PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D'AZURE

Aix-en-Provence

On the first driving to the South of France that we took after we were married, we visited Aix-en-Provence.

Our first visit to Aix did not start that well. As is well known, the longer one drives in the day, the tenser things get. We arrived too late in the day and arriving in a town just after 4:30 pm is always bad news.

After 4:30 the streets that would be oh-so-deserted in the afternoon explode with activity. Especially Aix, here everyhthing really comes alive for the evening promenade.

We arrived at the height of traffic. So it all resulted with a big dispute. Leaving the car, returning and somehow finding the hotel. In the end it was all worth it, and of course, we are more seasoned now.

Aix-en-Provence is ocated about 170 km from Nice, This is one of the towns of the South of France that is at the "classey end of the spectrum".

The look of the city is grand with buildings dating from the 17th and 18th Centuries. There are almost 200 mansions that were built for the parliamentary class of the time. The city has numerous squares and shaded streets to walk. Aix is sometimes referred to as the city of a 1000 fountains.

The most famous of the streets, the Cours Mirabeau, is lined on both sides of the street with the famous plane trees found in Provence and the street is full of cafés -- this is the place to slow down and enjoy your holiday. It is sometimes referred to as one of the greatest avenues of the world. The Cours Mirabeau follows the line of the old city wall and divides Aix intwo two sections.

On the Cours is the Duex Garçons, one of the famous brasseries in Aix that dates back to 1792. Paul Cézanne and Ernest Hemingway used to frequent the place.

The Cathédrale Saint Sauveur, north, is in the medieval section of Aix. It sits on the site of a Roman forum. Some of the building has styles that date to the 5th to the 17th centuries. Inside are 16th century tapestries, a 15th century triptych. The Renaissance dome is supported by original Roman columns.

The archbishop's palace, the Palais de l'Archêveché and a Romanesque cloister are on the south side of the cathedral.

The Place Richeime has a market in the mornings. The Place de L'Hotel-de-Ville has the flower market that takes places on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.

The St. Sauveur Cloisters are of note and date from the late 12th Century. The cloisters were built on square that dates from the Roman times (1 AD) It has wood galleries, rather than stone vaulted.

See Travels to Cloisters.

The springs have been in use from the Roman times.