By Gregory Gaultier
My club is Set Squash Aix-en-Provence. It’s a bit outside the city. It has eighteen tennis courts, twelve squash courts, four paddle courts, three swimming pools, two restaurants and one golf course. It’s an amazing club.
What I like in Aix-en-Provence is that you can do everything walking. There are a lot of streets with no cars allowed, shops, restaurants, beautiful architecture and good weather—most of the time. Aix-en-Provence is also just thirty minutes to the beach.
My favorite restaurant is called Yamato, one of the best Japanese restaurants in France. I get coffee and cakes at Salon de the Riederer. I like Le Splendid, a busy bar at the end of Cours Mirabeau, the main avenue in the city where I like to walk.
During the summer, we have the market on the main avenue everyday. I also like to go to Place des Quarts d’Heure. It is a district with lots of different restaurant choices and terraces where you can eat outside during winter and summer.
The best hike is to go all the way up to Mountagne Sainte-Victoire. It is not an easy walk—maybe one hour—but has an amazing view. Paul Cezanne painted it many times: he could see it from his house in Aix. I sometimes bike for two or three hours outside the city. It is beautiful countryside with a few nice hills.
The one thing people sometimes don’t know about Provence is les calissons d’Aixone. That’s the almond biscuit you eat with your coffee that is traditional in Aix. I love calissons.
