Aix-en-Provence
ProvençAl City Of Fountains And Golden Mansions, Home Of Paul CéZanne, Below The Montagne Sainte Victoire · Aix-en-Provence, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
Aix-en-Provence is an elegant university city north of Marseille, once the capital of the counts of Provence and the seat of its parliament. Its heart is the Cours Mirabeau, a broad avenue shaded by plane trees, lined on one side by the honey-coloured mansions of the seventeenth and eighteenth century nobility and on the other by café terraces. Aix is called the city of a thousand fountains, and dozens of them, some fed by warm springs, stand in its squares. North of the Cours lies the old town, with markets almost every morning, the cathedral of Saint-Sauveur and small lanes of shops, while the Mazarin quarter to the south is a planned grid of quiet mansions. Paul Cézanne was born here, and his last studio, the Atelier des Lauves, is kept much as he left it. He painted the Montagne Sainte-Victoire east of town again and again, and the mountain is now a popular hike. The Musée Granet and the Hôtel de Caumont show art, and an opera festival fills July. Aix is best on foot; driving in the centre is slow and parking expensive.
Cours Mirabeau and the old town, Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Aix-en-Provence, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France
The Cours Mirabeau, the fountains and the old town streets are public and open at all hours. The main food market on the Place Richelme usually runs every morning, and bigger general markets spread across several squares on certain days of the week, traditionally Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; confirm the current days and which squares they use. Markets pack up around midday or early afternoon. The Atelier de Cézanne opens most of the year with shorter hours in winter and a closure in the depths of winter, and visits are in small groups, so booking a time slot is wise. The Musée Granet is generally closed on Mondays and the Hôtel de Caumont opens daily with longer hours in summer; both close on a few public holidays. The Terrain des Peintres is an open hillside park. Saint-Sauveur cathedral is open to visitors outside services. Trails on the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can be closed by prefectural order on days of high fire risk in summer, usually announced the evening before or the same morning; check the daily map before setting out.