Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
We've compiled the best of the best in Provence - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Claude and Dana Douard collaborated with some of the greatest chefs of our time before getting away from the big city lights to open this bistro–wine bar hot spot in the center of St-Rémy. The wine selection is magnificent, and so is the simple food—try the grilled sea bass with chorizo, mashed potatoes, and seasonal vegetables or the grilled Mont Ventoux spiced pork.
Run by two brothers, this convivial restaurant is well worth the five-minute drive outside Aix for a warm welcome, a menu of the best of French comfort food, and expertly chosen regional wines. Here you'll find classics such as coquilles St-Jacques (scallops) and magret de canard (duck breast) alongside vegetarian dishes like homemade gnocchi with roasted salsify, celery puree, and roasted walnuts. As wine glasses clink and the laughter resounds you’ll know you’ve arrived at everyone’s happy place.
This restaurant is worth a trip just outside town for such delights as sea bream with cherry tomatoes and flaxseed, a trilogy of goat and ewe cheeses with black-olive jam, or roasted pike perch with risotto. The bistro-Provençal interior and the terrace are the perfect settings for long, leisurely meals, and there are spectacular village views. In addition to several prix-fixe menus (from €30 to €49) there are many à la carte offerings.
The stylish, modern dark-wood interior and large windows overlooking the sea here are magnets for hip young professionals. The staff is efficient, and meals are well presented and tasty. Try the delicious bouillabaisse, the catch of the day (priced by the weight), or a bargain prix-fixe that includes three courses.
If you want a truly regional experience, take a seat on the shaded terrace of Restaurant Philip (circa 1926), enjoy the water views, and dig in to some cuisses de grenouille (frog's legs) or trout fished straight from the Sorgue River. Set apart from the other eateries, it's just before the trail to the spring. A three-course menu goes for only €37, and there's a decent regional wine list. Sandwiches, salads, and ice cream can be ordered next door at Bar Glacier.
In a leafy garden perched at the heights of Marseille, the stylish Sépia eatery and lively Julis terrace bar make the perfect stop on your descent from Sainte-Marie Majeure cathedral or after exploring the chic up-and-coming St-Victor neighborhood. Chef Paul Langlère sources local ingredients to create such masterful dishes as rich cuttlefish stew; poached cod with leeks braised in red wine; and, for dessert, the ethereal mille-feuille filled with pastis cream. At Julis, the local wines, craft beers, and gourmet plates are perfect on summer nights.
This favorite spot in the center of town draws crowds, especially after the morning market, for its excellent French comfort food with a twist. It's a great place to relax—inside the cheerful dining room or outdoors in the garden or under the 16th-century building's beautiful stone vaulting—and feast on rotisserie chicken with crispy frites, fresh oysters on the half shell, jumbo shrimp with mango and avocado, or a charcuterie plate.
Chef Ludovic Turac—a candidate on TV's Top Chef 2011 and one of the youngest Michelin-starred chefs in France—has evolved into a serious, mature, and highly appreciated local celebrity while at the helm of this now tried-and-true favorite. A Mediterranean menu changes every two months depending on what's in season. One standby is the creamy, fishy Milkshake de Bouille-Abaisse, a one-of-a-kind gourmand delight.
If wine and truffles are your thing, get thee to this temple of gastronomic bliss in the form of tuber melanosporum or aestivum, depending on the season. Fresh dishes at this lunch-only restaurant exalt the fungi-perfumed bounty of Provence. Start with a velvety pumpkin velouté with truffle butter followed by ravioli stuffed with succulent wild cèpes or a truffle-flecked omelet. Even the cheese course (truffled chèvre chaud) and desserts (caramelized apple with black truffle) are shroomy. Prices are reasonable, with a two-course €27 menu, and two three-course all-truffle menus for €47 and €59. Wines are a big deal here, too: the lovely 17th-century stone building serves as a school for oenephiles, a wine library, a museum, and a boutique where local wines can be purchased. Tastings and courses on wine and truffles are held daily; check website for details.
