8 Best Restaurants in Provence, France

This quintessential locals' hangout is packed for lunch pretty much year-round thanks to dishes that are deeply French and deeply satisfying. The traditional bistro decor—long bar, leatherette banquettes, large mirrors, and brass railings—has something to do with the appeal of this marvelous restaurant that's casual in every sense except when it comes to food and wine.

After your visit to the concept store Le Nid, a shopper’s paradise, stop by the sleek in-store café—featuring marble café tables, designer chairs, and chic nest-shape lighting—for a craft coffee, snack or a gourmet (and extra-healthy) lunch or brunch.

You'll never feel more like a kid in a candy shop than when you feast your eyes on the scintillating pastries, candied fruits (a specialty of the Vaucluse since Roman times), chocolates, and other local sweets sold here. At the charming café next door you can enjoy your selection with tea or coffee; there's also a small menu of savory lunch dishes.

If you have a car and feel like a long, leisurely lunch or dinner in the countryside, this leafy spot 7 km (4 miles) from Aix is a good choice. On nice days, you can sip the local wines under tall plane trees and take in the bucolic views before enjoying fresh local specialties prepared with care and precision. On cooler days, having a meal in the pretty dining room or atrium is almost as pleasant as dining en plein air. Afterward, you're welcome to try your hand at pétanque court over a digestif. If the local wines have proven too tempting, you can stay at the on-site Gaogaïa Hotel.

Villeneuve’s go-to brunch spot also serves gourmet breakfasts, lunches, and afternoon teas, all featuring meticulously prepared dishes. It's open nonstop from 9 am till 6 pm (breakfast ends at 11 am) and has seating in a contemporary dining room and a spacious garden. The building also houses La Régence bed-and-breakfast.

If you're hankering after a great coffee, you can't go wrong at this chic café in the up-and-coming Saint-Lambert village district of the city.

This restaurant, bistro, pastry and chocolate shop, tea salon, bar, boutique, and olive-oil mill all wrapped into one is set in a 650-year-old stone building. The enclosed garden is a go-to place in town for lunch or dinner as well as for coffee and dessert or after-dinner drinks. Oh, and did we mention there’s a spa, too?

The scent of roasting coffee emanates from this popular spot on the lively Canébière, Marseille's central spine. The coffee is good, but the hot chocolate is famous (it's so thick you may need a spoon to finish it); enjoy either option and a homemade pastry at the counter, alongside locals sharing the day's gossip.