Exchange Zones

The house is an ancient village house in the old town of Gardanne. It was first renovated in 1998 and in 2013 I renovated the floors and paintings (bamboo floors in the living room and one room).
The 75m2 flat is at the second floor under the roof, with a wide air-conditioned living room and open-plan kitchen (35m2), 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and toilets, and 2 terraces (10 and 20 m2).
Broadband internet, wifi, television, washing and dish machines, 2 ovens. Cellar with 4 bicycles. The car is parked in a closed garage at 800 m and can be included in the exchange (an air-conditioned Citroen Xsara).

Gardanne is located on the train line between Marseille (20mn) and Aix-en-Provence (8 mn). The station is a 7 mn walk. It is a 20 000 inhabitants small town, with a big, lively and colourful market 3 days a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
http://www.ville-gardanne.fr/Organisation-des-marches-forains
There is also a 3 halls cinema.
Gardanne was for a year the residence of the painter Cézanne and he made a couple paintings http://www.ville-gardanne.fr/Cezanne-s-site

Surroundings :

- Aix-en-Provence and the Sainte-Victoire mountain
Aix is an ancient Roman town with plenty to see : museums, shops, cafés, markets, and a smooth and casual ambiance at night. It hosts an international lyric art festival
http://www.festival-aix.com/
Sainte-Victoire is the nearby beautiful mountain so often painted by Cézanne
http://www.aixenprovencetourism.com/a-voir-que-faire/explorez/montagne-sainte-victoire/

- Marseille
. Mucem : the new « Musée pour l'Europe et la Méditerranée », open in 2013 when Marseille was elected european culture capital
http://www.mucem.org/fr/le-mucem/un-musee-pour-leurope-et-la-mediterranee
. Marseille islands : Château d'If et île du Frioul
http://www.marseille-tourisme.com/fr/decouvrir-marseille/marseille-ville-dart/le-chateau-dif-et-les-iles-du-frioul/
. Don't miss the Abbaye Saint-Victor : http://www.saintvictor.net/
. There are also guided tours with the town tourist office, check their website http://www.marseille-tourisme.com/fr/decouvrir-marseille/ (change language on the bottom right menu)

- Arles, la Camargue (1 hour drive) : the antique town of Arles is the location of the annual international photography meetings « Rencontres internationales de la photo »
http://www.rencontres-arles.com/Home

Seaside : it is a bit crowded around Marseille, I advise to drive to the east (Côte Bleue or Camargue) or towards the west in the Var region and its beautiful beaches (see below)
- the « coastal » Var : Hyères, its beaches and islands
Much better than Saint-Tropez where there's really nothing worth to see apart from gawking tourists ;-) I advise the Hyères region.
Iles d'Hyères (the golden islands)
http://www.hyeres.fr/les_iles_dor.html
Hyères tourist office :
http://www.hyeres.fr/index.html

The hinterlands and countryside :
After the somewhat crowded seaside you may enjoy the quieter hinterlands. Many destinations at one or 1,5 hour drive
- Vaucluse et Luberon : http://www.provenceguide.com/luberon-11-1.html
Don't miss here the « provençal colorado »
http://www.colorado-provencal.com/
http://www.provenceguide.com/sites-naturels/ocres-39-1.html
- Pays de Verdon, Haut-Var et Alpes de Haute-Provence
To me the Verdon river is a magic place, a must see. It's been classified national park
http://www.verdon-tourisme.com/
http://www.tourisme-alpes-haute-provence.com/verdon/

I stop here otherwise I'll be writing the blue guide all over again, but i love my region ;-)