The Pavillon de Vendome is a graceful seventeenth-century folly hidden behind a high wall on the northwest edge of the old town. A formal garden of clipped box and gravel paths leads up to a small classical pavilion with two muscular caryatids holding up the central balcony — the work of the local sculptor Jean-Claude Rambot.
Inside is a low-key museum of French eighteenth-century interiors with Provencal furniture, faience, and family portraits, and a programme of small contemporary art shows. The real attraction is the garden — it is one of the few in central Aix where you can sit with a book in the shade for free, and it makes a perfect breather after a morning at the markets.