*If you’ve overdone Paris or if crowds of couples holding hands and tying padlocks to bridges don’t excite you, why not try out Aix-en-Provence for size? The Eurostar now runs direct to Marseille making it ever the more accessible. *******
Thanks to the Eurostar’s new route direct to Marseille from St. Pancras, Aix-en-Provence couldn’t be easier to get to. If you’re in the market for extending your weekend into something even more special, start it with night at the St Pancras Renaissance like I did, easily one of London’s finest hotels and one I’ve been pining to get my forty winks in since its grand reopening in 2011. With bedroom windows that overlook the St Pancras tracks, you’d struggle to be closer to the train and it takes the hassle out of early departure times – you even get a breakfast bag to go for your journey. The rooms in the exclusive Chamber Suites are stunning with sky-high ceilings, giant velvet drapes at the windows and REN toiletries in the bathrooms (dreamy). Chamber Suite guests get various privileges including the ‘Bath Ritual’, in which a butler comes to run the perfect bath, complete with a wooden tray with oils, scrubs and flannels – the ultimate aid to a good night’s sleep.
It might be a bleary eyed early start the next morning but you’ll be on the train and in Marseille before too long. A short transfer (30km) and you’ll be at your destination, where you can bookend your journey with luxury at the Renaissance Aix-En-Provence. Newly built in January ’14 in the city’s arts and culture neighbourhood (a mere five minutes walk away from the town centre), the hotel is pristine, with everything from the manicured lawns to the spacious lobby, two restaurants and Cloud Nine-like bedrooms removed from so much as a speck of dirt. Inside it’s creative and characterful with over 400 artworks from local contemporary artists. Loony lithographs feature next to each room number and downstairs in the lounging space via a grand spiral staircase, decorative birdcages dangle and wicker baskets hang form the ceiling, which I struggle to decide if are art installations or furniture. Upstairs, the 133 rooms are fresh and inviting with big wide windows, large mirrors, plush white bed linen and saturated orange highlights. The shower is giant and powerful, and the room is spacious enough for me to dance around my room to, embracing the nifty iPod dock.
After unpacking it’s most definitely lunchtime and Bistroquet is just the spot. Hearty portions use fresh and local ingredients, and assuming its warm enough you can sit outside, watching local life occur. The risotto here is rich but satisfying, but if you’re looking for something a little lighter, the seafood linguine is excellent. The waiter will bring your bill with a shot of Limoncello, which will be the perfect sweet finish if you forewent dessert.
40 water fountains pepper the historical city adding to its character and beauty, along with tree-lined streets, busy cafés on every corner, arts, craft and flower markets, delicious smelling bakeries and gourmet delicatessens. The colours here are beautiful (as expected, we are in Provence after all), with blue skies, terracotta roofs, chalky rainbow coloured buildings and leafy green trees. It comes as no surprise that Aix was of such interest to Paul Cezanne, who created many of his great works here. (If art is your thing, don’t pass up a visit to Cezanne’s studio on Lauves Hill, which remains exactly as it was, with many of his famous still life objects scattered around the room).
I visit in October but learn spring is even more stunning, with flowers and colours at their very best. Though compact the city has some lovely shops (Maje, Zara and Zadig & Voltaire included) and plenty of places to pick up mementos. It’s worth ducking your head into the St Sauveur **Cathedral **to appreciate the stained glass windows and giant organ, and you can bet there’ll be a wedding going on in the town hall square, set against the photographable 16th-century clock tower. Aix-en-Provence is a city that gets a lot of sunshine, couple that with the beautiful architecture, fine food and Provence countryside that surrounds it, and it comes as no surprise that Aix is popular for weddings.
Stop for a sit down with a coffee and a couple of Calissons (‘little hugs’) — oval shaped iced almond sweets, that are the official sweet of Aix-en-Provence, featured throughout the city’s rich history and even have their own festival. (If you find yourself particular fond of these sweet treats, you may want to take a trip to the **Léonard Parli Calisson Factory, **which is an interest stop and still very much in use.)
Back at the hotel, it’s time for dinner at Le Clos. Now I’m the first person to turn my nose up at a hotel restaurant, especially when the standard of food is so high in the area, but Le Clos doesn’t disappoint. It’s an intimate 40-cover restaurant headed up by Michelin-star chef Jean-Marc Banzo. Course after course is unveiled from a theatrical silver cloche and just as I think we’re done, another course is brought out. Of the seven courses and various amuse bouches I can remember (each one paired with a local wine probably have something to do with fuzzy memory), highlights include a bite-size truffle croque-monsieur, cep mushroom ice cream (sound vile, is spectacular), a sweet and salty Denti fish, and a chocolate sphere dessert with cocoa nib ice cream – by far the richest, most decadent dessert I’ve had. You’ll sleep easy after all that…
The next morning, wake up early and get in a swim in the pool before anyone else has the same idea. Striking pearly grey tiles cover one wall of the 11m pool and a floor-to-ceiling window floods it with sunshine. A strong current in one direction makes swimming not only more fun but more of a workout too. Pound the treadmill if you fancy it before easing your muscles in the large and beautifully tiled hammam. If you’ve got time, book in for a Ymalia massage and be kneaded into a state of pure bliss in one of the spa’s private massage rooms.
Shower, dress and head down to brunch, which starts at a leisurely 12pm here and is an event that will really need mental and physical preparation due to the sheer size of it. There are brunch buffets then there’s this brunch buffet. I’m familiar with 5* breakfasts and I know how truly epic they can be but here, where no online write up or booking page highlights the brunch, it surprises and delights. There’s everything from fried potatoes to savoury yoghurts, cheese platters, meats, elegant patisseries, fruits, nuts and more. I’m merrily offered rose wine, not something I usually have with brunch.
For memories a little different it’s worth getting out of the city centre. Paul Cezanne’s workshop as mentioned is a short 20-minute walk away from the city centre, and in a similar artistic vein in Saint-Remy de Provence, Maison de sante Saint-Paul de Mausole, the asylum where Vincent Van Gogh spent time in 1889 is an interesting stop, with many of his oil paintings on display and with a beautiful floral courtyard. **Carrières de Lumières **is a must-visit. Though sounding a little touristy and gimmicky, standing in giant limestone caves, excavated through quarrying, watching trompe d’oeil projections of Klimt artworks bounce across the walls and floor, to an eerie classical soundtrack, is like something you’re unlikely to have done before and something you definitely won’t forget – enchanting and mesmerising and easily a highlight of Aix.
If you’re staying for longer, remember Nice, Avignon, Cassis and Marseilles are all manageable distances away, and all with beautiful journeys guaranteed along roads lined with olive groves and vineyards. If you’re headed straight home, don’t forget to pick up a little bottle of local wine and a few snacks to enjoy on the Eurostar, being appreciating how great it feels to be able to just stroll off the train and onto the tube at the other end – holidays have never been so simple.