6 Best Sights in France

On the tree-lined Cours du XXX-Juillet, not far from the banks of the Garonne and the main artery of the Esplanade des Quinconces, you'll find the Maison du Vin de Bordeaux and its École du Vin. Run by the CIVB (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux, which oversees the Bordeaux wine trade), this school offers two-hour wine appreciation workshops (€39) as well as intensive programs and summer courses for professionals. The on-site Bar à Vin is a good place to sample and buy reds (like Pauillac or St-Émilion), dry whites (like an Entre-Deux-Mers, Graves, or Côtes de Blaye), and sweet whites (like Sauternes or Loupiac). This can be particularly useful when trying to decide which of the 57 wine appellations to focus on during your trip.

It's within these walls that Cézanne and his schoolmate Emile Zola discussed their ideas. Cézanne received his baccalauréat cum laude here in 1858 and went on to attend a year of law school to please his father.

In a striking modern edifice designed by architect Kengo Kuma in the Forum Culturel (which includes the Pavillon Noir dance center), the Darius Milhaud Music Conservatory celebrates the music of Marseille's native composer, who spent several years of his childhood in Aix and returned here to die. Milhaud (1892–1974), a member of the group of French composers known as Les Six, created fine-boned, transparent works influenced by jazz and Hebrew chant. Aix has yet to make a museum of his memorabilia, but you can visit during its eclectic series of student performances, jazz and classical concerts, and dance recitals.

Peek into this noble institution on Rue de l'École de Médecine, next door to Cathédrale St-Pierre. Founded in the 13th century and infused with generations of international learning (especially Arab and Jewish scholarship), it is one of France's most respected medical schools and Europe's oldest active one. Guided tours (€15) can be reserved at the tourist office.

This ornately decorated mansion houses the Institut d'Études Françaises (Institute of French Studies), where foreign students take French classes. During the Festival d'Aix in July, the hotel's courtyard is used for a series of classical concerts.

Unless your French is good enough to justify joining a 90-minute group tour (€15, by online reservation only when on offer), you can't get into the city's most famous university without a student ID—but it's still fun to hang out with the young scholars. Although La Sorbonne remains the soul of the Quartier Latin, it is only one of several campuses that make up the public Université de Paris.