which provides an ideal setting for open-air dance, film and music festivals in the summer.
Central Arles is a relaxed place of intimate squares, terraced brasseries perfect for sipping Pastis and watching men with long pomaded moustaches playing pétanque.City of history and city of theater, the fortified city of Avignon will not leave you indifferent. Avignon's architecture is marked by papal history. Going through any of the seven doors of the superbly preserved walls one discovers the city of the Popes. The Palace of the Popes built in the 14th century overlooks a lively square. Nearby are the museums the Petit Palais and Palais du Roure, Not too far away stands the famous Pont d'Avignon.
The theater festival has made Avignon famous in modern times. Started in 1947 by Jean Vilar, every year between the 10th of July and the 5th of August nearly 120,000 spectators come to discover new talent or admire those actors already known.
Late at night when the shows are over, the terraces fill up with actors and spectators alike all creating a unique atmosphere found only in Avignon in the summer.
