Villa Gallici

The Villa Gallici is situated on the northern hills of Aix-en-Provence, 5 minutes’ walk from the Cathédrale-Saint-Sauveur and the city historic centre.

Even though it seems as if the Villa Gallici has always been here, it is only of recent construction. In 1991, it was just an orchard and a small house of 300m2. It is now a beautiful mansion dating from the XVIIIth century.

Hidden in a lavender and oleander bouquet where cicadas chirp, the two hundred years of Provencal wind and sun have given this Villa a faded honey colour.
It is only natural that the Villa Gallici has tainted itself a Provencal accent, mixed with a strong Italian influence, as Aix en Provence holds the evocative name of “little Florence”.

The pool in the shade of a century old cypress of the Florence garden, is lit by old-fashioned fire flies. The rooms that have terraces or gardens are enclosed with Joy cloths and Vichy tiles. The abundant fabrics were preciously selected from collections of great editors such as Canovas, Braquenier, Frey, Nobilis, Souleiado. The lounge is bright and luminous, the colour yellow reminding us one again of the presence of the sun and is the interior reflection of outside life by excellence. The sun fades elegantly and softens the summer light just as it warms up the rooms’ atmosphere as winter arrives. At tea time, there flows a nostalgic emanation of lavender.

Driving right into the heart of Provence, it’s also toasting the flavour of its cuisine : tapenade olives, anchovies, basil, thyme and rosemary, as well as peppers, ratatouille that come to enlighten your plates. The restaurant offers a Provencal menu.

Relais & Châteaux portraits quality and hospitality. To meet and reward those professional members of the associations, who have showed the most promise, a « Welcome Trophy » is handed out every year. And it was with pride and humility that the villa Gallici kindly accepted this award in 1998.

In fact, the welcome is as friendly as the atmosphere is intimate. An XVIIIth century Italian spirit has caught on in perfect harmony that has not excluded the five “C”’s which Relais &Chateaux devotes itself to : Courtesy, Charm, Character, Calm and Cuisine.

Right from the day the Villa opened ; the international clientele rapidly charged itself of giving the hotel a serious renown. Line Renaud, Carole Bouquet, Julien Clerc, Pierre Arditi, Eddy Mitchell, Hugh Grant, Gérard Lanvin or Sharon Stone to name a few ! During the lyrical arts festival you can meet some of the greatest conductors and artists.

Actors, singers, screenwriters and producers have visited and sat in the sweet Provencal coloured lounges. Once autumn comes around, scores of filmmakers present their movies in preview in Aix en Provence, and it is only natural that they come to sleep in the rooms of the Villa Gallici.

The Villa Gallici belongs to the Italian hotel group Baglioni Hotels which owns eight five star establishments in Italy, located in Milan, Verona, Bologna and Venice, including the Cala del Porto hotel. The hotel offers 22 rooms fully decorated in the Provençal/Italian style. All rooms are equipped with flat screen TV, mini-bar, a safe and air conditioning. Decoration was completed by three former proprietors: Gil Dez, Daniel Jouve and Charles Montemarco.