5 Best Places to Shop in Aix, Marseille, and the Central Coast, Provence

Ex-fashion designer Laure Traverso (Marc Jacobs, Paul & Joe) escaped the Paris treadmill to open her own wildly creative concept store that spotlights all things French that are also sustainable, ethical, design-conscious, and just plain cool. Discoveries abound: look for chic emerging fashion labels, beautiful leather and straw bags, shoes, belts, avant-garde jewelry, lingerie, handmade home furnishings, and organic cosmetics made in Provence. There's even a grocery corner with local microbrews, chocolates, and teas.

This popular shop has been mixing herbal treatments on the same premises since 1805. At the laboratoire, trained herbalists use dried local and exotic herbs or plant extracts to customize a concoction for whatever ails you—from sleep issues to digestive troubles. At the contemporary tearoom across the street, you can sip an infusion and purchase packaged herbal teas, loose herbs, spices, coffee, honey, beauty products, books, and traditional candies.

In addition to chic men’s and women’s sportswear and casual attire by a small but choice selection of crème de la crème European designers, this beautifully conceived boutique sells lingerie, shoes, hats, books, linens, ceramics, photographs and graphic art, and Aesop skin care. Everything is handpicked by the charming owner, who is also a well-known French fashion photographer. The shop's cozy courtyard café is the perfect place to recharge your shopping batteries.

Aix's most famous purveyor of calissons offers an assortment of the delicate almond pastries in gourmet flavors and enticing colors along with the white-frosted classic. The Rue Gaston de Saporta location is the flagship, but its wonderful museum just outside the city center ( 5380 rte. d’Avignon) delves into the history and making of this sweet and is well worth a visit. The shop also sells fruit syrups, biscuits, cakes, nougats, and a variety of other beautifully packaged candies that are perfect for gifts.

If "made in France" sounds good to you, head to this 190-year-old Marseille institution, which sells all things French. The main store carries everything from housewares and hardware to timeless perfumes, classic toys, and true Savon de Marseille. A second shop across the street ( 8 rue des Recolettes) has irresistible clothing and accessories for women, men, and kids, including wool or sheepskin slippers, rakish straw hats, cashmere capes, chunky wool sweaters, and cotton work shirts.