Travel Guide to Aix-en-Provence, France

Aix, founded in Roman times, is the ancient capital of the Provence. Nowadays this town is known for romantic streets, historic landmarks, lovely mansions dating back to the 17-th and 18-th century and numerous fountains. Its position in the south of France gives Aix a warm climate: an average January temperature is just 5°C, July temperature is 22°C.

The center of Aix is an old town ('vieille ville' in French), surrounded by boulevards and squares. You can explore this area by foot, but there is too much to see in one day. Start from Cours Mirabeau, a beautiful tree-lined avenue. This place is the heart of Aix. One side of Cours Mirabeau is lined with beautiful small terrace cafés and bookshops.

Cours Mirabeau will take you from La Rotonde to the Fontain du Roi Rene. If you go northerly, you will see the majority of famous monuments: City Hall, Pavillon de Vendôme, Ancient Archbishopry and Place des Quatre Dauphins. In the medieval times Aix was protected by a wall with 39 towers. However, now you can find only one tower - 'Tourreluquo'. The Cathedral of the Holy Saviour is situated at the northwest corner of the town.

Aix is a town of art. Many artists fall in love with the place and never leave it. Famous impressionist painter Paul Cezanne was born there. You can see his works in the Musee Granet, as well as paintings of French artists of the 17th-22th centuries. If you like music, then you can visit the internationally-known Lyrical Art Festival held in July. It is a month-long affair for all opera lovers. Besides Lyrical Art Festival, there are several other festivals of orchestral music, opera and drama that take place in Aix in summer.