Arles
Go to the nearby Abbaye de Montmajour. While the most spectacular abbaye is Thoronet, this one is close and easy.
Aix
The famous Argentine chef Francis Mallmann has a place at Château La Coste. Make sure that the Cezanne works are in town because they travel a lot and the other stuff in the museums isn’t so wonderful.
Avignon
Take a day trip to Orange on a Thursday for their fab market and see the oldest theater in the world, built for the Greek drama around 200 BCE.
Check out the food at La Table du Ventoux or Crillon le Brave.
Burgundy
Have a drink and buy some cases of wine at Caveau de Puligny-Montrachet. The owner Julien Wallerand can help you choose. 1 Rue de Poiseul, 21190 Puligny-Montrachet, +33 6 7370 5274
Here are a few eateries that are authentic, relatively inexpensive, and recommended by locals.
- Beaune: La Ciboulette
- Gevrey-Chambertin: Chez Guy
Carcassone
Definitely stay inside the walls at the fabulous Hôtel de la Cité. It’s worth the extra bucks.
Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
Go early to the market on Sunday or Thursday because you can’t even walk after 10:30.
Lyon
To prep for your visit, I recommend one show & one book (both particularly good if you are a foodie):
- Anthony Bourdain’s Lyon episode
- Dirt, by Bill Buford, where he moves to Lyon with his family to work as a chef
As noted in the blog, the class of restaurants called bouchons are a great deal, especially for the classic dishes like quenelles, civet de joue porc, ris de veau, or tarte praline.
- Daniel et Denise a smooth operation in several locations
- Café Comptoir Abel the oldest bouchon, a total classic
- Le Canut et les Gônes Inventive
- La Mère Brazier Founded in the 1920s by the woman who put Lyon on the map as a food Mecca.
The tourist traps of Vieux Lyon are forgettable. The basilica on top of the Fourvière hill has only its view and it’s not even old. The Roman amphitheater is nothing compared to Orange or others around Provence.
Visit the Maison des Canuts (Silk Workers House) in the Croix Rousse neighborhood. The silk workers who came from Italy in the 1400-1500s are why the older parts of the city have Italian Renaissance architecture.
Marseille
A bullet train will bring you in and out without the usual parking hassles so if you plan to focus on Marseille and not dine in e.g. Cassis, just do that.
- Bouillabaisse at Chez Fonfon 140 Rue du Vallon des Auffes 13007
- Fab food with a view: Peron 56 Cor Président JF Kennedy 13007
- Pastry of Sylvain Depuichaffray 66, rue Grignan 13001
Orange
The Roman Theater is the oldest ancestor of Broadway I’ve ever seen.
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
While the Saint-Paul Asylum of Van Gogh fame is interesting, it is the Roman City of Glanum across the street that really is amazing.
I’m not ignoring Gordes, Nimes, or Uzès, all of which merit your attention, but this is not intended to be an encyclopedia.
Chess
Here is a list of the chess clubs in France sorted by number of members.