At last! The work on the Hotel Caumont is done and the grand opening is on May 6th.
The 300-year old building will make a fabulous venue for exhibiting 17-19th century art; the first expo is Canaletto, Rome, Londres, Venise. Plus, you can visit a recreation of Pauline de Caumont’s bedroom, see a newly-made film on Cézanne and dine in the restaurant which overlooks the garden at the back. What an exciting new gallery for Aix.
Details and tickets here: http://www.caumont-centredart.com/fr/evenements
The following day, Thursday 7th May, sees the opening of Sm’art the annual sale of paintings, sculptures and photography with prices ranging from 50-10,000 euros. Last year, there were 21,199 visitors and 1,897 sales. It’s now the second largest art fair in France with 200 artists exhibiting.
This year, there’s a focus on Street Art.
You’ll find the fair in the Parc Jourdan, until 11th May; details are here: http://www.salonsmart-aix.com/
aixcentric 
I love seeing your posts. I lived in Aix en Provence as a child, I think it was only one year. I attended school there, and had to walk what seemed like miles through meadows to get there. I was probably six or seven, and I’m now 59, so it was a long time ago. the worst thing for me, having been born in the US, was that the toilets were outside, and there were only 3 walls, no door, so you had to do your business while staring at everyone else in line. needless to say it was quite traumatic for me. and i was always in trouble. american kids must talk more than french kids. i remember the teacher always saying, “les claques vont roulet Marie-France” and having to stand behind the rolling blackboards quite often!
It must have been like another world – Aix is so busy and trafficy these days. I was talking to a lady who came here in the 60s and remembers just parking casually in cours Mirabeau – those were the days!