Tours

A city with an exciting past, Aix is also the birthplace of painter Paul Cezanne, whose life-long passion for nearby Mount Saint-Victoire is reflected in many of his paintings. Using these two tours as a guide, you'll discover that the beautiful city of Bon Roi Rene (Rene I, Earl of Provence) has much to be explored...

1. Aix's old town

"Groups of buildings are more important than isolated structures because of the role they play in everyday human life. Such architectural harmony exists in Aix". The perceptiveness of architect Fernand Pouillon, who designed the town's first council housing developments built between 1948 and 1952, enables visitors to adopt a simple approach to Aix's old town, giving them a better understanding of its ensemble of palaces, churches, legal and local government buildings.

The old town is the city's oldest spot. It comprises the former village of Saint Sauveur (the site on which the Roman city once stood) and the Cite Comtale, the original residence of Provence's nobility.

This tour - best begun early in the day - kicks off with Cathedrale St.Sauveur (Saint Sauveur cathedral) whose union of three naves dating from three different periods (Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque) is home to works of art of exceptional quality. Supported by the surrounding walls, the cloister brings a divine coolness to its garden, which can be enjoyed even when the summer sun is at its hottest.

The early hours of the morning resound with the bustle of shops and neighboring restaurants situated on Place des Martyrs-de-la-resistance, which is where the Archevêche, the former palace of Aix-en-Provence's archbishops, is situated. This prestigious building is home to the Musee des Tapisseries whose sumptuous tapestry collections are a joy to behold, while its splendid interior courtyard has hosted the city's Festival d'Art Lyrique (Operatic Festival) every summer since 1948.

Take a stroll down Rue Gaston-de-Saporta while admiring the sixteenth and seventeenth century town houses. It ends at Place de la Mairie, where the marche floral (flower market) takes place every Saturday morning. Stallholders start setting up from the crack of dawn and it's one market that Aix locals are sure to visit. The hôtel de ville (town hall) and adjoining Tour de l'Horloge (Clocktower), overlook a beautifully composed square graced with a gently babbling fountain, while the square's south side is taken up by the Halle aux Grains (Corn Exchange), built in the 18th century in recognition of Provence's agricultural prosperity.

What will really your attention however is the constant hubbub generated by the marche aux herbes (market selling local produce), which takes place every weekday morning except Mondays in neighboring Place Richelme. Provençal fruit and vegetables of all kinds are laid out on stalls run by local farmers whose strong accents and booming voices invite you to sample their produce. Pieces of melon, mature goat's cheese, and slices of toast spread with black olive tapenade are just some of the goodies that will give you a taste of the Mediterranean.

Situated just a few minutes from all this hustle and bustle, Place d'Albertas provides a peaceful rest stop in surroundings that resemble an open-air theater. The shaded pedestrian precincts have exquisite façades reaching all the way along to nearby Place des Prêcheurs (Aix's legal and religious hub), which features buildings such as the Palais de Justice (Law Courts), flanked by the new Court of Appeal on one side and the Eglise de la Madeleine on the other. Every Saturday morning the square is overrun by a huge flea market, while on the square's east side is Passage Agard, a street leading to the city's renowned main thoroughfare Cours Mirabeau, which has an impressive array of well-known shops and sophisticated boutiques. Thanks to its numerous fountains and an abundance of greenery, the Cours proves to be a pleasantly cool oasis of calm where you can take in all the charm of the town houses' facades as they vie with the designer boutiques' elegance. This walk is a must if you want to enjoy all of Aix's charm.

2. Following in Cezanne's footsteps

This walk through the heart of town (easily followed by looking out for studs embedded in the ground in the shape of the letter C, for Cezanne) is combined with a visit to Mount Saint-Victoire. It gives you the chance to learn all about the life of the Aix painter (1839-1906) famed the world over for his landscapes. The trail takes you from the house in which the artist was born, to his favorite viewpoints in the surrounding countryside, right up to the last place in which he lived, with the walk meandering through both the streets of Aix and along the pathways of the surrounding garrigue, or wild moorland. Paul Cezanne was born on 19th January 1839 at 28 Rue de l'Opera, just minutes from the Cours Mirabeau. He was baptized on the 20th of February the same year in the Eglise de la Madeleine. From 1843 to 1849 he attended Mignet school, where he met Emile Zola, the famous French novelist whose writings reflect his life-long obsession with human passions. He subsequently joined an art class in a school situated in the current Musee Granet, which he went to from 1857 until 1862. In accordance with his father's wishes, he then enrolled in law school. Following his mother's death in 1899, the family home of Jas-de-Bouffan (literally sheep-fold in Provençal), situated on the outskirts of town to the west of Aix, was sold. At that time Paul had a studio (now a museum which has remained much the same as the studio was in his day) built 3km north of the city on Lauves hill, called Atelier Paul Cezanne, or Atelier des Lauves. Bursting with almost religious fervor, the studio is a Cezanne enthusiast's paradise filled with items used by the artist, including the tools he worked with as well as everyday household utensils and personal items.

From this period onwards, right up to the time of his death on October 23rd, 1906, Cezanne continued to paint Mount Saint-Victoire. Accessible via Route du Tholonet to the east of Aix, this mass of white limestone has almost chameleon-like properties: it glistens, shimmers, and shifts color depending on the brightness of the sun. He would move around in relation to the play of light on the mountain, painting it from different angles in order to capture his favorite subject in all its majesty. The painter would set up his easel from anywhere along the banks of the river Arc situated to the east of Aix, to the top of Lauves hill on the north side (using the Chemin de la Marguerite path), constantly carried aloft by the scenery surrounding him that inspired him to even greater artistic heights. Follow in his footsteps, letting your gaze wander over the rocks and pine trees that belong to this amazing landscape that meant so much to Cezanne, and understand just what it was that fascinated and inspired him.