Aix has an ideal position in Provence.What is not to be
missed can be seen over daily excursions without driving too far. If you
cannot stay for six days, it is still possible to arrange a shorter circuit.
Aix-en-Provence, Cézanne
and the Ste Victoire Mountain.
| A two hours’city tour by foot |
Morning.A two hours’city tour by foot:Guided
visit of Aix with
a guide-lecturer to follow in “Cézanne’s footsteps” then
free
time. Note that strolling in Aix on market days -Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday morning-, offers more liveliness to the
visit. You will wander through stalls with vegetables, flowers,
clothes and antiques.
Free time for lunch or organised lunch for the group in one
of Aix’s many restaurants.
Afternoon dedicated to Paul Cézanne (Circuit of approximately
40km): Visit of Cézanne's workshop followed by the landscapes
that inspired him around the Sainte-Victoire Mountain called “
les sites cézanniens”.
Free time for dinner,organised dinner in one of Aix’s restaurants,
or half board in the hotel.
Avignon, les Baux-de-Provence, Saint Rémy
| Day trip by coach (approximately 250 km) |
Morning:departure for Avignon,visit the Palais
des Papes and
the Saint-Benezet bridge.
Free time for lunch in Avignon or organised lunch for the group.
Afternoon: departure for Saint-Remy-de-Provence and the
famous village of Les-Baux-de-Provence topped by the ruins
of its castle which unveil a panoramic view over the Alpilles
region.
Free time for dinner in Aix-en-Provence, organised dinner for
the group in one of Aix’s restaurants,or half board at the hotel.
Visit of Marseilles, Cassis and its
Calanques.
| Day trip by coach, approximately 100 km. |
Visit of Marseilles by bus with stops at the “Vieux
Port” and Notre-Dame de la Garde to admire the wonderful
panoramas surrounding the city of Marseilles.Enjoy fantastic
and unique views of the city from an open top deck bus:
the Vieux-Port (Old Port), the historic Panier district, the basilica
of Notre-Dame de la Garde with its fabulous panorama,
the Corniche overlooking the sea ..., then on to Cassis by the
President Kennedy sea front Corniche.
Free time for lunch in Cassis or organised lunch for the group.
Visit of the
Calanques of Cassis by boat, 3 or 5 calanques and then free time in Cassis.
For groups: 3 calanques, lenght
45 minutes.5 calanques, lenght 1 hour 10 minutes.
In case of bad weather, it is possible to climb the highest cliff
of Europe, Cap Canaille, and travel on to La Ciotat via the
mountain ridges.
Free time for dinner in Aix, organised dinner for the group
in one of Aix’s restaurants or half board in the hotel.
The Luberon and its superb
villages
| A 220 km day trip by coach. |
Morning: Departure for the hilltop villages of
Lourmarin,
Bonnieux and Gordes. Possibility to visit the 12th-century
Cistercian abbey of Silvacane.
Free time for lunch, or organised lunch for the group in
Luberon.
Afternoon in Roussillon,renowned for its ochre cliffs.Optional
walk on the “Sentier des Ocres”(ochre path),45 min,then wine
tasting in a vineyard.
Free time for dinner, organised dinner in one of Aix’s
restaurants, or half board in the hotel.
“In the steps of Marcel
Pagnol”
| Daily excursion by coach:approximately 130 km. |
Marcel
Pagnol was born in February, 28th 1895 in Aubagne,
his beloved provençal land, the village that became the
background of his films and novels.Today, the day tour “In the
steps of Pagnol” invites you to catch a glimpse of the strong
relationship between the writer and his native land.
Morning: Leave Aix to Aubagne. Then short tour by coach
accompanied with a guide:stop at Eoures where he was born,
the grocery store of his work “Le Schpountz”where one could
find “Les Anchois des Tropiques”, stop at the crossroad “La
Croix”,
where Pagnol and his friend Lili would meet, then “La Treille” village; stop at “La Pascaline” village to visit the Bellons’Path,
Manon’s fountain,“Le Cigalon” restaurant and the graveyard
where Marcel Pagnol and his family are buried.
Then on to the “Château de la Buzine”– the setting
of his film “
Le Château de ma Mère”.
Lunch organised in one of the town restaurants.
The afternoon
will be dedicated to admire the santonniers and ceramists know-how.Visit
of the 130 sq.m.house where Pagnol
was born in 1895: you will probably feel captivated by the
atmosphere of the time through an exhibition and a film
recreating life in the early 20th century. Finally, enjoy
the “Tiny World of Marcel Pagnol”, diorama built by local
santonniers and crib makers – 200 unique figurines inspired
from Marcel Pagnol’s films and novels gathered in a recreated
provençal “garrigue”(dry and rocky hills).
Free time for
dinner in Aix, organised dinner for the group in one of Aix’s restaurants
or half board in the hotel, there is also a possibility to organise a farewell
dinner in a gastronomic
restaurant in town.
Jour Arles et la Camargue
| Circuit à la journée en car - environ 300 km. |
Morning:
Leave Aix for a visit of the town of Arles: the Roman
Arenas the antique theatre and the Cathedral with its
Saint-Trophime cloister.
Free time for lunch in Arles or organised lunch for the group.
Afternoon:
Pass through the Camargue's national park to the village of Aigues Mortes.Discover
the Saintes-Maries
de la Mer before returning to Aix.
Free time
for dinner in Aix, organised dinner for the group in one of Aix’s
restaurants, or half board in the hotel.
