AIX-EN-PROVENCE
would be the dominant
city of central Provence
were it not for the
great metropolis of
Marseille, just 25km
away. Historically,
culturally and socially,
the two cities are moons
apart and the tendency
is to love one and hate
the other. Aix is
complacently
conservative and a
stunningly beautiful
place, its riches based
on landowning and the
liberal professions. The
youth of Aix are
immaculately dressed;
hundreds of foreign
students, particularly
Americans, come to study
here; and there's a
certain snobbishness,
almost of Parisian
proportions.
From the twelfth
century until the
Revolution, Aix was the
capital of Provence. In
its days as an
independent county, its
most mythically beloved
ruler, "Good" King René
of Anjou (1409-80), held
a brilliant court
renowned for its popular
festivities and
patronage of the arts.
René was an archetypal
Renaissance man, a
speaker of many
languages (including
Greek and Hebrew), a
scientist, poet and
economist; he also
introduced the muscat
grape to the region -
today he stands in stone
in picture-book medieval
fashion, a bunch of
grapes in his left hand,
looking down the
majestic seventeenth-century
cours Mirabeau
The City
The whole of the old
city of Aix ,
clearly defined by its
ring of boulevards and
the majestic cours
Mirabeau, is the great
monument here, far more
compelling than any one
single building or
museum within it. With
so many streets alive
with people, so many
tempting restaurants,
cafés and shops, plus
the best markets in
Provence, it's easy to
pass several days
wandering around without
the need for any
itinerary or destination.
As a preliminary
introduction to Aixois
life, a café-stopping
stroll beneath the
gigantic plane trees
that shade the cours
Mirabeau is mandatory.
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