Aix Walking Tour: History and Renewal in the Medieval Capital of Provence

(164 reviews)

Aix-en-Provence audio tour: Aix Walking Tour: History and Renewal in the Medieval Capital of Provence

This is a 1.2mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Aix-en-Provence

France

$11.99

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About the Tour

Aix is a beautifully preserved city. In fact its centre hasn’t changed much over the last 300 years, but that doesn't mean it's living in the past. On this tour, you’ll quickly see how the city’s history plays a huge part in the resurgence we’re seeing now in the fortunes of modern Aix. There are lots of elegant buildings and squares along the way, of course, and we’ll explore its 2,000 year old story together – but there are also bustling markets, expensive clothing stores and some great cake shops.

By the end of the tour, you’ll understand how the city’s turbulent past has shaped its present. It’s a fascinating story filled with plague, war, revolution, and fortunes made and lost.

The highlights include:

How an archbishop developed an expensive real estate block
Why we remember Paul Cezanne and not Emile Zola
Aix’s very own rags to riches story
How Napoleon shaped Aix’s history

And so much more!

Tour Producer

Richard Seaward

2 tours

My name is Richard. I'm British and live in central Aix en Provence, 5 minutes walk from where you start my tour.
I have lived and worked in London, New York and Hong Kong.
After leaving HK and settling in Aix , we took our 3 daughters on a 15 month world back packing trip. Obviously a lot of adventures , but the reason I’m telling you this is , on this trip we took a lot of guided city walks. We found guided walks were the best way to find and get to know the best parts of a city. I also found out what made a good tour and a bad tour, lists of dates when buildings constructed just boring . So before I started my own tour company Aixwalkingtours.com I spent a long time searching for the interesting Aix story behind the scenes. At the end of your walk you will know how the history of Aix is playing a huge part in what is going on right here and now, you’ll understand and appreciate even more the beautiful city you just walked through. Keep an eye out for me in Aix . I still look like the photo.

Preview Location

Location 19

Place d’Albertas

Please stop here at Albertas Square.

It's one of Aix's best-known squares, but it is not what it seems. I mentioned the Alberta's at Pierre Maurels house, his second wife was an Alberta. They were an established Aix family, local magistrates, old money.

They lived in ... Read More

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Major Landmarks

La Rotonde
Cours Mirabeau
Hôtel de Caumont
Place des Prêcheurs
Place d'Albertas
Town Hall of Aix-en-Provence
Paroisse Cathédrale Saint Sauveur Aix-en-Provence

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
La Rotonde, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France
Total distance

2km
Final location
Pl. de l'Hôtel de ville, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France
Distance back to start location

483.07m

Directions to Starting Point

We start in front of the Apple Store. It's easy to find as its a very large glass fronted stand alone building. It is at the bottom of the Cour Mirabeau to the left of La Rotonde. It is 50 m from the Office de Tourisme.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

There is a huge choice of bars and restaurants to stop and people watch on our route, particularly along the Cour, Place Richelme and the Place Hotel de Ville. The best cup of coffee in Aix is at Brulerie on the Place Richelme .Aix has a lot of ice cream shops, my childrens favourite is Amarino on the Place d"Hotel de Ville. The best museum is the Hotel de Caumont , which combines a top class Art Gallery with great changing exhibitions , a beautifully preserved and furnished Mansion , and a restaurant/tea room looking out over the restored formal garden . Its open 7 days a week.

Best time of day

Any time of the day is good , but if you want to catch the Markets on Tuesday , Thursday or Saturday they close at 1pm. Most of the fancy clothes shops don't open til 10 am.

Precautions

It is hot in the Summer in the middle of the afternoon. So best times for walks are early morning and late afternoon.

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