Practical information about Bouches-du-Rhône

LIFE'S LITTLE PLEASURES: Oh, divine olive! Oh, blessed fruit! Olives are turned into oil that is so good for your health and the main ingredient in local dishes.

- Waiter, a pastis please! It's refreshing, joyful and convivial. In fact, since it was invented in the 1930s, it's become the star of the pre-dinner drinks trolley.
- Make sure you taste a chichi frégi, a light doughnut flavoured with olive oil and orange flower water.
- A bouquet of herbs. Real "herbes de Provence" consist of a blend of thyme, rosemary, bay and savory or marjoram.
- The initial flavour from a Calisson comes from sweet Provencal almonds before finally releasing the slightly stronger taste of bitter almond.

GOOD WINES There are no less than a dozen "AOC" products here (registered designation of origin)

- Aix-en-Provence olive oil and black olives, crushed olives and olive oil from the Baux-de-Provence Valley.
- Wines: Côtes-de-Provence, Côtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, Palette, Baux-de-Provence and Cassis.
- Camargue beef (served in restaurants in the Arles area)
- Hay from Crau, used by horseracing stables, farms raising cattle, sheep and goats and, most importantly, in the production of AOC cheeses.
- A PGI (Protected Geographical Indication): Camargue rice.

PRETTY THINGS Pottery is a major feature of the economy in Bouches-du-Rhône, especially in Aubagne with its age-old ceramics studios. Jugs, cookware, santons and utilitarian pottery stand cheek by jowl with contemporary artistic designs.

- Provence is synonymous with fabrics, sold on market stalls and in specialist shops. Whether they're cottons, cashmeres or jacquards, they all reflect the colours of Southern France and recall the Far East, source of the earliest inspiration.
- In Aix, Tarascon, Fontvieille and Lançon, there are some worthy proponents of the craft of wrought ironwork for interior and exterior decoration.
- Marseille soap was a major local industry until the middle of the 20th century. It is made in accordance with an edict from Colbert, Minister of Finance in the 17th century, and is still making money today for a few companies in Marseille.