As we begin February, many of us are in the midst of making our vacation itineraries for the coming months. Tourism to southern France certainly seemed to make a full rebound in 2023, and I expect this year will be no different. If your travel plans will include a stop in Aix, I’d love to welcome you as part of your stay. As usual, there will be lots of things to do, see and experience in the area – here are just a highlighted few:
In Les Baux de Provence, the next presentation inside the stone quarries known as the Carrieres des Lumieres will be “Mondrian: The Architect of Colour”. This display goes through April 14th, and rumor has it that “Egyptian Pharaohs, From Cheops to Ramses II” will be the show that follows.
Aix’s classical Festival de Paques (Easter Festival) is also rapidly approaching, beginning on March 22th and running until April 7th. Tickets are going fast.
The Caumont Museum is dedicating their next exhibit to the genius of Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) and the influence Japanese art had on this French artist. His works will be exhibited alongside Japanese prints in order to illustrate their correlations. The exhibit starts May 3rd until October 6th.
And starting June 15th, the Granet Museum in Aix will have a retrospective exhibition to Jean Daret (1614-1668), a great Provençal baroque painter of the 17th-century. The exhibit runs through the end of September. With your ticket, you can also see the wonderful Planque collection at the nearby chapel of the Pénitents Blanc consisting of some 300 paintings, drawings and sculptures from the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists (Cézanne, Monet, Van Gogh, Degas) to major artists of the 20th century such as Bonnard, Picasso, Braque, Léger, de Staël and Dubuffet.