pfyffer

My husband and I will be in Aix en Provence for four nights as part of our 20th wedding anniversary trip. I would appreciate your thoughts on top day trips from there. We will have a rental car. We are big into Roman ruins, history in general, beautiful scenery, food, wine and shopping. Thank you!

KarenWoo

When our daughter lived in Aix, we visited her several times, and these are the day trips we took from Aix:

St. Remy - has Glanum (roman ruins), & asylum where Van Gogh lived for a year.
Rousillon
Les Beaux
Gordes
Loumarin
Avignon
Arles
Menerbes - has a castle
Cassis - seaside town, take boat ride to see the calanques

There is beautiful scenery wherever you go in Provence and Luberon.

geetika

Congratulations on your 20th anniversary!

Lots of things to see and do, Aix is a lovely town and you can easily spend a day just wandering around the vielle ville. Paul Cexanne lived for a while in Aix and you can visit his old studio, which has now been converted into a museum. Just outside the city is Bastide du Jas de Bouffon, a country manor owned by Cexanne's father; the gardens are beautiful and Cezanne's canvases depicted many of the scenes you see there even today.

Don't miss the Pont du Gard, the 2000 year old Roman aqueduct, truly a sight to behold. Also the Ochre Route from Roussillon to Rustrel and Gargas, with its red and gold cliffs and geological formations. Apart from Menerbes there are castles in Gordes, Tour-Aigues and Lacoste.

Enjoy your special holiday

hetismij2

You might like a short trip out to Mont Sainte Victoire, painted most famously by Cezanne, Picasso lived at it's foor for a few years, and it was also inspiration for Kandinsky. There are some lovely walks up it, though access can be restricted in the summer, after a catastrophic forest fire a few years ago.
It is a beautiful area. Enjoy your trip and congratulations on your 20th anniversary.

yestravel

How far do you like to go on a day trip? All the suggestions are great, but I'd check out the time it takes to get to them. I'd also spend at least 1 day if not 2 to explore Aix.
Marseille is another city to add to your list of places you might visit. You can take a boat trip from there to see the Calanques.

Happy anniversary and have a great trip.

pfyffer

@Yestravel - The longest day trip we're planning is from Aix to Monaco. It will be a long day but we really want to see Nice and Monaco.

Thank you to everyone for the well wishes on our anniversary.