4 Best Sights in Provence, France

Considered at the time a radical experiment in collective living, Le Corbusier's masterpiece "habitat system" was completed in 1952. The mammoth building, set in the middle of a green park with unobstructed views of the sea, contains 337 apartments with 23 different floor plans that were groundbreaking in their simplicity, functionality, and practicality. Each came with views; light; and on-site access to a restaurant, a bar, shops, childcare, a rooftop jogging track, a playground, and a stage. The tourist office's guided tours (reservations can be made online) of the UNESCO World Heritage site take you to a model apartment, the rooftop, and several common areas. The Cité also now houses a restaurant, bar, hotel, and the MaMO arts center—all open to the public.

Built in 1761, this former grain market serves as a post office today—a rather spectacular building for a prosaic service. The frieze, portraying an allegory of the Rhône and Durance rivers, is the work of Aix sculptor Jean Chaste (1726–93); he also created the fountain out in front. That's a real Roman column at the fountain's top.

This graceful, old 17th-century Jesuit cloister has been converted for office use by the well-known Avignon Festival—a performing arts event that lasts most of the month of July. The cloister's symmetrical arches (now partly enclosed as the sleek Hôtel Cloître St-Louis) are shaded by ancient plane trees. You can wander around the courtyard after you've picked up your festival information. Occasional exhibitions are held inside as well.

Eighteen stories up, atop Le Corbusier's colossal Cité Radieuse—undertaken in 1947–52 to house the displaced of World War II—this sun-drenched sculpture center, complete with a theater and garden, replaces an ugly gym, added in 1964, that had obscured Le Corbusier's original tiled rooftop terrace. Conceived by notorious Paris designer (and Marseille native) Ito Morabito, aka Ora-Ito, the roof of the famous building has been restored to its original glory, complete with Charlotte Perriand–designed details, and now hosts a rotating schedule of sculpture exhibitions in the summer. The building still houses an apartment complex, shops, a hotel, and a well-regarded restaurant.