Much of life in Aix-en-Provence revolves around food, where people enjoy taking the time to sit outdoors savoring a meal in the sun, eating at a leisurely pace or sipping a drink with friends on a café terrace. There’s an emphasis on using local ingredients and you’ll find a mix of traditional and experimental meals.

Carve out some time to sit back and relax while you eat your way through your semester or year abroad in the “City of a Thousand Fountains”. Don’t miss the five flavors from our list below:

1.    CALISSONS. There’s no other food that says “Aix-en-Provence” as obviously as this sweet diamond-shaped treat! This local specialty has been around for many centuries and even has a (PGI) Protected Geographical Indication status. It’s traditionally made of ground almonds and candied melons mixed with syrup and orange blossom water on a thin wafer base and topped with icing. You can try variations too, made with lemon, fig or chocolate or try one of the more recently invented bolder creative combinations like verbena and citrus or raspberry and matcha tea.

2.    OLIVE OIL. Olive oil is a staple ingredient in this area, as in all Mediterranean cuisine. It’s used in cooking, on salads, or for dipping bread. Specifically, seek out Huile d'olive d'Aix-en-Provence for a true local olive oil experience. The olives used in the production of the oil must be of the Aglandau, Cayanne and Solonenque varieties. If you’re there in early to mid-December, be sure to attend the annual Olive Oil Festival (Fete de l'huile d'olive d'Aix-en-Provence) where you can experience olive oil tastings as well as other foods made from the olive oil, like tapenades and biscuits.

3.    OLIVES. You’ll spot olive trees everywhere around this region where they like the clay soil in the hillsides and thrive in the sun, so of course, alongside the oil, a popular food is the actual olives themselves. Look for Olives noires de la Vallée des Baux de Provence which are short dark olives with a wide base or Picholine olives which taste great marinated in herbs. Try them on their own or in a salad.

4.    SEA SALT. There’s a traditional French sea salt that comes from nearby Camargue in Provence where crystals are raked by hand and harvested early morning from the water during the summer by the “sauniers”. It’s a crunchy salt called Fleur de sel de Camargue and it adds a tasty layer to everything from fish to salad to meat.

5.    TRUFFLES. More than 80% of the truffles produced in France come from Provence, so it’s a popular flavor in the area and can be found in everything from soup to vegetables to scrambled eggs to butter and beyond. There are truffle markets in the region where they are sold straight of the backs of producers’ vans, truffle festivals, and experiences set up for travelers that teach you about truffle hunting techniques with tastings at the end. It’s a delicacy very much engrained in the local culture and food scene.

There are many other delicious, interesting and unusual foods to try when you study abroad in Aix-en-Provence: tapenade (made of olives, capers, anchovies, garlic and herbs), local honey, bouillabaisse (fish stew), daube de boeuf (beef stew), tarte tropézienne (a cream-filled cake made from a sugar brioche, figs and baguettes to name a few. Bon appetit!

Have pics of something you’ve eaten abroad that you can’t easily find at home? Tag us on Instagram at @ASAStudyAbroad or #AwayWithASA. We’d love to see!