He was the father of us all,” said Picasso. Nothing less. And it was the light, colours and rugged shapes of Provence that inspired him... notably the Mont Ste Victoire, which rears mightily to the east of Aix. Paul Cézanne painted it 87 times.

But Cézanne and his home town, Aix-en-Provence, never really got along. It would have been astonishing if they had. The whole point of great artists is to challenge those certainties that it is the whole point of provincial towns to embody. Every genius has home-town rejection in his biography, and Aix played its role perfectly in Cézanne’s.

Local worthies didn’t get the hang of his art at all. They refused his works at the museum, refused to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth and refused to help save his studio for posterity. That was left to American cash. The fact that the artist was a notably asocial grump did not, of course, help.

It is, however, equally traditional that townsfolk eventually realise their error. Aix hasn’t disappointed on this score, either. It’s been reclaiming Cézanne for some time now, a process that hits its zenith this year, the 100th anniversary of his death. Suddenly, Aix is all Cézanne.

Forgotten the calumny; bring on the star. The Musée Granet is holding a large Cézanne en Provence exhibition from June 9 to September 17. It will be one of the European art events of the year. Before that, the newly reopened museum is offering a multimedia intro to the artist and his work, from March 4. April sees the opening of Cézanne-related sites in and around town, and the start of a season of special events.

We are also being urged to tour Aix, the immediate countryside and spots beyond — Gardanne, L’Estaque — where Cézanne lived and painted. If you admire Cézanne, the urging will be unnecessary. If you don’t, this is an elegant city in an engrossing landscape that you will appreciate whether or not you can tell cubism from a side of beef. Here is our two-day guide to the artist in Provence.

DAY ONE, morning

Kick off with a town walk around the key Cézanne sites. This tells you little about art, but there’s a keyhole pleasure in seeing the chap’s territory. It’s also a purposeful way of getting round Aix — a place that’s been brainy and stylish since the late Middle Ages.

Get the Cézanne leaflet from the tourism office on Place Général de Gaulle and you’re off, past the house where he was born and the one in which he died, his old schools and the Musée Granet, where he learnt to draw. In 1896, its curator, Auguste-Henri Pontier, spurned the artist’s offer of 100 of his canvases. Speaking for the Aix majority, Pontier swore: “Never in my lifetime will one of his works enter here.” Which is why, aside from the show, the place is so poor in Cézanne originals.

The Cours Mirabeau, Aix’s defining axe, is as grandiose now as it was in Cézanne’s time. With fountains, trees and width, it speaks of prosperity and the self-confidence of the cultured. Soon, you’ll find yourself in the older quarter; towards the top, opposite the cathedral, is the law school where Cézanne studied until his mega-rich dad said he could stop and be an artist. Surprisingly for a famously mean man, he also granted his son an allowance, so Cézanne never had to do the starving-in-a-garret bit.

Talking of starving, it’s lunchtime. Head to the town hall, where the Forum des Cardeurs is alive with bistros. Try Le Bouchon Provençal, at No 10 (from £12.50).

DAY ONE, afternoon

Now we quicken the pace, getting to grips with spots where Cézanne tangled with his muse. (And, boy, did he tangle. He painted so slowly that he had to bring in paper flowers because real ones kept dying on him.) But we’re in for an exhilarating time, first at the Jas de Bouffan — the family’s mini manor-house home, and Cézanne’s base, for 40 years.

Times recommends

• Friday: latest flight and airport news
• Ski guide school in Whistler
• The best festivals in France, 2010