Provence
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Provence - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Circuit Pagnol
Even if you haven't read Pagnol's works or seen his films, you can enjoy the Circuit Pagnol, a series of hikes (some up to 20 km [12 miles] long) in the raw-hewn, arid garrigues behind Marseille and Aubagne. Here Pagnol spent his idyllic summers, described in his Souvenirs d'un Enfance (Memories of a Childhood), crunching through the rosemary, thyme, and scrub oak at the foot of his beloved Garlaban. When he became a famous playwright and filmmaker, he shot some of his best work in these hills, casting his wife, Jacqueline, as the first Manon of the Springs. After Pagnol's death, Claude Berri came back to the Garlaban to find a location for his remake of Manon des Sources, but found it so altered by brush fires and power cables that he chose to shoot farther east instead, around Cuges-les-Pine and Riboux. (The lovely village and Manon's well were filmed in Mirabeau, in the Luberon.) Although the trails no longer travel amid pine-shaded olive orchards, they still let you explore primeval Provençal countryside with spectacular views of Marseille and the sea. To access the marked trails by yourself, drive to La Treille northeast of Aubagne, and follow the signs. For maps or an accompanied tour with literary commentary, contact the tourist office.
Aubagne, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France -
2. Farmers' Market
Aubagne on a market day is a feast in more ways than one. Depending on the season, for sale are fresh local asparagus, vine-ripened tomatoes and melons, and mesclun scooped by the gnarled fingers of blue-aproned ladies in from the farm (Tuesday, Thursday, and weekends, 8–1:30). The weekend markets make more of regional products; those labeled Pays d'Aubagne must be organically raised. Although they're not as social as markets in Aix, these farmers' markets are more authentic.
Cours Voltaire, Aubagne, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13400, France -
3. Le Petit Monde de Marcel Pagnol
You can study miniature dioramas of scenes from Pagnol stories here. The characters are all santons, including superb portraits of a humpback Gerard Dépardieu and Yves Montand, resplendent in moustache, fedora, and velvet vest, just as they were featured in Jean de Florette. For more information, contact the tourist office.
Esplanade de Gaulle, Aubagne, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13400, FranceSight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Sun. -
4. Musée de la Légion Étrangère
Another claim to fame for Aubagne: it's the headquarters for the French Foreign Legion. The legion was created in 1831, and accepts recruits from all nations, no questions asked. The discipline and camaraderie instilled among its motley team of adventurers have helped the legion forge a reputation for exceptional valor—a reputation romanticized by songs and films in which sweaty deeds of heroism are performed under the desert sun. The Musée de la Légion Étrangère does its best to polish the image by way of medals, uniforms, weapons, and photographs.
Caserne Viénot, Aubagne, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, 13400, France04–42–18–12–41Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Mon. -
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