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How to get from Marseille?

It’s convenient to make a large voyage across France with a stop in many cities by car (you can rent a car in France at Rentalcars directly from home). If this is not possible, travel by train or taxi. For example, a train from Marseille to Aix-en-Provence (do not confuse with the Aix-en-Provence TGV station, it is located away from the center) leaves daily and costs 8 €, and a transfer in the same direction by car can beto order  and in advanceat this link.

A bit of history

Founded by the Romans, Aix-en-Provence was then famous for its thermal springs. It was named “Sextov Waters” in honor of the Roman consul Sextius (Latin “Aquae sextiae”), and the modern name of the city is the same “waters” converted into French in 2 millennia.

What to see in Aix-en-Provence?

Aix-en-Provence is truly a city of water, a city of a thousand fountains, as it is called. They, ranging from the largest historical and ending with drinking fountains, can be used as reference points for sorties during festivities. Some are hundreds of years old, and the mossy carpet makes them look like natural boulders with flowing water. This is the fountain of Moussue, which means "moss."

The most famous fountain is the Rotunda Fountain (Fontaine de la Rotonde). It is located on the square from which Mirabo Boulevard begins. Life is in full swing here: tourists and residents strolling slowly, musicians play; hiding under the shadow of plane trees, street shops and cafes settled down. Having reached the statue of King Rene, you can turn right and get into the exquisite Mazaran district, built up with baroque mansions - the habitat of the 17th century aristocracy. Here is the Granet Art Museum, and next to it is the attractive fountain of four dolphins.

Turning left you will see the narrow streets of the old city. They will lead to the Cathedral of the Holy Savior (St. Sauveur) - a unique building that incorporates the features of Romanesque, Gothic architecture and Baroque. Another church dedicated to Saint Jean of Malta is considered the highest building of Aix - the height of its tower is 67 meters.

Moving to St. Sauveur, you will not pass by the small square of Alberta. It is paved with mossy cobblestones, a fountain is located in the center, and on three sides it is surrounded by Baroque buildings. A free museum nearby is the Musee du Vieil Aix, where you can see many interesting exhibits on the history of the region.

In the old part of the city you can admire the old town hall, which attracts the attention of the clock tower. Wooden figures representing the seasons appear due to the dial every hour. On the Town Hall Square there is an old fountain and a street market with fruits, sweets, olive oil and local herbs, of which lavender comes first.

Atelier Cézanne is located somewhat away from the historical part of the city, but the workshop of the great artist must be visited by those who want to learn more about his work. And for those who want to get acquainted with the most famous model of Cezanne, you should definitely come to the Park of painters - from here you can see the view of Mount Saint-Victoire.

Starting in June, Aix becomes the real cultural capital of the region. One festival replaces another, all the stages of the city work, and music does not cease at open concert venues.

Provence Cuisine

In Aix-en-Provence there is no shortage of places to eat, they can be found both on the main streets and away from tourist routes. One of the oldest restaurants in the local cuisine - Les Deux Garçons (Two Waiters) on Mirabeau Boulevard, its famous visitors were once Paul Cezanne and Emile Zola.

Provence dishes are meat with herbs, stewed in red wine, and Provencal snails with aioli sauce. This is nothing but the prototype of our mayonnaise - a sauce of olive oil and egg yolks with garlic. Here you can’t help but taste the “urban heritage” of Aix - calisson almond pastries (Calissons d ’Aix). The townspeople once believed that they helped get rid of the plague, and still, in September, they spend here the day of distribution of calissons.

Perhaps the only drawback of the city of Aix-en-Provence is the mistral - the cold north wind, which constantly blows in winter and early spring. Despite the fact that it causes a lot of trouble to local residents, apparently, they have learned to look at this phenomenon as an inevitability, which has to be put up with. Otherwise, how to explain that one of the nightclubs is named short and simple - Le Mistral?

Have a nice trip!

Aix-en-Provence is a charming aristocratic town in the south of France, in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region, located between Marseille and the Luberon mountains, among healing thermal springs. For many centuries, it has been and remains the cultural center of Provence with a huge number of festivals held here. Thanks to one of the oldest universities in France and the European Academy of Music, the city is filled with students and the atmosphere of a lively creative laboratory reigns in it. Aix-en-Provence adds special charm to the stone-paved medieval streets, luxurious palaces of Provencal nobility, made in the style of Italian baroque of the XVII-XVIII centuries, elegant facades of old estates with sophisticated openwork wrought-iron balconies and a huge number of fountains. This southern French town is considered the center of antiques in Provence: collectors and lovers of antiquities from around the world are constantly “digging” in local flea markets and in numerous antique shops.

Aix-en-Provence balneological resorts located in the Arc valley, at an altitude of 175 meters above sea level, are also popular. Warm healing springs were discovered in this region by the Romans, and until today, calcium bicarbonate waters with a temperature of about 36 ° C are used both for baths and for drinking, as an auxiliary treatment for diseases of the cardiovascular, excretory and musculoskeletal systems. Spa treatments with healing waters are offered not only in the suburban health centers, but also in some hotels in the city itself.

• Area: 186 km²;
• Time zone: UTC + 1, in summer UTC + 2;
• Population: 141,200.

How to get to the city

You can get to Aix-en-Provence from Marseille - it is here that the nearest international airport is located, from which autoexpress trains run regularly to the city. There is also a railway connection with the capital of France - it takes about 3 hours to travel by high-speed train from Paris to Aix-en-Provence.

A selection of profitable airline tickets through Aviadiscounter (looking like Aviasales + a selection of stocks and airline sales).

Aix-en-Provence (Aix-en-Provence) - the most charming, refined and aristocratic city of Provence - France. Having traveled only 30 km from the bustling Marseille, you will find yourself in another world in which the imposing atmosphere of past eras still reigns, and the cobblestones of the boulevards still remember the boardwalks of aristocrats and the knocking of wheels of luxurious crews.

Aix-en-Provence owes its formation to the Romans, who discovered a thermal spring here, and to its heyday, to King Rene of Anjou. It was during the reign of the “good Rene” that the city became the cultural capital of France, attracting artists, writers, actors.

Aix-en-Provence - a special atmosphere of aristocracy and comfort

If you look at the city map, then the exquisite and once majestic Aix-en-Provence is narrow winding streets with fairly rare buildings. It is dominated by squares paved with paving stones, and the magnificent fountains, whose sparkles sparkle in the rays of the Mediterranean sun, delight the eye. The ex is often called the "city of a hundred and one fountain", the most original of them are on Mirabo Boulevard - its completion is the majestic Rotonda Fountain.

In the historical capital of Provence, which once was Aix-en-Provence, there are many colorful mansions whose architecture displays the strict features of 17th century classicism and the laid-back elegance of Baroque. The history of almost all Ax villas is centuries.

The old city - the more ancient part of Aix-en-Provence - the "monastery" of tourists, life is constantly in full swing here. Fashion boutiques and respectable restaurants, cozy cafes and souvenir shops. But you just have to cross Mirabeau Boulevard, and you will see a completely different Aix-en-Provence - pompous, imposing and aristocratic. The Mazaren Quarter is the place where celebrity mansions, ministers and the highest aristocracy have been built for centuries. Luxurious villas still hide the lives of their inhabitants behind high wrought-iron fences and lush vegetation.

Aix-en-Provence - the historical capital of Provence - the city where the great impressionist Paul Cezanne was born. Yes, the painter often visited Marseille and Paris, he even lived there for quite a long time, but he was always drawn to Ex. Cezanne immortalized the landscapes of Provence in his canvases, the painter's favorite object is Mount Saint-Victoire. The great artist considered Aix-en-Provence as his inspiration - the town really makes even skeptics admire.

In the Mazaren quarter, next to the Cathedral of St. Jean of Maltese, whose grandeur is clearly conveyed even by the photo, the Granet Museum is located, where you can see many of the paintings of the great Paul Cezanne. Tourists who came to Aix-en-Provence can also admire the work of other artists and sculptors - Jean Dominic Ingres, Anthony Ven Dyck, Nicolas de Stael, Rembrandt.

Aix-en-Provence Attractions

Aix-en-Provence is worth visiting not only for the reason to enjoy its unique sophisticated atmosphere. Ex's attractions are worth seeing with their own eyes and take several hundred photos.

Aix-en-Provence is rightfully considered the “Pearl” of the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur (Saint Savior), where you can see the masterpiece of Provencal painting of the 15th century - the triptych “The Burning Cupid”, written by Nicolas Frohmann. He ordered the picturesque masterpiece “good Rene”, the monarch, to whom Aix-en-Provence owes its heyday and transformation into the cultural center of France.

Old Aix, in the language of tourist guides, - "open air museum" - one big attraction. In this part of Aix-en-Provence, clearly outlined by the boulevards, you can wander for hours. Beautiful weather, which is famous for Ex, allows you to walk at any time of the year. You don’t have to think over the route, architectural monuments, picturesque fountains, colorful cafes - interesting objects will be found at every step.

Saturday, Thursday and Tuesday are the days when the center of Aix-en-Provence is filled with markets. On Richelm Square, farmers sell fruit and vegetables, Marseille Street turns into a huge "ocean", here you can buy any seafood and fish. The Place de Ville is becoming a real flower plantation - in Aix-en-Provence, Flora's children are sold from all over France. A flea market opens on Verdun Square where you can buy antique gizmos for just a few euros. It is in Aix that many world-famous collectors replenish their collections.

Aix-en-Provence is an aristocratic city with ancient history and traditions, living a modern life. Music and art festivals are constantly held here, having planned a trip to Aix, you will travel through time. The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, to which Aix-en-Provence belongs, is the most popular among tourists who seek here in the hope of "feeling the true France." Want some fun? Just two hours on the highway, and you will be in Nice - a favorite resort of celebrity and bohemia.

The city whose writing I hate Aix-en-Provence. Fortunately, everyone shortens it to Ax, which redeems these endless hyphens and the stupid arrangement of letters on the clave. One of the most famous and supposedly beautiful cities of Provence, the birthplace of the famous impressionist Cezanne. Half of the city is the sights from the series: here Cezanne was born, and here he married, and then he met his mother, and then he drank wine, and then he talked with a friend ... In the suburbs, the artist’s workshop was preserved, to which we, being already melted the hot July sun of Provence just didn't get there.

Ex - the town is already quite large and very busy. Ex architecture may not particularly shine (although everything is pretty nice), but the green plane tree alleys against the background of stone walls the color of oil and blue sky give the city a special charm. This cannot be taken away, yes ...

To pass all the tourist routes in Aix, you probably need either a lot of strength, or a couple of days. We had neither one nor the other, so almost having passed the route through the main attractions, we baked and decided to complete the route ahead of schedule.

Arriving in the city center, in general, they easily parked in an underground parking lot somewhere near the tourist office on Saturday morning.

Central square near the tourist office. A large Rotunda fountain is hidden behind a tree.

The fountain was built in 1860. It is decorated with 3 statues symbolizing Justice (she looks towards Aix), Agriculture (facing Marseille) and Fine Arts (facing Avignon).

On the main street of the old city literally not crowded:

Architecture is almost invisible - you need to lift up your head. But from above - the forged lace campaignana characteristic of Provence:

I almost passed by "this is another our famous church" - the church of the Holy Spirit:

Modestly, yes. Not Italy ever.

It’s lunch time, I’d like to go to a restaurant, and I’m sorry to lose time. In general, as an inexpensive lunch, there are mussels everywhere:

But we took street pizza, which we regretted a lot. Having eaten, we go for a walk. Aksa's main avenue is Mirabo Boulevard, framed by elegant mansions from the 17th and 18th centuries. It connects the old town of Exa with the Mazarin quarter

Apparently, it gives the city a certain charm. Since in other Provencal cities you somehow can’t turn around to still do the alley. But in the heat of the alley is beautiful!

Along this alley stands a number of fountains. All of them are very slurred, as everything is covered with greenery.

For example, an old fountain:

This is the Fountain of 9 guns, built in 1691. At first I was in use of the nuns-ursulinoks, then the Benedictines (why good then?)

The following is already visible behind this fountain:

If I am not mistaken, then this is the Warm Water Fountain, built in 1734. It is called the "mossy" fountain. Water in it comes from the thermal source of Banje and has a temperature of 18 degrees.

But in such heat it’s not thermal water, but just cool.

On the contrary - this is such a sweet home-restaurant:

The following fountain at the end of Mirabo Boulevard:

This is the fountain of King Rene, built in 1819. The fountain is crowned with a statue of the king with a bunch of grapes in his hand: it was he who began to cultivate grapes in Provence.

Near the fountain is the famous Deux Garcons cafe (“two waiters”):

The cafe once chose to meet Cezanne's friends:

“Last night I spent about six to seven hours before dinner with Cardeville (pharmacist), Niolon (artist), Fernand Butea (batonier), and others at Deux Garcons.”

The name of the cafe was in honor of its two founders, who had previously worked as waiters. The cafe is popular, which is very clearly reflected in the prices.

A look at Mirabo Boulevard:

We turn into the old city:

Agar Passad is located right there:

We leave on the square in front of the Palace of Justice, built in 1832 on the site of the Royal Court of Auditors:

Madeleine Church, where on January 30, 1844, the marriage of Louis-Auguste Cézanne and Elizabeth Aubert took place.

In the same church, 5 years earlier, on February 20, 1839, Paul Cezanne was baptized, and in 1841 - the artist’s sister, Marie Cezanne.

Rue de monigny:

Triangular shady square - Place des Trois Ormeaux - Square and fountain of three elms.

A well used to be located on the square. Now instead of it - restaurant tables and a fountain of the 17th century.

sights

Aix-en-Provence is called the "city of a thousand fountains." Of particular interest are the Grand Fountain on the Rotunda (1860) in the city center, the fountain connected to the hot spring (1734), the Fountain of the Four Dauphin (1667) and the Fountain of the Good King Rene, built in the 19th century. Even if you decide to explore all the sights, you will miss many of them during a tour of the ancient center of this entertaining city.

Chur Mirabeau is a wide avenue that divides the city into old and new; to the north of it is a labyrinth of ancient streets and ancient buildings. It is in this direction that one should go. At the site of the Roman settlement, Bur Saint Sauveur is located, which stretches from the Cathedral of the Savior to the Italian-style town hall in the picturesque city hall square. The Cathedral "generalizes" the history of Ax in one single building. Erected in the V century. on a Roman foundation, this magnificent building for many centuries was completed in three different styles - Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque, and only in the XVIII century the work was stopped. The archbishop's palace is dated to the VI-XVII centuries. Nowadays there are the Tapestry Museum and the cultural center.

Other sights include the clock tower, the former bell tower of the 16th century, erected on a Roman foundation: an astronomical clock with four wooden statues is visible high above the street, as well as the Four Seasons Fountain, which has a Roman column. The Plaza and Hotel d'Alberta was built by an outstanding family, natives of Aix, in the 18th century and is truly enchanting (the fountain was erected later).

Best time to visit

In June - because of the free festival of street music or in July to get to the city festival of lyric art - the weather is dry and hot, but the breeze brings coolness.

What to see

• In the cathedral there is a magnificent triptych “The Burning Cup”, written around 1476 for King Rene. Admire the wood carvings. Church of St. Mary Magdalene - the former building of the monastery of the XIII century., Rebuilt around 1700. Now it is a museum where the works of local artists.
• A simple and very beautiful fountain of the 15th century. Espelyuk transferred to the square near the Archbishop's Palace in 1756
• Exa's famous De Garson pastry shop was built in 1792 - ask to show you the table of Ernest Hemingway or Paul Cezanne.

Exa's hot springs were built in 1705, but here you can also see the ruins of authentic Roman terms.