Aix-en-Provence Museums

Musée Arbaud

Paul Arbaud Bibliographical and Archaeological Museum. Located in an 18th-century house. Exhibits of books about Provence, paintings, sculpture, and regional porcelain.

Location: 2a Rue 4-Septembre

Tel: (33) 442 38 38 95

Open: 14h-17h; Closed: Sunday and holidays; Library open only Tue, Thur.

Fondation Vasarely

Vasarely Foundation. Easily recognizable, the building is made of large hexagonal structures, each facade alternating white-with-big-black-circle and black-with-big-white-circle. The buildings are on a hilltop with a fine view across Aix to the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, and surrounded by a large grassy park. A branch of the Fondation Vasarely is located in the village of Gordes.

Location: 1 Ave Marcel Pagnol, Jas de Bouffan, 13090; 2.5 km west of the center, just across the autoroute.

Tel: (33) 442 20 01 09; Fax: (33) 442 59 14 65

Open: 9h30-12h30, 14h-17h30; Closed: Tue.

Atelier Cézanne

Cézanne's Studio and Garden. Located outside the ramparts to the north, 500 m from the Cathedral.

Location: 9 Ave Paul Cézanne; 13090

Tel: (33) 442 21 06 53

Open: Jun-Sept 10h-11h50, 14h30-17h50; Oct-May 10h-11h50, 14h-16h50; Closed: Tue, holidays

Entry: about 3 euros

Musée Granet

Granet Museum. In the old priory of the Knights of Malta. Beaux Arts: An excellent collection of paintings, some acquired by the legacy of the Aix painter Granet (1775-1849), including Cézanne, Granet and Rubens. Archaeology: The museum has one of the finest pre-Roman collections in the South of France, including Celtic-Ligurian objects and statues from the original sites at Entremont and Aquae Sextiae (see Aix History).

Location: Place St-Jean-de-Malte (13 Rue Cardinale)

Tel: (33) 442 38 14 70

Open: daily 10h-12h, 14h-18h; Closed: Tue.

Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle

Natural History Museum. The collection of mineralogy and paleontology includes Provencal exhibits, and some dinosaur eggs from this region.

Location: 6 Rue Espariat

Tel: (33) 442 26 23 67; Fax: (33) 442 27 43 88

Open: 10h-12h, 14h-18h; Closed: Sunday morning

Entremont Oppidum Celto-Ligure

This iron-age fortified town stands on a hill with a good view. It's a large ares of fields and oak trees surrounding the excavations of the ancient town: scores of low stone walls deliniating small rooms, with more being excavated. It's interesting for fans of archeology, or for the calm nature, but not as a general tourist site.

Location: Plateau d'Entremont (3 km north; bus every half hour from Cours Sextius - "Credit Agricole"); driving, watch for a small road suddenly on the right.

Open: 9h-12h, 14h-18h; Closed: Tue; 1 Jan, 1 May, 1 Nov, 11 Nov, 25 Dec.

Fondation Saint John Perse

Saint John Perse's Foundation. Permanent exhibitions, library, study center.

Location: Cité du Livre, 8 Rue des Allumettes.

Tel: (33) 4; Fax: (33) 4

Open: Tue-Fri 14h-18h; Closed: Sat-Mon

Musée des Tapisseries

Tapestry Museum. Located in a 17th-century Bishop's palace, contains exhibits from Aix in the 19th century, and a series on Don Quichotte's life. Also has paintings and antique fasion furniture.

Location: 28 Place Martyrs de la Résistance (near the Cathedral)

Tel: (33) 442 23 09 91

Open: 10h-12h, 14h-17h45; Closed: Tue.

Musée Vieil Aix

Museum of Old Aix, in the 17th-century Hôtel d'Estienne de St-Jean. The collection of local items includes santons and marionettes.

Location: 17 Rue Gaston de Saporta

Tel: (33) 442 21 43 55; Fax: (33) 442 96 52 76

Open: Nov-Mar 10h-12h, 14h-17h; Apr-Sept 10h-12h, 14h30-18h; Closed: Mon. and October

Pavillon Vendôme

Paintings and furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Location: Rue Célony

Tel: (33) 442 21 05 78

Open: Summer 10h-12h, 14h-17h; Winter 10h-12h, 14h-18h; Closed: Tue.