Aix-en-Provence

Rue Espariat in November 2013

Aix (Aquae Sextiae) was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs, following the destruction of the nearby Gallic oppidum at Entremont.[7][8] In 102 BC its vicinity was the scene of the Battle of Aquae Sextiae, where the Romans under Gaius Marius defeated the Ambrones and Teutones,[7] with mass suicides among the captured women, which passed into Roman legends of Germanic heroism.[9]

In the 4th century AD it became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda. It was occupied by the Visigoths in 477. In the succeeding century, the town was repeatedly plundered by the Franks and Lombards, and was occupied by the Saracens in 731 and by Charles Martel in 737. Aix, which during the Middle Ages was the capital of Provence, did not reach its zenith until after the 12th century, when, under the houses of Barcelona/Aragon and Anjou, it became an artistic centre and seat of learning.[7]

Aix passed to the crown of France with the rest of Provence in 1487, and in 1501 Louis XII established there the parliament of Provence, which existed until 1789. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the town was the seat of the Intendance of Provence.[7] Current archeological excavations in the Ville des Tours, a medieval suburb of Aix, have unearthed the remains of a Roman amphitheatre.[10] A deposit of fossil bones from the Upper Continental Miocene gave rise to a Christian dragon legend.[11]

Aix-en-Provence is situated in the south of France, in a plain overlooking the Arc river, about 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) from the right bank of the river. The city slopes gently from north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aix's position in the south of France gives it a warm climate, though more extreme than Marseille due to the inland location. It has an average January temperature of 6 °C (43 °F) and a July average of 24 °C (75 °F). It has an average of 300 days of sunshine and only 91 days of rain.[12] While it is partially protected from the Mistral, Aix still occasionally experiences the cooler and gusty conditions it brings.

Like most of the south of France, Aix-en-Provence has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa).

Les Deux Garçons

The Cathedral Cloisters

The Cours Mirabeau is a wide thoroughfare, planted with double rows of plane trees, bordered by fine houses and decorated by fountains. It follows the line of the old city wall, and divides the town into two sections. The new town extends to the south and west; the old town, with its narrow, irregular streets, and its old mansions dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, lies to the north. Situated on this avenue, which is lined on one side with banks and on the other with cafés, is the Deux Garçons, the most famous brasserie in Aix. Built in 1792, it was frequented by the likes of Paul Cézanne, Émile Zola and Ernest Hemingway.[14] On 01/12/2019 Les Deux Garçons was devastated by a fire that engulfed the entire building, leaving the much loved establishment just a shell.[15]

The Cathedral of the Holy Saviour (Aix Cathedral) is situated to the north in the medieval part of Aix. Built on the site of a former Roman forum and an adjacent basilica, it contains a mixture of all styles from the 5th to the 17th century, including a richly decorated portal in the Gothic style with doors elaborately carved in walnut. The interior contains 16th-century tapestries, a 15th-century triptych depicting King René and his wife on the side panels, as well as a Merovingian baptistery, its Renaissance dome supported by original Roman columns. The archbishop's palace (Palais de l'Archêveché) and a Romanesque cloister adjoin the cathedral on its south side.[16] The Archbishopric of Aix is now shared with Arles.

Place de l'Hôtel de Ville

Saint-Jean-de-Malte

Among its other public institutions, Aix also has the second most important Appeal Court (Palais de Justice) outside of Paris, located near the site of the former Palace of the Counts (Palais des Comtes) of Provence.

The Aix-en-Provence Town Hall (Hôtel de Ville), a building in the classical style of the middle of the 17th century, looks onto a picturesque square (Place de l'Hôtel de Ville). It contains some fine woodwork and tapestries. At its side rises a handsome clock-tower, erected in 1510.[17] Also on the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville is the former Corn Exchange (1759–1761) (Halle de Grains). This ornately decorated 18th-century building was designed by the Vallon brothers. Nearby are the remarkable thermal springs, containing lime and carbonic acid, that first drew the Romans to Aix and gave it the name Aquae Sextiae. A spa was built in 1705 near the remains of the ancient Roman baths of Sextius.[18]

South of the Cours Mirabeau is the Quartier Mazarin. This residential district was constructed for the gentry of Aix by Archbishop Michele Mazzarino brother of Cardinal Jules Mazarin in the last half of the 17th century and contains several notable hôtels particuliers. The 13th-century church of Saint-Jean-de-Malte contains valuable pictures and a recently restored organ. Next to it is the Musée Granet, devoted to European painting and sculpture.

Aix is often referred to as the city of a thousand fountains.[19] Among the most notable are the 17th-century Fontaine des Quatre Dauphins (Fountain of the Four Dolphins) in the Quartier Mazarin, designed by Jean-Claude Rambot,[20] and three of the fountains down the central Cours Mirabeau: at the top, a 19th-century fountain depicts the "good king" René holding the Muscat grapes that he introduced to Provence in the 15th century; halfway down is a natural hot water fountain (34 °C), covered in moss, dating back to the Romans; and at the bottom, at la Rotonde, the hub of modern Aix, stands a monumental fountain from 1860 beneath three giant statues representing art, justice and agriculture. In the older part of Aix, there are also fountains of note in the Place d'Albertas and the Place des Trois-Ormeaux.

Aix is the birthplace of Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne. A walking trail links sites including his childhood home, Jas de Bouffan, and his former studio, Atelier Cézanne. The white limestone mountain Sainte-Victoire overlooks the city and was a frequent subject of Cézanne's works.

The Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po)

Aix has long been a university town: Louis II of Anjou granted a royal charter for a university in 1409. Today Aix-en-Provence remains an important educational centre, with many teaching and research institutes:

• Arts et Métiers ParisTech, an engineering graduate school that settled a campus in the city in 1843. This teaching and research center (CER) let the students attend courses focused on industrial and mechanical engineering.
• Aix-Marseille University, consisting of the faculty and former campuses of:
  • University of Provence Aix-Marseille I, specialising in the humanities.
  • Université de la Méditerranée Aix-Marseille II, specialising in economics.
  • Université Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille III, specialising principally in law, economics, political science and administration.
• Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence (IEP) is part of France's network of political studies universities, often referred to as "Sciences Po".
• Institut de l'Aménagement Régional, an institute in the Université Paul Cézanne for town and country planning.
• The American College of the Mediterranean (ACM), an American-style degree-granting institution with programs in art, art history, business, communication, French language and culture, international relations, psychology and many others. ACM also includes a study abroad institute for undergraduates, IAU College.

Aix also has several training collèges, lycées, and a college of art and design. It has also become a centre for many international study programmes. Several lycées offer CPGE.

• Association football is represented in the city by Pays d'Aix Football Club, until 2014 known as AS Aix-en-Provence. Their best result was playing in French Division 1 in the 1967–68 season, but recent years see the team playing in amateur levels of the French football league system.
• Rugby union club Provence Rugby (previously known as Aix Rugby Club and Pays d'Aix Rugby Club) is based in the city. As of 2021, they play in Rugby Pro D2, the second-tier French league.
• Pays d'Aix Université Club Handball is a handball club competing in the top-level French First League of Handball.
• American football team Les Argonautes Aix-en-Provence has won the top-level Ligue Élite de Football Américain a total of eight times and is one of the most successful teams in the country. They were finalist of the 1996 Eurobowl.
• The city hosts a professional tennis tournament on the ATP Challenger Tour. It is held every May at the Country Club Aixois.
• Former world number one squash player Grégory Gaultier lives in Aix-en-Provence.
• The city hosted Ukraine's football base camp during Euro 2016.[29]
• The city holds a junior fencing World Cup event for men's foil in January of each year. Local fencer Erwann Le Péchoux was part of the team that won the gold medal in men's team foil at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Calissons, a specialty of Aix-en-Provence

Industries formerly included flour-milling, the manufacture of confectionery, iron-ware, hats, matches and the extraction of olive oil.[30]

Current economic activities include:

• Tourism.
• Entertainment, particularly opera and dance.
• The semiconductor and electronics industry in Rousset, to the south of Mont Ste.-Victoire, specializing in microchip technology for credit cards.
• Education and research. In Aix the University of Aix-Marseille specializes in the humanities, law and economics.
• The computer software industry.
• The manufacture of santons, traditional hand-crafted figurines, often associated with provencal Christmas creches.
• The manufacture of olive oil.
• The manufacture of calissons, a lozenge-shaped confection made from almonds, orange peel, sugar, and crystallized melon.[31] Each year in early September, there is a mass in French and Provençal in the medieval church of St Jean de Malte to bless the calissons – la bénédiction des calissons. This ceremony has been held since the 17th century to mark the deliverance of Aix from the plague. It is currently accompanied by a colourful provencal pageant, involving most of the local calisson manufacturers and their wares. About calissons, Provençal novelist Marcel Pagnol wrote that, to make true calissons "'You need one-third almonds, one-third fruit confits, one-third sugar, and a quarter savoir faire.''[32]
• Viticulture: the local Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée is Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence AOC, with many vineyards between Aix and the River Durance to the north. The reputed appellation of Palette AOC is represented by the estates of Château Simone in Meyreuil and Château Crémade in Le Tholonet, to the east of Aix.[33][34][35] There is a fair of local wine producers every year on the last Sunday in July on the Cours Mirabeau. Grape varieties include grenache, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, and notably vermentino.[36]

• Chocolate: the well known Chocolaterie de Puyricard is situated in the hills to the north of Aix.[37]
• Saffron: The Safranière de Provence is an organic saffron producer situated near Aix-en-Provence.[38]

The airline Twin Jet has its head office in Aix-en-Provence.[39]

From 1990 to 2000, criminal organizations established complex extortion rings in Marseille extending to Aix-en-Provence and the greater French Riviera. Since 2002, Le Milieu is known for, in addition to its extortion rings, large counterfeiting and white-collar crime operations. Due to increased financial regulation, Le Milieu has collectively pushed to integrate their crime profits into the legal economy.

The current mayor of Aix-en-Provence is Sophie Joissains, elected on September 24, 2021.[42]

Presidential Elections Second Round:

Aix-en-Provence TGV railway station.

A set of ancient roads radiate out from Aix to the surrounding countryside, the Pays d'Aix. There are also a large number of modern autoroutes connecting Aix to nearby towns. There are autoroutes northwards to Avignon and to the Luberon; southwards to Marseille; and eastwards to Aubagne and the Mediterranean coast of Provence; and to Nice and other towns on the French Riviera. Aix and Marseille are equidistant from the Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) at Marignane on the Étang de Berre which features domestic and international scheduled passenger service. There is another airport at Les Milles, which is mostly used by general aviation. There is a frequent bus shuttle service from the main bus station in Aix which also serves the nearby TGV station at l'Arbois, in the middle of the countryside about 16 kilometres (10 mi) from Aix.

At Aix, the line from Paris branches to Marseille and Nice; it takes about 3 hours to get from Paris to Aix by TGV. Aix also has a railway station near the centre, Gare d'Aix-en-Provence, with connections to Marseille, Pertuis and Briançon in the French Alps. A frequent and rapid shuttle bus service for commuters operates between the bus station in Aix and Marseille. There are many other long distance and local buses from the bus station. The city also offers a "city pass" available in 24, 48, and 72-hour packages for visiting tourists.[45] The "pass tourisitque" is offered at the Aix-en-Provence Tourist Office, the Atelier de Cézanne, and the official Aix tourism website.[45]

In the town itself, there is an inexpensive municipal bus service, including a dial-a-bus service ("proxibus"), a park-and-ride service and tiny electrified buses for those with mobility problems – these are six-seater vehicles that circulate at a speed of 16 km/h (10 mph).[46] The central old town of Aix is for the most part pedestrianised. There are large underground and overground parking structures placed at regular intervals on the "boulevard exterieur", the predominantly one-way ring road that encircles the old town. Access to the old town is by a series of often narrow one-way streets that can be confusing to navigate for the uninitiated.[47][48]

As well as overland routes, two "rivers" flow through Aix, the Arc and the Torse, but neither of which can remotely be described as navigable.

Cours Mirabeau

The local Aix dialect, rarely used and spoken by a rapidly decreasing number of people, is part of the provencal dialect of the Occitan language. The provencal for "Aix-en-Provence" is "Ais de Prouvènço" [ˈaj de pʀuˈvɛ̃sɔ]. Most of the older streets in Aix have names in both Provençal and French.

Aix hosted the ninth International Congress of Modern Architecture in 1953.

Aix is the home town of the rugby union team Provence Rugby. It played host to the All Blacks during the early stages of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.[49][50]

Ysabel, the tenth novel of the best-selling Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay, was set and written in Aix.

Italian electroacoustic artist Giuseppe Ielasi's album Aix[51] was produced in Aix-en-Provence, hence the title.

This is also the site of an alleged sighting and landing of a UFO in 1981 that is taken seriously by GEIPAN, the department within the French Space Agency responsible for investigating aerospace phenomena.[52]

Aix-en-Provence is twinned with:[53]

• 
  Medieval town wall near Roman baths
• 
  Place des Tanneurs
• 
  Statue of le Roi René
• 
  Detail of le Roi René
• 
  Place des Quatre Dauphins, towards the Boulevard extérieur
• 
  The archbishop's palace, opera house and tapestry museum
• 
  Clock tower, Hotel de Ville
• 
  Detail of mechanical clock
• 
  Bureau de Poste
• 
  Aix Cathedral, Dome
• 
  Aix Cathedral
• 
  St Jean de Malte, rue Cardinale
• 
  Église de la Madeleine, place des Precheurs
• 
  Jas de Bouffan, Paul Cézanne
• 
  Jas de Bouffan, Paul Cézanne
• 
  The Pavillon Vendôme
• 
  Mural advertisement
• 
  Atlas on a doorway in Aix
• 
  The place d'Albertas
• 
  Fountain in the place d'Albertas
• 
  Door carving in Aix
• 
  Mechanical clock, place des Precheurs
• 
  Daily vegetable market, place Richelme
• 
  Provençal confectionery
• 
  Baroque fountain in Aix
• 
  Provençal House
• 
  Provençal market
• 
  The modern spa in Aix
• 
  The Vasarely Foundation
• 
  Rue des Cordeliers
• 
  Flower market on Place de l'Hôtel de Ville and the Clock Tower in Aix-en-Provence.
• 
  House where painter Paul Cézanne died in 1906 in Aix-en-Provence

• Aix-en-Provence possessions: In 1611, Father Louis Gaufridi was accused of causing demonic possession in the Ursuline nuns at Aix.
• Aurelian Way
• Speech and language laboratory (CNRS)
• List of works by Auguste Carli
• List of works by Louis Botinelly

• Busquet, Raoul (1954). Histoire de la Provençade des origines à la révolution française. Éditions Jeanne Lafitte. ISBN 2-86276-319-5.

Attribution

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Aix". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 447.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aix-en-Provence.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Aix-en-Provence.

• Aix en Provence Tourist office website (in English)
• Official site of the town Aix-en-Provence (in French)