David & Karen Taylor Explore Villages Towns and Cities

Spend a day in Aix en Provence

Another of our favourite cities in Aix-en-Provence is about an hour’s drive from Saint-Saturnin-les-Apt. It is a busy university town, like Marseille, with a certain chic feel. It has stunning buildings, much history, and plenty of fine shopping and eating. Continue reading here for the original article.

Ideas for a Day in Aix-en-Provence

Situated in the Bouches du Rhône, Aix-en-Provence may lack Marseille’s waterfront and beaches, but the beauty of Aix more than makes up for it. A day is hardly long enough to appreciate a city that began as a Roman settlement over 2,000 years ago. But it is possible with our tips on how to spend a day in Aix-en-Provence.

In approximately 122 BC, the Romans discovered natural springs in the area and built a settlement. They called it “Aquae Sextiae” (The Waters of Sextiae) after one of their influential elected officials, Sextius Calvinus. Hot and cold natural springs provided water for the settlement’s residents and livestock.

It wasn’t until 1481 that Aix-en-Provence officially became part of France. However, by 1555, it was a vital administrative city in the French Kingdom. Many fountains and statues were adorned with sculptural details during the Renaissance and remain beautiful.

Aix: Top 10 Ideas for a Day in the City

Please share this with friends and family.

Tags:Aix en Provence,Things to do

All rights reserved. Perfectly Provence articles and other content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translations into other languages) or redistributed without written permission. For usage information, please contact us.

Syndication Information

Affiliate Information

As an Amazon Associate, this website earns from qualifying purchases. Some recipes, posts and pages may have affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, we receive a small commission that does not impact your price. Thank you in advance for supporting our work to maintain Perfectly Provence.

David Taylor

It took just one holiday in the Luberon in 2003 for David and Karen Taylor to fall in love with Provence. This lead to owning a village house in Saint Saturnin les Apt - a holiday home. However, after just a few visits they took the radical step of leaving home and work in Surrey, England.

The plan was to take a year off to explore Provence and learn French. However, after just a few months a challenge of a different sort presented itself - property. It was a piece of land in a wonderful authentic Provencal village in the Luberon and they set about planning and building two houses and gites over a two year period.

Today David and Karen have a three bedroom villa with private pool, two gites and a chambre d'hôte room with a shared pool. Now (2015) they are approaching their 7th season with 50% repeat guests, for a season that starts at Easter and runs to mid-October.

Details on the different accommodation options can be found here.

When not carrying out work duties the couple continues to explore the endless beautiful Provencal villages and towns. Recording their visits in photographs and sampling great food & scenery.

Their blog began in 2006 as a way for friends and family to follow our adventures it is now a great resource for anyone interested in Provence.