aixcentric

Here’s a lovely thing to do on a sunny day – très insolite as the French would say.  To paint his beloved mountain, Cézanne used to leave his studio at Les Lauves and go up a nearby hill to set up his easel and start work.  It’s quite easy now to follow in his footsteps and share the wonderful view.

The hillside has been landscaped so you climb up honey-coloured stone steps, through gardens of lavender, rosemary and oleander.

At the top, there is a paved viewing area with 9 panels showing different versions of the mountain completed 1902-1906.  Today these are in Basel (2), Zurich (2), NY, Philadelphia, Princeton, Moscow and Kansas City….but we can enjoy the reproductions and of course we have THAT VIEW!

It’s a tranquil spot – we were alone there when we visited yesterday – and amazingly there are no modern buildings to spoil the vista that Cézanne loved to paint.

To find it, follow the Avenue Paul Cézanne right to the top of the hill.

 Look out for these signs which point out the stone steps leading to the park.  There is no parking so you have to find somewhere nearby. It’s served by the no 5 bus-stop = Les Peintres.