We are staying with some friends in Antibes who have graciously been showing us around, but we think it would be nice to give them a couple days off. Is it worth going to Aix on the train from Antibes, spend a night and a full day before training back. We will only have Sunday late afternoon thru Tuesday evening including travel time. If not, we are open to other suggestions for an overnight adventure in the area.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
9829 posts
Sure, that is plenty of time
Aix doesn’t really have any major sites, just a wandering around and market kind of place
Posted by
Los Angeles
1083 posts
Yes, 100%! We were there for almost a month and will definitely go back. Lots of great wandering around as Christine says. They have a wonderful museum, very old cathedral, gorgeous squares, and markets, and old mansions that open for tours, a beautiful winery close by as well as a World War II holding center that is worth touring.
https://www.museegranet-aixenprovence.fr/en/collections/collections/cezanne-at-the-musee-granet
Posted by
United States
12 posts
That sounds interesting!!
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6846 posts
It seems like you can spend two nights in Aix, Sunday and Monday, returning to the coast on Tuesday. I liked Aix very much for its atmosphere and architecture. The Musee Granet is good, and the cathedral very interesting with some Roman features. If you're into Cezanne this is the place, with his studio a short way outside the center.
I got to Aix from Nice by train, with a change in Marseilles. It was easy enough, but I don't know that you can get from Antibes to Aix, or back, without a change. Here's where you can get schedules and buy tickets.
Posted by
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
79 posts
Hello,
We visited Aix before going to Antibes and enjoyed it very much. I recommend a walking tour to learn about its history and the stories behind the architecture. (We took a direct train from Aix to Antibes.)
Posted by
92 posts
Aix is a charming Provencal town with magnificent light, beautiful architecture, and good open-air markets. Read MFK Fisher's writing on the town to whet your appetite before you go. She lived there with her two daughters for a time. Sadly, Le Deux Garcons, the historic cafe where she took them after school for goutez is out of business--or was when I was there. The quarter around the Fontaine des Quatre-Dauphins and the fountain itself is wonderful and there's a good bookstore called Books In Bar nearby.
Posted by
United States
12 posts
What a fantastic way to give your friends a bit of breathing room! Aix is such a wonderful place to just wander around the public squares, and that amount of time lets you really soak in a relaxed, easygoing feel of the city.
Posted by
Washington DC
30665 posts
This is the website of the WWII camp (Camp des Milles), a very worthwhile place to visit: https://www.campdesmilles.org/home2.html. The camp can be reached by local bus and has very good English signage. Reading all the available information would take about 2 hours, I'd guess. Much of the exhibition is in the basement, which was quite chilly on the hot summer day of my visit; I don't know what it would be like now.
At the time of my 2017 visit, the surrounding area was quiet, with no restaurants, etc. I think there was a soda machine at the camp, but that was about it.
Posted by
72 posts
I think Aix is too far to do by train. If you don't want a big city like Marseille, consider St. Paul de Vance, if you've never been. (It'd be a short bus trip). Or Beaulieu-s-m, with the fabulous villas Ephrussi and Kerylos to see. Or Menton, about an hour and change, direct train, next to Italy.