{"id":14236,"date":"2018-11-23T11:11:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-23T10:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/?p=14236"},"modified":"2026-09-21T12:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T10:49:09","slug":"aix-en-provence-in-one-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/aix-en-provence-in-one-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Aix-en-Provence: My best tips for the dream destination in Provence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A short trip to Provence can work wonders: the balmy Mediterranean air, the scent of lavender\u2014and everything feels right again. Here, I\u2019ll share my very own tips for Aix-en-Provence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip<\/strong>: Find affordable places to stay in Aix-en-Provence<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

Aix-en-Provence: The romantic small town in the south of France<\/h2>\n\n

I\u2019m probably what you\u2019d generally call a Francophile. While others complain that the French always refuse to speak even a single word of any other foreign language, I\u2019m happy about it. It feels good to dust off my school French again. Admittedly, it\u2019s a bit rusty, but it\u2019s more than enough for a quick chat. French is a beautiful language, and honestly, I can totally understand why the French are so proud of their culture and language. <\/p>\n\n

\"Fountain
Rustic charm: In the middle of the old town of Aix-en-Provence is the Place d’Albertas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

That said, a lot has changed in recent years. I still remember well how, during my early years as a pilot on flights to France, there was hardly a single French person who spoke even a little English. Communicating without any knowledge of French was quite a challenge back then. That hardly ever happens these days\u2014almost everyone speaks a few words of English, and if they don\u2019t, they don\u2019t expect the other person to speak French either. The French have really become quite modern. And I always look forward to our now-rare overnight stays in France\u2014for example, in Aix-en-Provence. <\/p>\n\n

Aix-en-Provence: Tips for an afternoon<\/h2>\n\n

I feel like I\u2019ve been to Aix-en-Provence a hundred times\u2014though in reality, it\u2019s probably closer to fifty. That\u2019s pretty often. It always surprises even me how much I\u2019ve accumulated over my 18 years of flying. And yet I still manage to get lost time and again in the<\/strong> pretty old town center of Aix-en-Provence<\/strong>, which, admittedly, isn\u2019t even that big. My sense of direction is truly abysmal. But that\u2019s okay\u2014there\u2019s always something new to discover\u2014and something old to enjoy. <\/p>\n\n

Aix is one of the most expensive cities in France, but it also offers one of the highest qualities of life<\/strong>. That makes sense. The city is compact, small, and tranquil\u2014and it\u2019s a college town, so it\u2019s not at all stuffy, as one might expect given its many historic buildings and rich history. The city is constantly reinventing itself without losing even a bit of its old charm<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

And in the alleys you can find all kinds of nice little stores, cafes and restaurants. No wonder I’m always happy to while away an afternoon there. A few tips: <\/p>\n\n

Looking for more inspiration for a trip to France? \u279c You can find more tips in my France blog<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Food & Drink in Aix-en-Provence<\/h2>\n\n

P\u00e2tisserie Weibel<\/a> – A pastry classic in Aix! A bit pricey, but you get mega tartlets, macarons, \u00e9claires, and just about everything French pastry piggy you can imagine. And since the last renovation, the attached caf\u00e9 is also visually an absolute pastel sugar dream! <\/p>\n\n

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\"Tartlet<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Tartlet<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Burger Bar<\/a> – Open around the clock, which is quite handy in my case when I’m on early duty! Otherwise, in classic French fashion, most restaurants in Aix don’t open until dinner time at 7 p.m., and by then I’m usually already throwing on my pajamas. <\/p>\n\n

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\"Aix<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Aix<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

Shopping in Aix-en-Provence<\/h2>\n\n

Even though Aix is a small town, there are plenty of shopping options\u2014and, conveniently, they\u2019re all concentrated in a small area. There\u2019s even an Apple Store at the end of Cours Mirabeau! Next door, on the new little shopping street, you\u2019ll also find the larger chain stores\u2014like Zara, Zara Home, Sephora, and Fnac\u2014that aren\u2019t located in the historic city center. And there\u2019s a branch of Maisons du Monde, my <\/strong>favorite home decor store. If you\u2019re lucky, the farmers\u2019 market will be on at Place Richelme. Or, on the weekend, check out the flea market on Cours Mirabeau with its beautiful antiques\u2014it\u2019s got that authentic Provence vibe. <\/p>\n\n

\"Aix<\/figure>\n\n
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\"Aix<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Aix<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can never get enough of Aix-en-Provence. The pretty old town, the scent of Provence on every corner, a caf\u00e9 au lait at the market – Aix is pure France. And that is wonderful! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2424,191],"tags":[4201],"class_list":["post-14236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-city-guides","category-france","tag-city-trips-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}