Aix-en-Provence Favorites

Favorite thing: Tourist Office

2, place du Général de Gaulle BP 160
13605 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 1

- Tel.: (+33) (0)4 42 16 11 61
- Fax: (+33) (0)4 42 16 11 62

- E. mail: infos@aixenprovencetourism.com
- Internet: www.aixenprovencetourism.com

Favorite thing: De La Rotonde is the most beautiful place to spend time with friends and family having typically french lunch, watching beauties whole day long. Dressing scene of this town is one of the best in the France

Fondest memory: Calm comfortable life, skydiving n friends

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Favorite thing: I am putting this in General Tips because I am out of travelogue space.

Long before 9/11, Aix has had a lot of bomb scares. In fact sometimes they turn out to be real. While I lived there my post office at the Rotonde was bombed and just before that one of the cafes on the Cours was hit. While visiting there this last time in 2006, all on the same day, there were several bomb alerts as reported in the paper. I think, just as in New York, people have become a bit immune to them and so it was not uncommon to find them standing around the area watching as the police investigated. Finally it was cordonned off so we could only watch from a distance. Then we were told to leave.

To my knowledge, no one has ever been injured.

Favorite thing: If you look at a map of the city centre, you'll find the oldest, medieval part of the town lies between the ring road and the cours Mirabeau. This road and the "cours" used to be the place where the walls of the town stood for protection. On the other side of the "cours", stands the "Quartier Mazarin" all built in the 18th century.
If you really want to enjoy the architectural variety, pay attention to details, sculpted wooden doors, look up at the walls where you'll notice many statues.
More photos on the travelogue pages.

Favorite thing: Aix en provence hosts many beautifully sculpted fountains. It could be a nice idea to stroll along the streets with this idea in mind, looking for the fountains. I'll give a couple of pictures in my travelogue page.

Favorite thing: All year round, you can have a drink at a café on the "Cours Mirabeau". It is a wide and famous avenue a bit like the Champs Elysées in Paris, only smaller, of course.
In the summer, your are confortably settled under 4 rows of planetrees. In the winter, you can still sit outside because the terraces are heated with outside infrared heaters.
For guys(!) : Aix has been elected the sexiest french town a few years ago. Sitting and looking from one of these cafés is certainly a nice place to enjoy the sight of beautiful ladies !!!!! ;-))

Favorite thing: avignon is a pleasant little town that is probably best known as being the temporary home of the pope during the 14th century. it is a relatively short drive from aix.
a walk through the palais des papes and the surrounding gardens is a worthwhile investment of time. the more touristy little train ride looked little more exciting than horse riding in the local supermarket though.
a stroll through the alleyways in the town below is also quite pleasant with some nice old buildings and squares.

Favorite thing: In her book "Map of Another Place" MFK Fisher writes about visiting the fountains of Aix. The town is known for its healing waters, and thus there are pretty fountains all over town. My favorite was the fountain of the four dolphins in the Mazarin quarter.