Café Lumière

31 Rue du Maréchal Joffre

Having shown the ‘Luynes Collection’ in the beautiful upstairs space at Café Lumière, we now consider the tight-knit group of volunteers at this not-for-profit café our friends. The sparkling jewel of this café is its glorious outdoors terrace, right next to the Musée Granet’s 20th-century gallery, which is the perfect place to sip one of their iced coffees (our favourite in Aix) and tuck into a slice of cheesecake. Managed by a South African family (among many wonderful volunteers), Café Lumière is also famous for their Rooibos lattes, as well as offering apéritifs in the evening.

Le Moulin des Artistes

36 Place des Tanneurs

This bakery in Aix is famous for its slightly unusual pastries - and for good reason. From raspberry-striped croissants to salted caramel pastry knots, there is something new for everyone to savour here, and a decent café allongé to go with it. We are thrilled now that the terrace has reopened, and you can often find us having a morning meeting at one of their outdoor tables. The ever-smiling owner is one of our favourite faces in Aix.

Pop Pop Bistrot

44 Place des Tanneurs

Situated right next door to the aforementioned Moulin, Pop Pop is our go-to anytime we are in dire need of a caffeine fix. Our team is in agreement that Aix’s best espresso can be found here, and they also serve fantastic cocktails for when we’re celebrating a team achievement. You can usually find us sprawled in the lounge chairs by the front door!

Chez Biscote et Biscotte

10 Rue Gaston de Saporta

If you’ve ever lived in France, you will be familiar with the twice-weekly despair of waking up on Sundays AND Mondays to a city full of closed shops and cafés. Somehow, every week, we manage to forget, again, and we end up at the saviour of the early week - Chez Biscote et Biscotte, which is open both of these days. They are always ready to dispense urgently-needed espresso and they have a great range of reliable and tasty pastries and baguettes. Merci for getting us to Tuesday each week!

Mana

14 Rue Courteissade

We cannot wait to visit Mana’s new, larger location on Rue Courteissade when it opens later this month because, as the only place to get a true flat white (with Oatly, even!), we would struggle to get by without Mana in Aix. On the days when the French just isn’t flowing, the staff are kind enough to chat away in English until one of their signature sun-yellow cups is nestled in your hand. The brownies are absolutely fantastic, too.

There are so many excellent cafes in Aix! Which ones are your favorites?

Un café à Aix: Our team's favourite spots in the city