France City  -  Aix-en-Provence

Street in Aix-en-Provence

 
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Local Attractions - places to visit    

• The Cours Mirabeau More>>
• The Cathedral of the Holy Saviour (Cathédrale Saint Sauveur) More>>
• The Hôtel de ville More>>
• The Archbishop's palace (Palais de l'Archêveque) More>>

History    

Aix (Aquae Sextiae) was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs. More>>

Geography    

Aix-en-Provence is situated in a plain overlooking the Arc, about a mile from the right bank of the river.

The city slopes gently from north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east.

Climate    

Aix' position in the south of France gives it a warm climate. It has an average January temperature of 5°C and a July average of 22°C.

It has an average of 300 days of sunshine and only 91 of rain. Whilst it is partially protected from the Mistral, Aix does occasionally suffer the cold gusty conditions it brings.

Education    

Aix is an important educational centre, hosting various faculties. Aix also has training-colleges, a lycée, and a school of art and technics. More>>

Festival d'Aix-en-Provence     

Aix has an important opera festival, the 'Festival international d'Art Lyrique' founded in 1948 which now ranks with those in Bayreuth, Salzburg and Glyndebourne. The current director is Stéphane Lissner.

The festival takes place in July each year. The main venue is the Théâtre de l'Archévêché in the archbishop's palace.

Linked to the festival is the Académie européenne de musique a summer school for young musicians with master classes by celebrated artists.

Museums     

Aix has several museums and galleries:

• Le Musée du Vieil Aix (Museum of Old Aix), which tells of the history and growth of the city.
• Le Museum d'Histoire Naturelle
• Le Musée de Tapisseries (Tapestry Museum), housed in the Archbishop's Palace.
• Le Musée Paul Arbaud (Faïence/Pottery)
• Le Musée Granet, next to the Church of Saint John of Malta.
• Le Pavillon de Vendôme, a 17th century mansion housing permanent and touring art exhibitions.
• La Fondation Vasarely, museum dedicated to the Hungarian-born French Abstract Painter

Economy     

Industries formerly included flour-milling, the manufacture of confectionery, iron-ware, hats, matches and the extraction of olive oil.

Current industries include:

• Tourism
• Semiconductor and Electronic Industry in Rousset
• Development services (computer science)
• Provence Crafts
• Universities
• Still, distillation of olive oil
• Manufacture of the famous calissons, sweets made of almond paste flavoured with confit melon and orange.
• Wine-making. The local Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée is Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence AOC.

Miscellaneous     

Aix' local dialect (spoken by a rapidly declining number and rarely used) is part of the Occitan language. The name of the city in that language is 'Ais de Provença'.

Most streets in the old city are named in both French and Occitan. Aix hosted the ninth Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne in 1953.

Famous People    

Aix-en-Provence was the birthplace of:

• Eleanor of Provence (died 1291), queen consort of King Henry III of England
• André Campra 1660-1744, composer and conductor
• François Marius Granet (1775-1849), painter
• Charles-Joseph-Eugene de Mazenod (1782-1861), Bishop of Marseille and Founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
• Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), painter who lived and painted in the city
• Émile Zola (1840-1902), novelist born in Paris but spent childhood in Aix
• Maurice Rouvier (1842-1911), politician
• Darius Milhaud (1892-1984), composer and teacher
• Julia Zemiro (born 1967), French-Australian actor and hostess of SBS's Rockwiz.
• Arnaud Clément (born 1977), professional tennis player, finalist at the Australian Open in 2001
• Nicolas Nollet (born 1986), actor

Credits : This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Aix-en-Provence".