Aix en Provence attractions description. Aix-en-Provence is a quiet provincial town. French Riviera

The city whose spelling I hate - Aix-en-Provence. Fortunately, everyone shortens it to Ex, which makes up for these endless hyphens and the stupid arrangement of letters on the keyboard. One of the most famous and supposedly beautiful cities Provence, birthplace of the famous impressionist Cezanne. Half of the city is a series of attractions: and here Cezanne was born, and here he got married, and here he met his mother, and here he drank wine, and here he talked with a friend... In the suburbs, the artist’s studio has been preserved, to which we, having already been simply melted in the hot July sun of Provence, we just didn’t get there.

Aix is ​​already a fairly large and very lively town. The architecture of Aix may not be particularly brilliant (although everything is quite nice), but the green plane tree alleys against the backdrop of butter-colored stone walls and blue sky give the city a special charm. This cannot be taken away, yes...

To go through everything tourist routes According to Ax, it probably takes either a lot of strength or a couple of days. We had neither one nor the other, so having practically completed the route through the main attractions, we got baked and decided to complete the route ahead of schedule.

Arriving in the city center, it was generally easy to park in the underground parking lot somewhere near tourist office.

The central square near the tourist office. The large fountain of the Rotunda is hidden behind a tree.

The fountain was built in 1860. It is decorated with 3 statues symbolizing Justice (looking towards Aix), Agriculture (facing Marcel) and Fine arts(facing towards Avignon).

The main street of the old city is literally crowded:

The architecture is almost invisible - you have to look up. But on top there is a forged lace campanile characteristic of Provence:

We almost passed by “this is another our famous church” - the Church of the Holy Spirit:

Modestly, yes. Never Italy.

It’s lunchtime, I feel like I want to go to a restaurant, and it’s a pity to waste time. In general, mussels are everywhere as an inexpensive lunch:

But we took street pizza, which we greatly regretted. Having refreshed ourselves, we go for a walk. The main alley of Aix is ​​Boulevard Mirabeau, framed by elegant mansions of the 17th and 18th centuries. It connects Old city Aix with the Mazarin quarter

Apparently, it gives the city a certain charm. Since in other Provençal cities it’s somehow impossible to turn around and create an alley. But in the heat the alley is beautiful!

There is a whole series of fountains along this alley. They are all very indistinct in shape, as everything is covered with greenery.

Here, for example, is an ancient fountain:

This is the Fountain of 9 Guns, built in 1691. At first it was used by Ursuline nuns, then by Benedictine nuns (why should good things go to waste?)

Behind this fountain you can already see the next one:

If I'm not mistaken, this is the Warm Water fountain, built in 1734. It is called the “mossy” fountain. Water comes into it from thermal spring Banier and has a temperature of 18 degrees.

But in such heat, this is not thermal water, but simply cooling water.

Opposite is this cute house-restaurant:

The next fountain is at the end of Boulevard Mirabeau:

This is King René's fountain, built in 1819. The fountain is crowned with a statue of the king with a bunch of grapes in his hand: it was he who began cultivating grapes in Provence.

Next to the fountain is the famous cafe Deux Garcons (“two waiters”):

Cezanne once chose the cafe for meetings with friends:

“Yesterday evening I spent about six or seven hours before dinner in the company of Cardeville (pharmacist), Niolon (artist), Fernand Boutey (batonnier), etc. at the Café Deux Garcons.”

The cafe received its name in honor of its two founders, who previously worked as waiters. The cafe is popular, which is very clearly reflected in the prices.

A look at Boulevard Mirabeau:

We turn to the old city:

The Agar Passade is also located here:

We go out to the square in front of the Palace of Justice, built in 1832 on the site of the Royal Court of Auditors:

Church of the Madeleine, where the marriage of Louis-Auguste Cézanne and Elisabeth Aubert took place on January 30, 1844.

In the same church, 5 years earlier, on February 20, 1839, Paul Cezanne was baptized, and in 1841, the artist’s sister, Marie Cezanne.

Rue de Montigny:

Triangular shaded square - Place des Trois Ormeaux - Square and fountain of three elms.

There used to be a well on the square. Now, instead of it there are restaurant tables and a fountain from the 17th century.

Attractions

Aix-en-Provence is called the “city of a thousand fountains”. Particularly interesting Big fountain on the Rotunda (1860) in the city center, a fountain connected to a hot spring (1734), the Fountain of the Four Dauphins (1667) and the Fountain of the Good King René, built in the 19th century. Even if you decide to see all the sights, you will miss many of them during a tour of the ancient center of this entertaining city.

Cours Mirabeau is a wide avenue dividing the city into old and new, to the north of it there is a labyrinth of ancient streets and ancient buildings. This is the direction we should go. The site of a Roman settlement is Bourg Saint Sauveur, which stretches from the Cathedral of Our Savior to the Italian-style town hall on picturesque square city ​​hall. The cathedral "summarizes" the history of Aix in one single building. Erected in the 5th century. on a Roman foundation, this magnificent building was completed over many centuries in three different styles - Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque, and only in the 18th century the work was stopped. The Archbishop's Palace dates back to the 6th-17th centuries, and now houses the Tapestry Museum and Cultural Center.

Other attractions include the clock tower, a former 16th-century bell tower built on Roman foundations: high above the street, an astronomical clock with four wooden statues, as well as the Fountain of the Four Seasons, where there is a Roman column. The square and the Hotel d'Alberta were built by a distinguished family, natives of Aix, in the 18th century and are truly enchanting (the fountain was erected later).

Best time to visit

In June - for the free street music festival or in July for the city's lyrical arts festival - the weather is dry and hot, but the breeze brings a coolness.

What to see

• In the cathedral there is a magnificent triptych “The Burning Bush”, painted around 1476 for King René. Admire the wooden carvings. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is a former 13th-century monastery, rebuilt around 1700. It is now a museum housing works by local artists.
• A simple and at the same time very beautiful fountain of the 15th century. Espeluk, moved to the square near the Archbishop's Palace in 1756
• Aix's famous patisserie "De Garcon" was built in 1792 - ask to see Ernest Hemingway or Paul Cézanne's table.

The baths at the Aix hot springs were built in 1705, but here you can also see the ruins of original Roman baths.

Beaches of the Cote d'Azur, ski resorts, many attractions, aromatic wine and excellent cuisine. This is just a small list of what awaits a tourist who gets off the plane landing at a French airport.

Introductory information about France

France is made up of many regions, each of which has its own unique history, set of attractions and unique dishes. local cuisine. You can relax here both in winter and summer. In the hot season, tourists are welcomed by the Cote d'Azur, and in frosty weather, the resorts of the French Alps invite them. Conventionally, France can be divided into two zones – excursion and resort:

• The first includes almost the entire Ile-de-France region, the well-known Loire Valley, as well as many cities, among which Paris, Strasbourg, Le Havre, Orleans, Rouen and dozens of others stand out.
• Leadership among beach resorts takes Cote d'Azur, followed by the island of Corsica and the Atlantic coast. In winter they mainly go to the Three Valleys and Portes du Soleil.

Aix en Provence

If you look at climate map cities of France, you can see that the climate is mostly temperate-marine. In the eastern regions it gives way to continental, and on the coast Mediterranean Sea– subtropical. Therefore, the weather varies in the regions - it is better to go to Paris in May or October, and to visit French Riviera June or September would be suitable.

You can vacation in Corsica from May to October, but in August it will be quite hot. People ski in Alpine resorts starting in November, but the most snow here is in February.

Note! Ideal time for excursion trip by city in France is high season when all the tourists go to the Cote d'Azur. Yes, the coastal resorts are crowded, but provincial hotels are almost empty, so it will be very easy to rent a room

By the way, about prices in French cities - the algorithm for their formation defies any logic. And this applies to both real estate and products. Having bought a loaf of bread in one store and going to another one across the street, you can see a completely different price. There is no use in bargaining; this is only possible in the market. But this article will examine the nuances of recreation not throughout the country, but only in one city called Aix-en-Provence (France).

Region Ile-de-France

A few words about hotels in Provence

This city is also simply called Aix (France). Provence is a popular region among tourists, so there are quite a lot of hotels here, but only a few are particularly popular:

• The true spirit of Provence can be felt at Villa Gallici. There is a real homely feeling here, the service is at the highest level, and the dishes prepared by the chef are beyond all praise. Despite the fact that the hotel is located in the city center, there is no noise or bustle of the city. The cheapest room as of September 2018 costs 300 euros* per night.
• The best advertisement for Le Pigonnet is its guests. IN different time P. Picasso, L. Kravitz, K. Eastwood and Catherine Deneuve stayed here. There is everything for a luxurious holiday here, and the highlight is huge park. The minimum room price is 150 euros.
• The art hotel Aparthotel Adagio Aix-en-Provence Center is not as luxurious as the five-star hotels presented above, but it fully deserves its 4 stars. The room here is a fully equipped apartment with a bathroom and a kitchen where you can prepare meals. In the morning, the guest will be offered breakfast. The cost of the apartment is 100 euros.

Note! Another popular art hotel in Aix-en-Provence is the Appart’hotel Odalys Atrium. The cost for one night is 80 euros.

Among other worthy hotels in Provence, the five-star Renaissance Aix-en-Provence and the four-star Les Lodges Sainte-Victoire and Hôtel de Gantès are mentioned.

Five-star Renaissance Aix-en-Provence

Tourist route around the city of Aix-en-Provence

Tourists visiting Aix-en-Provence (France) will be offered several route options for an introductory tour.

• A number of historical routes.
• A route related to the life and work of Paul Cézanne and his family.
• Visit to the mansion, workshop and places where Cezanne painted.
• Tour of the suburbs of Aix-en-Provence.

Note! The first three routes of the city of Aix-en-Provence can be either on foot or by transport. The latter is carried out only by car.

Aix-en-Provence attractions worth visiting

You should start your walk around Provence from the so-called Old Town, located to the north main square, and Mirabeau Boulevard. Here stands the Church of Saint Madeleine, which was painted by Van Lo and Rubens, as well as the preserved façade of the medieval town hall and Cathedral The Holy Savior, which was painted by Nicolas Froment himself in the 15th century.

Continuing your journey, you should look into the archbishop's palace of Ancier-Archeves, where the Museum of Tapestries created in Beauviers and the Museum of the Old Town are located.

Note! Saint-Jean-de-Malte is the first church in Provence built in the Gothic style. Previously it belonged to the Order of the Hospitallers.

After seeing the sights of the Old Town, you can return to Mirabeau Boulevard, where there is also a lot of interesting things. For example, the creations of the sculptor Pierre-Jean David D’Angers, who lived in the 19th century. Its statue of King René the Good is a real decoration of the square. An equally interesting creation is the Rotunda fountain.

To the south of the boulevard is the Mazaran quarter, where four centuries ago there were elite houses of aristocrats. Going to Place Saint-Jean-de-Malte, you can get to the Granet Museum, where among the many exhibits you can find objects from the city of Entremont - the capital of the Ligurians and paintings by Marius Granet, after whom the museum is named.

Cultural center La Cité du livre

In Cézanne's former workshop there is an Atelier where you can see the tools the master used, as well as unfinished canvases. But the most impressive thing is the atmosphere in the room: it seems that the artist himself will come in now and continue working on his next masterpiece.

Upon completion of the inspection of the workshop, you should look at la Place d’Albertas, after which you can safely go to the unique architectural museum complex, Vasarely Foundation. The exhibition, assembled by Victor Vasarely, included his own works, thanks to which a new architectural and graphic style was developed.

All lovers of contemporary art should visit the cultural center La Cité du livre of Provence - this is a media complex located in an abandoned but reconstructed match factory. Fans of modern cinema and literature from all over France flock here to discuss new works. In addition, various exhibitions, performances, film screenings, and lectures are held here. In mid-autumn, the traditional festival la Fête du livre is held. But this is not the end of the walk around the sights and interesting places Aix-en-Provence, because the outskirts of the city remained unexplored, which will be discussed below.

Other places in Aix-en-Provence worth mentioning

There are no less attractions in the vicinity of Aix-en-Provence (France). Among the main ones, the following should be mentioned:

• Mount Saint-Victoire, which Cézanne called his muse.
• 14th century castle in Vauvenargues, where Pablo Picasso's grave is located.
• The 12th century Torone Monastery is located near the city of Kars.
• Entrecasteaux is a village that seems to have come out of the Middle Ages. The whole of it is a monument to the historical and architectural landscape of the 11th century.

Those wishing to try black truffles should visit the town of Op, and the Var department is where fans of eco-tourism are welcome. In a word, Provence has entertainment for every taste, so traveling through its lands is guaranteed to bring a lot of pleasure and unforgettable impressions.

*Prices are current as of October 2018.

French Riviera

The fourth day of the trip to Provence and the last part of my
Cote d'Azur : Nice, San Rafael, Saint Tropez, Bandol. Aix-en-Provence

I was traveling without a specific residential address. At first the end point of this day was assumed Grasse, but it turned out to be some nondescript small town. For me, the previous stop in Castellane was more interesting. So I pressed the gas and after about 40 minutes I was driving into Nice.

Or rather, I stopped at some parking lot and, using the mobile Internet, booked a hotel for one night in Nice, not far from the old year and the promenade on the Nice embankment: Hotel Victor Hugo Nice
The lower town of Nice is quite simple and divided into squares with one-way streets, so I found the hotel quickly.

What about parking? The owner of the hotel, which is a multi-room apartment on the ground floor of an old mansion, suggested that I need to find something on the street somewhere and pay for parking at the parking machine rate. However, when I tried to put a 2 euro coin found near the place where I threw the car, an elderly woman called out to me:
- Monsieur, you don’t have to pay!
- And why?
— Today is Sunday and parking on the street is free.

Thanking the woman, I threw my things into the room given to me: everything is fine, there is free Internet, a shower and the size of the room is not Parisian: I went outside and went for a walk around the city

The city has already dressed up for Christmas: a skating rink has been built in the center (this is at plus 20 during the day), a Christmas tree market has been opened, and children and non-children have been sent to spin on a frenzy wheel.

Beautiful illumination, beautiful streets, but somehow I didn’t like it here, even though I had dinner in a good restaurant - I didn’t feel comfortable in Nice. There was something about it from the station: a lot of colorful people from different places, much ado about nothing.

Therefore, after walking and photographing something in Vieux-Nice, which seemed interesting to me, periodically drinking a glass of wine, I quite accidentally wandered into the gateway behind a well-dressed couple walking in front of me and had a wonderful dinner in the restaurant La Maison de Marie.

And the next morning, after breakfast, I set off to the west, along the highway, along the coast. I deliberately didn’t go along the roads along the sea, because I didn’t want to waste time on traffic lights and traffic jams, thinking that the picture opening up to me would be the same: fences and gates of villas separating the shore, precious meters and acres of coastline from prying eyes.

San Rafael

The next point of my journey along the Cote d'Azur was Port De Frejus And Saint Raphael. Having quickly reached toll road Before leaving for San Rafael, I drove for some time along the stretch of coast between these towns, looking for something that would make me stop and look around. This something turned out to be an inflatable snowman on the San Rafael embankment. Leaving the car under a sign prohibiting parking, I walked with the camera in my hands along several streets, but there was no desire to remove the lens cap.
- No, this is not my place, Cote d'Azur.

I don't feel comfortable here somehow. Therefore, having reached Saint Tropez with a bottle of rose wine from the Bandol wineries, I did not find fish sellers at the fish market, which in St. Tropez was a room under the arches the size of an average glass store somewhere in Biryulyovo.

I was hoping for more, so after breathing tobacco smoke into the compressor supplying air to the diver who was working on something at the bottom of the marina, I decided to go to the origins - to Bandol

But there was desolation there too, unfortunately. In one of the cafes they gave me directions to one of the wineries, located closer to the Verdon Canyon than to Bandol, and they were not sure that it would be open.

Therefore, spitting on the Cote d'Azur with its dense buildings, I moved to Aix en Provence, since it was starting to get dark and I had already booked an overnight stay via the Internet again.

Aix-en-Provence

As soon as I, walking down the street and seeing shells in the boxes, pestered the seller with questions, and he directed me behind the wall to a restaurant, where I sat down and ordered champagne with two servings of oysters... I immediately fell in love with Aix-en-Provence.

Oysters

By the way, good restaurant- I can recommend Les Deux Garcons, but the champagne is there... I stared at the bill and asked, “Didn’t you pour me a crystal?” What are you talking about, of course not. But in all French restaurants champagne is expensive. Having chatted a little about this topic with the garçon, I came to the conclusion that the difference between Italy and France is that in the first (in Italy) sparkling wine costs a little more expensive than water without gas in France...
The oysters were served with oranges and there was bread and butter underneath. I’ve never eaten oysters with bread, but I tried it and liked it: gillardeau number 3 were very tender

Strange, but it was Monday. I understand the flower market, but the cheese and seafood stalls did not fit into the schedule of markets in Provence that I studied before the trip.
I wish I could live like this: it’s fresh, you can bargain, they let you try it and can cook it right away: for example, fry fish without cutting it up, and you can take some greens from your neighbor... it’s a pity they don’t bottle the wine.

However, the pictures in supermarkets are no worse. I'm sorry, but I deleted these photos from my phone, so I'm posting them in full size.
But this has some advantage, since you can immediately see the prices of champagne in the store Carrefour

Fifth and sixth days of travel.

Arles, Camargue park

As a base, I chose a good motel 12 km from Arles: Hôtel et Résidence de la Transhumance and I can confidently recommend this place: quiet, bedroom and large living room made like a studio, fully equipped kitchen, internet, breakfast (not included in the price, but good ), 100 meters away there is a supermarket with some crazy prices for wine: I walked down the aisle several times and looked for wine that cost more than 5 euros per bottle.

Did not have. In the end, I took Montepulciano d’Abruzzo for 1.79 euros a bottle. Holy shit, people from Italy wrote to me on Facebook that this wine is more expensive on sale.

Because of this, I stopped going to restaurants and switched to grazing, that is, I stocked up on fresh seafood and wine in the supermarket and clowned around by posting photos on Facebook.

As for Arles, it is a small, pretty town with an arena where bullfighting is held in French, that is, the bulls are not killed, but only affectionately stroked on the head.
Probably everything about Arles.

Below Arles there are plains with water meadows and swamps. There are white horses grazing on the free grass. They say that this is the most ancient breed of horses and their ancestors are unicorns. There is something ancient about them: they are inactive and usually stand staring at one point, as if they had smoked something.

Some resort towns these places Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer(it’s enough to enter French names with hyphens into the navigator. Literally, Saints-Virgin-Mary-on-the-Sea) and a village with a large marina Le Grau-du-Roi(let's call it "the king's degree" or the king under the degree) were empty at this time. Muddy waves crashed on the brown sandy shores and only a couple of surfers in wetsuits tried to do stand-up.

The next point of my program in this park was a visit to lakes with a large colony of flamingos. If you drive from St. Mary's to Morea, then you need to keep to the right and as a result the narrow asphalt road will go close to the sea, so that even the waves can overwhelm it, but this does not happen - it’s shallow. I met several parked jeeps with boats on trailers. But I don’t understand how you can fish here.

They also mine in these places salt. I went to look at it - the process is simple, sea ​​water settles in wide and shallow reservoirs, where by evaporation fresh water salt concentration increases.

This concentrate is then fed by pumps, which quickly fail due to corrosion, onto the existing pile of salt on a dry surface through sprinklers. At the same time, some more of the water evaporates.

Conclusion

I don’t remember how much this trip cost me. But I don’t think it’s crazy many. Although I didn’t deny myself anything. In addition, the operating hours of restaurants in Provence partially saved my budget: for lunch I had to buy at Lidl I ate wine and champagne, seafood prepared there and that’s minus 40-50 euros every day.

France is not that pricey. Moscow is more expensive (I went to the Rybny Bazaar restaurant for dinner here and paid 250 euros, taking into account the fact that I had a 10% discount).

Therefore, feel free to go to Provence and enjoy its atmosphere and views. It’s not in vain that famous artists of the world spent their creative time here. True, I didn’t particularly like the food there... it was a bit greasy for me.

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