The Best Cafés in Aix-En-Provence & Which Ones To Avoid!

Despite it’s small size, Aix-en-Provence has no shortage of cafés to choose from… There’s a café for the best coffee, pastry, or even to hang out with cats, Aix has your café needs covered!

But just like any big city they also have their fair share of bad cafés! So which are the best cafés in Aix en Provence? And which are the ones to avoid at all costs?

Here’s the ultimate guide to cafés in Aix. Find the best places to go depending on what you’re looking for!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Understanding The Cafe Aix En Provence Scene

The Cafe scene in Aix en Provence is not what you’re used to in North America or even the rest of Europe. You know, the working in a café scene. Bring your laptop, order a coffee, and enjoy café vibes for an hour or so.

Cafés in Aix aren’t even like the cafe scene in Brussels either where all the cafes are really bars! Work and beer anyone!?

No, cafés in Aix en Provence are all about the brunch scene. Cafés are so big on serving extravagant brunches (not just on weekends) that they may not even have WiFi!

If You Want To Work In A Work Coffee Shop In Aix…

Our whole raison d’être for being in Aix was to work from home and travel the South of France. We didn’t exactly want to work in our Airbnb all day so we did find ways around the Aix Café brunch scene.

So if you are interested in working in a café in Aix it’s still doable you just have to take certain precautions when you go.

You can work at an Aix café that serves brunch if plan your timing appropriately. For example, you just have to avoid going around lunchtime (which in Aix happens to be anywhere from 12:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.)! Unfortunately, 12:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. are typically crucial work hours… so you might have to adapt your schedule while in Aix en Provence.

With this in mind, I can’t stress enough, asking before sitting down in any café in Aix if it’s alright if you work there. This way they can’t get angry when you pull out your computer (we had some dagger eyes sent our way before realizing the whole Aix brunch scene was so important!).

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Working At Coffee Shop Proper Etiquette

If you are planning on working at cafés, I cannot stress enough the importance of ordering consistently. You are taking up a precious table where they can most likely serve someone knew once an hour or so!

Please don’t be one of those people that take-up a table for 4 + hours and only order one coffee when you walked in. These are mostly local businesses that are just trying to make a living!

Our rule of thumb was after every hour we would reassess – either we order something else or we’d leave. It was that simple!

What To Order In Coffee Shop Aix En Provence?

If you want to fit in with the locals at the cafés in Aix, the thing to order is a noisette.  When we first saw this on the menu under the coffees, we were so excited because we thought it was a hazelnut flavoured coffee because noisette is hazelnut in French. 

But, it’s pretty much just a macchiato (an espresso shot with a spoonful of milk added). I guess this is just the French version…?

But you really can’t go wrong with what you order in a café in Aix!

Best Cafés Aix En Provence

The Best All-Around Café In Aix: MANA

Mana was by far our favourite all-around café in Aix en Provence. This local favourite had relaxed vibes when you walk in and the best coffee! It’s obvious they know their coffee; they roast and grind their own. Plus, they made beautiful latte art!

It’s one of the few cafes in town that would also let you work (off of lunch hours of course). But talking about brunch, they actually have one of the biggest (and best) brunch scenes in the city! It’s also completely vegetarian with vegan options.

If you want a spot at brunch you have to make a reservation at least a few days before (and that was during low season it might even be longer during high season)!

The café itself is quite small though, so whenever we went there we always had to have a backup plan in case they were full.

Order Delicious Iced Tea At COLDE

COLDE was our second spot if Mana was full. COLDE isn’t too big either but it was a good workspace (the staff was always very friendly with us working there!).

Like most cafés in Aix, they have delicious homemade desserts and also play a mean brunch game (check it out on Instagram!), although we didn’t have time to make it there for brunch. 

What stood out for me here was their large tea selection. I loved their cold brew blueberry tea with mint leaves!

Pastry Perfection At Weibel!

Weibel isn’t new to the café scene. In fact, they’ve been perfecting their pastries since 1954.

Along with pastries that are to die for, they serve a delectable brunch and the best afternoon tea I’ve ever been to. Weibel is the perfect place if you want to pop in for a quick pick me up in the afternoon, buy a pastry to go, or have a nice break!

Their afternoon tea is such a reasonable price, shared between two people. What I love is that you each got your own pot of tea so you could technically try two different teas between the two of you.

Plus, it didn’t hurt that they had an amazing selection of tea. It was all from Palais du Thé, so if you like what you tried you can go across the street and buy some to bring home. 

No Wifi But Great Vibes: Book In Bar

This was the most reasonably priced café I think we ever saw. They served the biggest  matcha latte I saw for one of the lowest prices, and it wasn’t half bad!

Book in Bar in Aix is a mix between a bookstore and a café. But, it’s not a French bookstore, this is where you’ll find all your English reads in the city (they do have some in other languages too, but it’s meant to be a British bookstore!).

Being surrounded by books, it has a cozy and quiet atmosphere (there’s no music playing) that would be an amazing workspace in theory. Unfortunately, there’s no WiFi! We were so upset… But, if you have enough data you can still come here with a mobile hotspot. Or even bring a book to read (or buy one there!).

Meow Cat Café Aix

A city isn’t complete without a cat café, and Aix is no different. This is the café where cats roam free! Th cat café Aix is towards the edge of the city centre, so it isn’t as busy which means there’s usually always room despite it’s smaller size.

You don’t come here for the coffee or pastries, it’s really all abut the cats and the entertainment they give. The staff let us work there, and there were also some games you could play.

This was the first cat café I’d been to so I didn’t know what to expect. The cats were adorable, but slept a lot! So they kept to themselves for the most part.

The Starbucks Of Aix: Columbus Café

Columbus Café is really a North American café in Aix. It’s big, busy, but you’ll always get a seat and a consistent (mediocre) brew. There’s also no doubt that you can work here, but you might not be the most productive because you’re quite packed in and it’s loud. 

If you’re visiting Aix over the weekend, when all the other café spots are serving brunch, this might be your best option (especially if it’s raining, then there’s nowhere else to go really!). 

Other Cafés in Aix

La Petit Reserve

We ran into a few issues with La Petit Reserve café in Aix which is why it isn’t on my main list of best cafés Aix en Provence. I feel like it has a lot of potential and really enjoyed it the one time we went there.

It just seemed like they were never open. Even when the hours online said they were supposed to be open… they wouldn’t be. Not really sure what that was about. 

The one time they were actually open, we had a good experience. The coffee was good, although we did find it a bit pricey. 

Le Tuyau

I was so disappointed with Le Tuyau. It was around the corner from our place in Aix and their Instagram looked like they had drinks that were to die for!

When we walked in, they were empty, maybe 2 tables were full (and it’s quite large space compared to other cafés in Aix). When we asked if we could do some work here they forced us to sit at the bar… in the back… with no light… and no space.

These were clearly the worst seats in the entire place. More importantly, we had to sit on stools.  I don’t know about you, but I hate sitting on any seats without back support.

So, we were a bit upset with this treatment so decided not to hang around. It also had a really strong cheese smell there… it was far from an enjoyable experience but yours might be better!

Yasumi Matcha Café Aix En Provence

It’s a no brainer, if you want Matcha, don’t go anywhere else! I was expecting it to be a bit cheaper than it was, but still delicious!

Avoid The AntiCafé In Aix At All Costs!

The AntiCafé is a good idea in theory but just WAY too expensive for what they’re offering. The point is that this is the optimal working space so you pay by the amount of time you’re there instead of what you order (it’s bottomless coffee and tea). 

I’ve seen these in Montreal, but for half the price. At the price that they want you to pay it never made any sense to go there over another cafe.

So it was €10 for one hour… that’s more than two cappuccinos an hour. You’re also not getting the best coffee here let alone a cappuccino. So you’d have to order more than two coffees an hour to make going there even worth it. That’s way too much coffee for my liking!

Honourable Mention: The Méjanes Library

So this isn’t exactly a café but if you are looking for an optimal workspace, there’s no better place than a library.

They have WiFi, you can log onto the city wifi for free. There are a limited number of good seats though with access to an outlet – so make sure to come fully charged just in case.

Of course, you always need a pick me up while working so don’t worry there’s a coffee vending machine that you can get your fix from. Or, you can go to the restaurant across the street, Le Bistrot Méjanes. You can even bring it back into the library if you want, or take a break and sit on the outdoor patio.

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• Discover Aix-en-Provence: The South of France Hidden Gem
• What To Do In Aix-en-Provence On Sunday

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