The Mont Sainte-Victoire is the eastern horizon of Aix, a thousand-metre limestone ridge that lights up white at midday and turns deep pink at sunset. The mountain dominated Cezanne's vision for forty years; you can see why the first time the trees of the Cours Mirabeau part and the ridge appears at the end of a street.
The classic hike up starts from Les Cabassols and follows the Imoucha track to the cross at the summit — about three hours up if you are reasonably fit, with no shade and serious heat in summer (go in spring or autumn). For an easier visit, drive the D17 round the southern flank, stop at the village of Saint-Antonin-sur-Bayon and the Croix de Provence viewpoint, and end at the medieval village of Vauvenargues, where Picasso is buried in the grounds of the chateau he bought in 1958.