Carrières de Lumières
In the middle of the magnificent Alpilles area, there is a small uphill town called Les Baux-de-Provence. It is famous for its two touristic highlights, the medieval Château and the Carrières de Lumières. You can spend a great family day in Les Baux-de-Provence when you combine both.
The Carrières, which is French for mines, show an interesting history. Its chalkstone was used to build the Roman Glanum as well as the Château. In 1800 the site was opened as a mine, in 1935 it was closed for business. The site was an inspiration for artists and in 2012 it was acquired for its current artistic purpose. And wow, somebody had a creative idea…
Since then the Carrières welcome an annual digital exposition of famous and meaningful painters. Projections of their paintings are put on the impressive walls of chalkstone, accompanied by music that even more enforces the show. My kids and I were lucky to have visited the exhibition of Vincent Van Gogh, La nuit étoilée. Wow, how we were blown away by al this beauty. Extra special about it is that Van Gogh has lived in the nearby town Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This true provençal town is really worth your visit too, you could check my enthusiastic blog about Saint-Rémy here.
A mix of Cezanne and Kandinsky
This spring we brought my hub to join us, just like us he was so impressed. From May 19th 2021 until January 2nd 2022 the Carrières host the show ‘Cezanne, le maitre de la Provence’. When you live in, or visit Aix-en-Provence, you must know that the city is very proud of its famous painter. His paintings are very diverse, from portraits, to still lives, to landscapes. I adore his paintings of the Sainte-Victoire, the iconic mountain of Aix-en-Provence. I do have to warn that the show is quite dark sometimes, so it might impress your kid not only in a cheery way. There is also another, smaller, exhibition of the artist Kandinsky. His art is maybe even more interesting for your kid, because he had an abstract way of painting and used very bright colors.
The Carrières are very popular so it can take some time to park your car (!) or to purchase your ticket. When you are a parent that is all organized (impressive!), it is wise to buy your tickets online. Kids under 7 years are for free.
Château des Baux-de-Provence
Like I wrote before there is a castle very nearby, Château des Baux-de-Provence, where all kinds of military equipments are shown. Like catapults for instance. Always interesting stuff for the little ones. Kids obtain a small booklet with some questions, even more interesting! So combine the two and you will experience a fun family day in Les Baux-de-Provence. See the website for the opening times of the castle.
Time to feed?
Experiencing hungry kids? No problemo! The Carrières have a snack corner and some table sets. You could also go up to the medieval village from where you enter the Château. You could find some nice terraces there, though the village itself I consider to be a typical tourist trap. But hey, sometimes you ARE just a tourist.
Just a little hint in case you are in for a more relaxing place to have lunch or dinner. Nearby is a tiny village named Maussane-les-Alpilles. This village is very small, but seems to host a lot of restaurants. Your kid will love to stretch its legs on the main square surrounding a fountain. We had a great lunch with pizza’s at the Piazza del Gusto, but we would like to come back to discover the other restaurants!
