19 Sights in Aix-en-Provence, France (with Map and Images)

Aquæ Sextiæ is the Latin name for Aix-en-Provence. The first Roman city on the territory of present-day France, this city was founded in 122 BC. by the Roman consul Gaius Sextius Calvinus following an expedition against the oppidum of Entremont, the Salyan capital. Benefiting in the first decades from an architecture very similar to that of Entremont, it was not until the first century that Aquæ Sextiæ was given a typically Roman design, consisting of a cardo and a decumanus which gave it an orthogonal plan. A forum stands in its center, while a basilica dominates the northern part of the city.

Wikipedia: Aquae Sextiae (FR)

Aix Cathedral in Aix-en-Provence in southern France is a Roman Catholic church and the seat of the Archbishop of Aix-en-Provence and Arles. The cathedral is built on the site of the 1st-century Roman forum of Aix. Built and re-built from the 12th until the 19th century, it includes Romanesque, Gothic and Neo-Gothic elements, as well as Roman columns and parts of the baptistery from a 6th-century Christian church. It is a national monument of France.

Wikipedia: Aix Cathedral (EN)

Sciences Po Aix, also referred to as Institut d'Études Politiques (IEP) d'Aix-en-Provence, is a Grande École of political studies located in Aix-en-Provence, in the South of France. It is associated with Aix-Marseille University and is part of a network of ten Institut d'études politiques, known as IEP.

Wikipedia: Sciences Po Aix (EN), Website

The Church of St. John in Aix-en-Provence, situated at the corner of rue d'Italie and rue Cardinale, is a Gothic Roman Catholic church, the first in Provence. It was built in the 13th century, mostly in the 1270s.

Wikipedia: Église Saint-Jean-de-Malte (EN)

The Saint-Pons Bridge is a road bridge over the Arc River at a place called Saint-Pons, west of Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône). Built at the beginning of the fourteenth century, it was widened in the middle of the eighteenth century, and is still in use.

Wikipedia: Pont de Saint-Pons (FR)

The Pinchinats district is a rural district located in the north-east of the city of Aix-en-Provence, part of the canton of Aix-en-Provence-Nord-Est. It takes its name from the Provençal penchinats, designating the combing workshops that were established there in the Middle Ages. These workshops required abundant and pure water. The Pinchinats valley is considered the "water tower of the city of Aix" and has long been a place where the city-dwellers of Aix came to seek coolness in summer, considering this valley to be "the most pleasant stay in the Aix countryside". The district is known for being home to beautiful bourgeois residences, including the Château de la Mignarde, which has an important history.

Wikipedia: Quartier des Pinchinats (FR)

The Notre-Dame de la Consolation chapel is listed as a historical monument by prefectural decree of November 3, 1987. It is located along Avenue Philippe Solari in Aix-en-Provence, completely enclosed in the buildings of the Saint-Jacques Hospital, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department and in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. The city of Aix-en-Provence owns it.

Wikipedia: Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Consolation d'Aix-en-Provence (FR)

The Hôtel de Gantès is a listed hôtel particulier in Aix-en-Provence. Built in 1660, it was home to a private members' club until the French Revolution of 1789, when two aristocratic members were murdered by revolutionaries. Since the 1840s, it has been home to the world-famous café, Les Deux Garçons, a haunt of artists, writers and celebrities.

Wikipedia: Hôtel de Gantès (EN)

The Hôtel de Châteaurenard is a private mansion in Aix-en-Provence, located in the heart of the town of Saint-Sauveur, at the corner of rue des Brémondis and rue Gaston-de-Saporta, at number 19 of the latter.

Wikipedia: Hôtel de Châteaurenard (FR)

Entremont is a 3.5-hectare (8.6-acre) archaeological site three kilometres from Aix-en-Provence at the extreme south of the Puyricard plateau. In antiquity, the oppidum at Entremont was the capital of the Celtic-Ligurian confederation of Salyes. It was settled between 180 and 170 B.C., somewhat later than the inhabitation of other oppida, such as Saint-Blaise. The site was abandoned when it was taken by the Romans in 123 B.C. and replaced by Aquae Sextiae, a new Roman city founded at the foot of the plateau. By 90 B.C., the former oppidum was completely uninhabited.

Wikipedia: Entremont (oppidum) (EN), Website

The Chapel of the White Penitents of the Carmelites is a former chapel of the White Penitents, located on Place Jean-Boyer, south-east of the medieval city center of Aix-en-Provence. It dates from the seventeenth century. It has been listed as a historical monument since 1951.

Wikipedia: Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs des Carmes (FR)

The Hôtel d'Olivary, also known as the Hôtel Paradis or Hôtel de Silvacane or Revest-de-Montvert or Pignet-Guelton, is a private mansion located at 10 rue du Quatre-Septembre, in Aix-en-Provence (France).

Wikipedia: Hôtel d'Olivary (FR)

The hot water fountain, also known locally as a mossy fountain, is a thermal water fountain, located on the top of the Cours Mirabeau, in Aix-en-Provence, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.

Wikipedia: Fontaine d'eau chaude (FR)

The Château de la Pioline is located in the commune of Aix-en-Provence in the Bouches-du-Rhône department. The old 14th-century Verdache mill, which has become a sumptuous 16th-century residence over the centuries, is currently a hotel and restaurant. The castle has been classified as a historical monument since January 20, 1976.

Wikipedia: Château de la Pioline (FR)

The Hotel Lieutaud is a private mansion located at 32, rue Cardinale, in the center of the Mazarin district of Aix-en-Provence, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in France.

Wikipedia: Hôtel Lieutaud (FR)

The Grand Théâtre de Provence (GTP) is a venue located in the new Aix-en-Provence in district "Sextius Mirabeau". A symbol of the Aix region was used for the design of the volumes of this room: the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, recalled in particular by the stones of different colours on the outside.

Wikipedia: Grand Théâtre de Provence (EN)

The Noh Theatre of Aix-en-Provence is a Noh stage located in the northwest corner of the Parc Saint-Mitre, in Aix-en-Provence, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France. It is the only example in the world of a traditional Noh theater outside Japan.

Wikipedia: Théâtre Nô d'Aix-en-Provence (FR), Website

The Pavillon de Vendôme, also known as the Pavillon Vendôme or Pavillon de La Molle, is a former private mansion, housing the Musée du Pavillon de Vendôme-Dobler, located in the city of Aix-en-Provence in France. It was built by Louis de Mercœur, Duke of Vendôme, who wanted to own a folly outside the city of Aix. This pavilion owes its fame to the fact that it is said to have housed the love affairs of the Duke of Vendôme and the Belle du Canet, Lucrèce de Forbin-Solliès, widow of Honoré de Rascas, lord of Canet. The duke wanted to marry her, but this plan upset King Louis XIV because Mercœur was the widower of Laure Mancini, niece of Cardinal Jules Mazarin, a court councillor. Since this union would have been considered a misalliance, and not being able to marry her, the duke decided to become the lady's lover.

Wikipedia: Pavillon Vendôme (Aix-en-Provence) (FR), Website

The Domaine du Grand-Saint-Jean is an estate located on the Puyricard plateau, in the commune of Aix-en-Provence. It includes a castle, a chapel and a sheepfold. Its construction began at the beginning of the eleventh century. It now belongs to the municipality of Aix-en-Provence.

Wikipedia: Château du Grand-Saint-Jean (FR)