Last week I discussed the concept of home base travel, staying in a central location for a longer period of time and using day trips to explore the area. We put our own theories to the test when we booked a full week in Aix-en-Provence in May.
We arrived in Aix-en-Provence by train from Brussels via Marseilles. Train travel in Europe is convenient and inexpensive and a great way to get around. Pack a lunch, a bottle of wine and some entertainment and let others do all the work.
Aix is a very walkable city. From the main train station you can enter the centre of the Old Town in minutes. From the Rotunda as you walk down the Cours Mirabeau, you can branch off into any number of tangled narrow streets. Fragrant restaurants spill onto the streets and fill the squares, each one enticing you to stop and stay a while. In between are small shops offering their unique wares. Throughout the city you will find amazing architecture housing municipal buildings, theatres, museums and cathedrals. And fountains! In fact, “Aix-en-Provence has the highest concentration of fountains in any European city, with over over 250 fountains in public and hidden spaces.”
Our apartment was located on a small street, with a lively and popular Irish pub at one end and Place Richelme, home of the best market in Aix, at the other. The market is open 7 days a week offering fresh vegetables, meats, cheese and breads. We started every day with a visit to the market to buy food for our lunches and suppers. Although we did eat out during our week we found purchasing and cooking fresh and local our favourite option.
After market closes the stalls are removed and tables and chairs take their place in the sprawling square. Patrons grab whichever table they want and the waiters from the closest restaurants come by to take your drink and food orders. Even if we didn’t stay for dinner we ended each of our days in the square, relaxing, sharing a cocktail and people watching. During the day we would often stop at an outside cafe for an espresso break and more people watching. It ended up being our favourite activity.
Each day we walked a different part of the city. Our guide map helped us to find some great sites. The monumental Fontaine de la Rotunde which anchors the west end of Cours Mirabeau features a statute of the Three Graces, bronze lions, and multiple tiers of splashy waterworks. At the opposite end stands the 19th-century Fontaine du Roi René, commemorating the beloved king. Another fountain of note to look for is Place des Quatre-Dauphins, featuring four sculpted dolphins and dating back to 1667. Many more are dotted throughout the city, each representative of their neighbourhoods.
At the center of the Old Town is the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville. This square features the 17th-century town hall building and the old city belfry with an astronomical clock from 1661. Off the square is an outdoor theatre. Just down from there is the Saint-Savior Cathedral, a unique monument built over a long span of time, from the 5th to the 17th century. It’s facade features Roman, Romanesque, and Gothic elements.
Granet Museum is considered one of the finest art museums of its kind in France. The museum boasts an extensive collection of paintings from the 14th to the 20th century, including pieces by French masters Géricault, Ingres, and Rubens. It also boasts a an exceptional collection of Impressionist and Post Impressionist work by hometown favourite Cézanne, as well as Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso.
One of the benefits of staying in one place for a number of days is to experience the city in its ever changing glory. There was an Iron Man competition on the day we arrived with competitors from all over the glove. The next day there was a spawling textile market on the Cours Mirabeau. As we drank our coffee in the morning we heard the sounds of someone practicing their violin through an open window. We stopped at a restaurant to enjoy their daily special for lunch and ended up huddled under an outdoor umbrella drinking rose as we waited for the rain to let up. When we weren’t exploring the city we took day trips to sites into surrounding Provence, but I will save those for another article.
We left Aix knowing that we would return some day. It is a beautiful, friendly, historic city with so much to offer any traveler. Aix-en-Provence exemplifies the French joie de vivre, the joy of living.