To wrap up our two weeks in Southern France, Nik, Koval the Dog and I spent a week in Aix-en-Provence. It was the perfect spot to take it easy after bouncing around several different cities and Airbnb’s.
Country Escape
Nik found our Aix Airbnb as we were looking for a dog friendly place with a yard. The charming guest house that we booked was perfect from the minute we arrived.
The guest house was a studio space, well-designed and thoughtfully laid out with the bed, kitchen, dining area and living room open to each other. There was a small wall to separate the bed from a work space complete with a desk. A toilet and shower each had their own standalone rooms.
Since the kitchen didn’t have an oven, there was an outdoor flattop grill or plancha that we utilized a few times to make dinners.
Related: Our Few Days in Antibes
We had the perfect weather with sun and warm temps, though not warm enough to thoroughly enjoy the pool. Before leaving, Nik did a quick jump in and confirmed the pool was pretty cold.
Old Town
For our first full day in Aix, we drove into Old Town and spent a few hours walking around and having lunch. As we started exploring, I instantly loved the charm and architecture. You could see the history everywhere you looked.
I was absolutely enamored with the Clock Tower located in Place de l’Hôtel de Ville of Aix, arguably one of Provence’s most famous squares. The tower dates back to 1510 and showcases numerous decorative elements. There’s the clock at the top, a couple balconies, an astronomical clock and a funeral urn! The urn is dedicated to the Defenders of the Fatherland during the French Revolution (i.e. the side who was revolting).
The square was rather busy while we there because of a market and the various vendor trucks were blocking a lot of the gorgeous buildings that border the square. You can see a bit of the Town Hall building in the picture below.
City of Fountains
Aix is often referred to as the city of a thousand fountains… and we saw a few.
Below is the fountain of Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, with the Town Hall in the background.
Two of the most notable fountains are the 17th-century Fontaine des Quatre Dauphins (Fountain of the Four Dolphins) and Fontaine de la Rotonde.
Fontaine de la Rotonde is surrounded by bronze sculptures of twelve lions, sirens and angels on the backs of swans.
Fontaine des Bagniers was placed at the intersection of two streets (rue des Chapeliers and rue des Bagniers) in 1685. It supplied hot water to the residents until being removed from the road in 1759 due to the increase in traffic and being installed against a wall.
The portrait at the top is in tribute to French painter Paul Cézanne who has a long history with the region.
Place d’Albertas and the Phallic Balconies
The wealthy Albertas family bought a mansion on Rue Espariat and some neighboring buildings to showcase their wealth. Little did they know, they moved next door to an ancient brothel whose second-story balconies featured metal-work penises as a way of announcing the house to potential customers.
And of course there’s a fountain.
Can you see it?
Aix Cathedral
The Aix Cathedral, also known as the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur d’Aix-en-Provence was built and re-built from the 12th until the 19th century. It includes Romanesque, Gothic (one of my favorite architecture styles) and Neo-Gothic elements.
Dining
The region of Provence is known for wine and its lavender fields which are mostly in bloom from June until late July or mid-August. While we didn’t try to see any of the lavender fields, we did enjoy some delicious wine from the region.
Château La Coste
A highlight was lunch at Château La Coste, a lovely winery on a sprawling piece of land. It was a 20 minute drive from our Airbnb and was a nice way to see a different part of the region.
The winery had several restaurants to choose from. We opted for lunch at Vanina, their Italian restaurant.
Over a couple glasses of wine, Nik and I enjoyed two of their specials from the day we were there. A delicious pizza and the only topping I can remember was a crispy bacon. The other entree was a creamy pasta with mushrooms. Dessert was also a special of the day, similar to a strawberry shortbread with ice cream.
Christophe Madeleines
Back over in Old Town, as we walked around, the smell of something freshly baked led me to Christophe Madeleines. A walk-up window with fresh madeleines to-go. They had at least five flavors to choose from, so I got a mix. There was a little bit of a line, but it moved quickly. Completely worth the wait, they were so good.
Le Piston
Lunch in Old Town came from Le Piston, a random place we found down one of the small side streets. Nik and I had their burrata and grilled calamari dishes. They were decent, but the burrata could’ve had a little more flavor to it.
Pont du Gard
In addition to visiting the winery and exploring Old Town, we adjusted our sightseeing plans and decided to visit Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge dating back to the first century AD.
The bridge has three tiers of arches and words cannot explain how impressive the aqueduct is. I kept asking rhetorically how this got built way back in the day, as I cannot imagine how they did it.
The Pont du Gard attracted increasing attention starting in the 18th century, and became an important tourist destination.
A series of renovations between the 18th and 21st centuries, commissioned by local authorities and the French state, culminated in 2000 with the opening of a new visitor center and removal of traffic and buildings from the bridge and area immediately around it.
It is one of France’s most popular tourist attractions today and I’m glad we made the day trip.
Vet Experience in Aix
If you don’t follow our social media, you may have missed that Koval the Dog got sick on our third night in Aix that required a two night stay at Vétérinaires 2 Toute Urgence, an emergency vet hospital. It was definitely a downer for us. After Koval was discharged, we decided to scale back on sightseeing to lay low and hang with him. Because of our lovely Airbnb surroundings, we didn’t mind at all.
Our experience at the vet was very good and most of the staff spoke some English, which helped us. I plan to write more on this soon, but you’d be surprised (in a good way) about the cost of the bill. Overall, we were very satisfied with the care Koval received. Luckily Koval is doing a bit better now, even if he has an assortment of pills to take each day. Just like the rest of us, he’s getting older too.
Putting a Bow on Aix
Both Nik and I agree that Old Town Aix has become one of our favorites. We still have so much left to explore that we’re planning to return for another week in Aix-en-Provence, either in the spring or summer.
