Mr & Mrs Smith

The crispy pizzas come stacked with fresh ingredients at La Manne Céleste on Le Grand Chemin (+33 0(4) 92 75 05 70). Dine on the terrace at La Bastide de Moustiers, the award-winning Alain Ducasse-owned country-house hotel located at Chemin de Quinson in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie (+33 (0)4 92 70 47 47). La Bonne Etape at Chemin du Lac, Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban, is another pretty Provençal hotel with a gastronomic restaurant and a second, equally appetising eatery. If you like what’s on your plate, you can request a cookery class at the hotel (+33 (0)4 92 64 00 09).

There’s a sprawling market in Forcalquier every Monday, and a Sunday market at Chateaux-Arnoux-Saint-Auban. Expect gloriously bulbous organic fruit and veg, fresh-from-the-oven baguettes, and enough agricultural tools for Old McDonald and his farm. For scenic vistas, visit Sisteron, a commune located between two long mountain ridges – there’s an ancient citadel to explore, winding narrow streets and a 12th-century cathedral. Ask the hotel nicely and they will pack you a picnic before you head out. If staying in a converted convent has awakened your spiritual side, head to the Abbey of Our Lady of Ganagobie, where a daily mass is sung in Gregorian chant, from 3pm–5pm. Having explored the local area, spend a day or two simply enjoying this beautiful hotel, with treatments at the L’Occitane spa, games of tennis, pétanque and pool, a romantic promenade through the garden’s aromatic 15 acres, a perusal of some tomes in the library and a dip in both the pools.

October Listen to established and emerging musical talent at Aix-en-Provence’s Festival of French Song, with concerts in venues such as the Grand Théâtre de Provence (www.festival-chanson-francaise.com). September As part of the nationwide Tasting Week, the Haute-Provençal town of Forcalquier stages a day dedicated to gourmet gorging, promoting local specialities, including truffles, honey, olive oil and pungent goat’s cheese (+33 (0) 4 92 73 02 57). November–December Admire Provence’s tiny clay santon figurines, each one carved and painted to resemble a character from the nativity, at the Santons Fair in l’Avenue Victor-Hugo (www.aixenprovencetourism.com). December Take your pick of sweet treats including fig honey and wine-soaked nougat from stalls laden with cakes, at Aix’s Le Marché des 13 Desserts, in the Place Jeanne d'Arc.