Around the mountain, vines, villages and calanques

Puyloubier and the wine route

East of Beaurecueil, the Route Cézanne runs into the vines. Puyloubier, backed against the massif, has more than a thousand hectares of vineyards, the largest in the Bouches-du-Rhône, at the heart of the Côtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire appellation. The rosés are taut and fresh, the reds deeper than you might expect.

A few estates to know: Domaine de Saint Ser, at the foot of the mountain on the Route Cézanne; Château Gassier in Puyloubier; Château Coussin, a little further south towards Trets; Domaine Richeaume, organic since it was founded in the 1970s; and Mas de Cadenet in Trets, in the same family for generations. Most welcome visitors at their cellar door; for a tour of the cellars, call ahead.

Château La Coste, art among the vines

At Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, about thirty minutes away, Château La Coste is a wine estate turned art and architecture trail. On a two-to-three-hour walk through vines, olive groves and woods, you come across more than forty works and pavilions made for the site by Tadao Ando, Louise Bourgeois, Frank Gehry, Oscar Niemeyer and Tracey Emin, among others.

Go on your own with a map, or join a two-hour guided tour. The ground goes up and down: good shoes, a hat and water in summer. The estate has several restaurants for lunch on site.

Lourmarin, the gateway to the Luberon

Fifty minutes north, Lourmarin, listed among the most beautiful villages in France, opens onto the southern Luberon. Its Friday morning market, from 8 am to 1 pm, is one of the best known in the region; from April to October a growers’ market is also held on Tuesday evenings. The Château de Lourmarin is one of the first Renaissance buildings in Provence. Albert Camus lived in the village from 1958 and is buried in its cemetery.

Arrive before 9 am on Friday to park, then carry on to Cucuron or Ansouis, a few minutes away.

The sea: Marseille, Cassis and the calanques

Cassis is forty-five minutes away, Marseille forty. Between the two, the Calanques National Park unrolls its white cliffs and turquoise coves. En-Vau is about a two-hour walk from Cassis.

In high summer, the Sugiton calanque must be booked online, free of charge, a few days ahead on the National Park website; the rest of the massif follows the same fire-risk access rules as Sainte-Victoire. In May, June or September everything is simpler, and the water is already warm.

A week in Beaurecueil

1. Day 1Market and old town in Aix, home by the Route Cézanne.
2. Day 2Sunrise climb to the Croix de Provence, pool in the afternoon.
3. Day 3Puyloubier’s estates and lunch at the Relais de Saint-Ser.
4. Day 4Château La Coste, its art trail and dinner on site.
5. Day 5Lourmarin on a Friday, then Cucuron and Ansouis.
6. Day 6Cassis and the calanques, on foot or by boat.
7. Day 7Nothing. The terrace, the mountain, the pool.