Looking at a map it appears the hotel Cezanne is closer to the city center than le Pigonnet but may be right at the train station. Does anyone know if this is the case? Would the Cezanne, which is less expensive and looks good on the website, be a poor choice because of noise? Pigonnet looks lovely but is more money and a little farther away. Also the Cezanne says it is l mile from Atelier Cezanne. This would seem to make le Pigonnet farther.

We've stayed at the Cezanne a few years ago. I really enjoyed our room on the fifth floor, it has a nice old authentic old world ambiance; my wife however complained that it was somewhat too dumpy for her taste. We didn't have any noise problem whatsoever. They provided free computer internet use at the lobby when we stayed there. The oldtown is not at the hotel doorstep but a couple long blocks away.

David, that's a nice value hotel indeed, glad you posted it. I heard about it before but supposedly it has no elevator and being on the other end of Cours Mirabeau, mimipam has to take a taxi to get there.

Thanks DAX. Tripadvisor says the hotel has been recently refurbished so maybe it is no longer "dumpy."
Travelhorizons, the B&B looks nice but there are 3 of us. I did consider the Villa Gallici briefly. Is it closer to the city center than le Pigonnet?

mimipam, the third member of your party could probably sleep in the sitting room. There are two sofas in there; I don't remember if one of them is a pull-out or not.

There's also a small apartment that's attached to the B&B that might suit your needs. Check their website and email Marie-Christine.

Concerning the Cezanne, it was a Mercure before and had gotten a bit shabby. I stayed there several times when it was a Mercure and you cannot hear the trains at all. The refurb looks nice with new beds and towels but havent stayed there since.

We stayed at le Pigonnet and even though it is a very nice small hotel if we were to visit Aix again, we would stay closer to the city center.

Villa Gallici is quite a long distance from the town center. I honestlyly thought Cezanne was wonderful and didn't get my wife's complaint of being a bit dumpy. I heard that the rooms are not all the same, the one we got had a really nice authentic old world feel to it without feeling like we're staying at grandma's house. Glad to hear that it's renovated.

Thank you all so much. One more question about Cezanne - what about parking if you have a car? I think it says park in a carpark. Anyone know about this? We want to just get there and leave the car parked while we are there for two nights.

Theres a car park two blocks away that is paid and underground.

We stayed at Pigonnet and I would stay there again. It was really charming and even though it was a little bit of a walk into town, I loved the setting and the feeling of the place.

Oh artlover, I was just about to change my mind and decide on Cezanne. Now you have given me second thoughts (or 15 thoughts). Do you remember how long the walk was?
Thank you Morgan for the car parking info.

Le Pigonnet is 800 meters (half a mile)from the big fountain where Cours Mirabeau starts. We made a mental note of it when we were there last September for our 3rd visit. We know that staying close to Cours Mirabeau is most important to enjoy Aix to the fullest so we were willing to sacrifice in accomodation. We stayed at this place:
http://www.cafebastideducours.com/si...angl/index.htm You have to reserve by email directly with the hotel. It is right on Cours Mirabeau and the restaurant is one of the best along Cours Mirabeau. It has a very cool lounge on the second floor. The drawback is no elevator but instead a narrow circular stairwell.

Thanks DAX. I will check this out.