The French cities of Marseille, Aix, Avignon and Arles boast a wealth of museums and festivals showing work by contemporary artists. Here\u2019s how to make the most of a dazzling cultural summer<\/p>\n
My wife and I moved from London to Marseille a little over five years ago when our British passports still conferred \u201cright to reside\u201d in France. That first winter on the beach, in short sleeves, as our daughters played in the topaz-coloured Mediterranean and the sun set across an ever-clear blue sky, I understood why this part of southern France has always been popular with artists.<\/p>\n
I was recently speaking about this with the painter Fanny Nushka<\/a> and her sailor husband, Beno\u00eet Bouchet, on the terrace of Caf\u00e9 la Muse<\/a> in Marseille\u2019s \u201ccoolest\u201d neighbourhood<\/a>. She said: \u201cIt took a long time to go back to blue. It\u2019s like being in Paris and painting the Eiffel Tower. It\u2019s dangerous to paint the Calanques [limestone coves] as an artist from here.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/99bb4a171062055b038ec77df2ceb4d2f08ec051\/504_0_9711_7768\/master\/9711.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4a98f302140feba335a896c2fe80bb51\" "\\"From")
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