The Ultimate city guide to Aix-en-Provence, France
City Life and Small-Town Charm
Aix-en-Provence has some of the good things about a big city and some of the bad things about a small town. In the first case, the streets, cafes along Cours Mirabeau, and squares of Old Aix are filled with a lot of life. In the second case, the typical benefits of a small town are that people pay a lot of attention to details, there is a lot of greenery to enjoy in the streets, and it is easy to walk from one place to another in a pleasant way.
Location and History
We are in the south of France, more specifically in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, about 30 minutes by car from Marseille.
About 150,000 people live in Aix-en-Provence, which has been around for almost 2,000 years. At first, it was a Roman military camp. In 123 AD, it got a new name. Acquae Sextiae is a name that makes you think of the city’s thermal role, which it still has today. In the Middle Ages, Aix became the capital of Provence. It kept that title until the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century, when it was moved to Marseille.
Natural Beauty and Cultural Heritage
Aix-en-Provence is in a hilly area about halfway between the Mediterranean coast and the Luberon Massif, which is a little farther north. The paintings of Paul Cézanne, the most famous person from Aix, made the Sainte-Victoire Mountains famous.
To get to the heart of Aix-en-Provence, you need to know about art, music, culture, and the university. The university center will bring a lot of young people and a lot of culture to a city that already has a lot of art. From the point of view of the painting, everything revolves around the figure of Cézanne, who was born and lived here. Emile Zola, who was born in Paris but lived here until he was 18 and studied and formatted, gave Aix its contribution to world literature.
The city has also given a lot to the world of music. The International Festival of Lyric Art (Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence) is one of the most important opera events in the world every year.
Exploring Aix-en-Provence
The City of Fountains
Aix-en-Provence is called “the city of a hundred fountains,” and it’s easy to see why when you walk through the streets of the city center. The Fontaine de la Rotonde in Place du Général de Gaulle is the largest and most well-known. It was built in 1860. Cours Mirabeau, the most famous street in the city, starts here. It is a tree-lined Parisian-style avenue flanked by beautiful Renaissance buildings called hôtels particuliers.
On Cours Mirabeau, there are also other fountains, such as the so-called “fountain of the moss” (fontaine moussue) or “Fontaine d’Eau Chaude,” which is completely covered in moss and filled with hot thermal water at 18°C. Still, there are other fountains in the center that are more or less unique, like the one in Place d’Albertas, which is surrounded by some very nice hotels that helped the square get the title of Monument Historique.
Exploring the Old City
To the north of the Corso, the streets of the old city, called the Vieil Aix, open up into a confusing maze. The Vieil Aix is full of shops, bars, and business activity, as well as beautiful old buildings, churches, and lovely squares. The Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur, which dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries and has a mix of styles, is the most important religious building. It is known for having great acoustics inside.
Quartier Mazarin
The Quartier Mazarin is the neighborhood that starts right south of Cours Mirabeau. It was built in the 1600s and is probably the most beautiful building in all of Aix-en-Provence. There are important historic buildings here, like the Hôtel de Caumont, which is a mansion from the 18th century that has been renovated and turned into a Center d’Art, which has become a center for exhibitions in the city. Place des Quatre Dauphins is also in the Mazarin district. It gets its name from a fountain from the 1600s that shows four dolphins. In the neighborhood is also the Musée Granet.
It is considered by many the most beautiful in France and houses works by Cézanne and Rembrandt. Still, it also signed an agreement in 2010 (Granet XXe) lasting 15 years from the Fondation Jean et Suzanne Planque in Lausanne as a repository of modern and contemporary artworks of the Swiss foundation. Outside the center, it is also possible to visit other museums: among these, we remember the Pavillon de Vendôme, the Fondation Vasarely, the Arbaud Museum, the Atelier Cézanne and the Museum of Natural History.
The whole area around the Cathedral is an exciting path of narrow streets crowded with shops. In Place de la Mairie stands the Town Hall, in French Hotel de Ville (1655-1670), of which you can admire the beautiful Italian-style facade, the carved wooden doors, and the beautiful internal courtyard. Outside dominates the Clock Tower, the ancient bell tower of the city with the astronomical clock built in 1661, on which the statues appear in succession that allegorically indicate the succession of the four seasons.
South of the square is the interesting Ancienne Halle aux Grains, the old grain market, while an antiques and flea market is held three times a week on the Place du Verdun. Aix is also a spa town: in the northern part of the historical center, the current Thermes Sextius, flanked by the 16th-century Tourreluque, were built on the foundations of the Roman baths of Aquae Sextiae. Archaeological excavations have revealed an ancient swimming pool that can be admired at the entrance to the new building.
The whole area south-west of the historic center has instead undergone a profound redevelopment in recent years: thus the Grand Théâtre de Provence was built next to each other, based on a project by the Italian Vittorio Gregotti, the Pavillon Noir, designed by the French Rudy Ricciotti and seat of the National Choreographic Center, the Darius Milhaud Conservatory building, designed by Kengo Kuma and the adjacent Mur d’eau, a wall of water – the largest in Europe with its 700 m² – active since 2014.
The waterfalls are on the southern slope of the bridge over the Avenue Max Juvénal, while on the north facade of the bridge, there is a green wall, designed in 2008 and made up of 20,000 plants.
Events
The mild climate of Provence allows you to visit Aix-en-Provence at any time: obviously, the sunny days are concentrated from mid-spring until early autumn.
Thanks to its artistic vocation, the agenda of Aix-en-Provence is full of cultural events throughout the year. The main one is the Festival International d’Art Lyrique which takes place in the Grand Théâtre between June and July and attracts thousands of visitors and guests.
Festival de Pâques
During the Easter period, the Festival de Pâques is celebrated, which involves the whole city, even if many events are held right inside the theater.
The Christmas period sees the city, particularly the historic center, completely transforms itself: the Christmas markets of Aix-en-Provence are the best known in the region, capable of attracting people from all over France and also from Italy.
On the first Sunday of September, the bénédiction des Calissons is celebrated: made with almond paste, the calisson is the typical specialty of Aix-en-Provence. A sweet biscuit whose tradition dates back many centuries, still today one of the city’s symbols.
How to get to Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence is easily reached from Italy. From Ventimiglia (210 km) by car, follow the A8 (E80) route, passing through Nice and Cannes.
Aix is located on the A8. The city of Aix-en-Provence is also connected to major French cities by the high-speed TGV line. By train, Paris is only 3 hours away, Milan 4 hours.
The bus station is located 500 meters from the center. The nearest airport for those traveling by plane is Marseille Provence Airport (Aéroport de Marseille-Provence), just 30 minutes away by car. From Italy, there are direct flights with Air France from Rome.
Where to eat and to sleep
Aix-en-Provence is an elegant destination and offers lots of fine restaurants and brasserie. During our visit, we tried the specialties of the excellent restaurant owned by the chef Mickael Féval (petite rue Sainte-Jean n ° 11), while we found luxury, art, and well-being at the Renaissance Hotel, a modern 5-star hotel in Av. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, right next to the Conservatory.
By purchasing the provenceaixpercience City Pass, you are entitled to free admission to 14 museums and activities in the city, offers, guided tours and access to the city bus network.
