Holiday in Aix-en-Provence

What makes Aix-en-Provence special as a destination?

Aix-en-Provence is the most elegant city in Provence and the cultural heart of southern France – a place where the Savoir-vivre is not an empty phrase but a lived reality. Paul Cézanne was born here in 1839 and obsessively painted the Mont Sainte-Victoire outside the city, which rises like a stone monument on the horizon. His studio on the hill of Lauves is now a museum, where the original still-life objects he immortalized in his famous paintings still stand. Aix is the city of fountains – over 40 fountains splash in squares and street corners, many of them fed by the hot thermal springs that the Romans valued and which gave the city its name (Aquae Sextiae). The Cours Mirabeau, the magnificent main axis of the city, is one of the most beautiful boulevards in Europe: on one side elegant hôtels particuliers from the 17th and 18th centuries, on the other side a continuous row of cafés and brasseries under mighty plane trees. Drinking a Pastis here and watching the hustle and bustle is the epitome of Provençal lifestyle. The marketplace in front of the town hall transforms three times a week into one of the most colorful markets in Provence: mountains of lavender, olives, goat cheese, tapenade, and sun-ripened tomatoes fill the stalls. The international music festival Festival d'Aix-en-Provence attracts opera fans from all over the world every summer. For German travelers, Aix-en-Provence is an ideal city trip with a sun guarantee: direct flights to Marseille (30 minutes away) and TGV connections from Paris make the city easily accessible. From Aix, one can explore the lavender fields of Haute-Provence, the Calanques near Marseille, and the villages of the Luberon.