2024 - Juni - Aix-en-Provence

If you don't get into the holiday mood in Aix-en-Provence, there's no help for you. The small town, with around 142,000 inhabitants, exudes a very special flair and is not called the most beautiful town in Provence for nothing. Some even call it the most beautiful town in all of France. There is a lot to suggest that this is the case.

Of course, there is the manageable size, Paris is much too loud and crowded. On the other hand, the medieval to baroque architecture and the Mediterranean climate with lots of sunshine and little rain are enchanting. Nevertheless, Aix-en-Provence is a city of water and is also known as the "city of a hundred fountains".

And on the Cours Mirabeau boulevard and parts of the city center, you feel like you are in a historical open-air museum, but with electric minibuses driving through it that look a bit like they are from the future. In fact, these vehicles are on-demand buses that are primarily designed to chauffeur older people.

Otherwise, the bus service is well developed and often electric. This is not the only reason why Aix-en-Provence is one of the cities with the highest quality of life for the French. The place exudes security, there is a wide range of cultural offerings and, of course, the sea is not far away. Property prices are correspondingly high.

For us as tourists, it is always nice when a place is not overcrowded and still has many options. There is actually an almost endless selection of small and large restaurants and cafés. A lot of things happen outside, music is played everywhere and there is a certain relaxed attitude to life.

One day is definitely enough to see all the sights in the city, but you can relax and enjoy the city more if you stay a little longer. We stayed here for three nights and were able to experience the market, which suddenly fills the squares and avenues. It takes place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to around 12:30 p.m. It's unbelievable how much is on offer here and how quickly everything disappears after 1 p.m.

If you are visiting Provence, you should definitely plan a detour here. You can do this by car, of course, or by train. Aix-en-Provence has a smaller city train station, from which you can quickly get to Marseille, for example. There is also a long-distance TGV train station, although this is outside the city. From there, it is best to take a taxi to get into the city.

Finally, I would like to briefly explain the unusual-sounding name Aix-en-Provence. Aix is an ancient name for settlement and en-Provence indicates the region it belongs to. Incidentally, our German Aachen is called Aix-la-Chapelle in French. So you could conclude that Aix-en-Provence is the Aachen of Provence....