Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Entre calissons, étudiants et Sainte-Victoire, partez à la découverte d'Aix!

Le Cours Mirabeau la nuit tombée

Like its calisson, Aix-en-Provence is a sweet itself. A sweet small city perched on the heights of Marseille. A well-known student hub for centuries, Aix is also a very chic city of Provence. "Its leafy boulevards and public squares are lined with 17th- and 18th-century mansions, punctuated by gurgling moss-covered fountains. Haughty stone lions guard its grandest avenue, cafe-laced Cours Mirabeau, where fashionable Aixois pose on polished pavement terraces sipping overpriced espresso.”* 
Aix used to be the capital of Provence until the Révolution and the rise of Marseille. More than ever, Aix remains a center for culture. Musée Granet has several hundreds of paintings, including Cézanne, Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Klee, Giacometti, Ingres and many more. If you look around the city, you can’t miss the intriguing mountain, Montagne Sainte-Victoire, which you have probably seen before in many paintings of Cézanne. The mountain is a perfect spot for hiking, climbing and paragliding. 
Perrine (2014 counselor) explains that she enjoys living in Aix because “it's an old town, and its architecture and its heritage are acknowledged throughout the world - and still, the city is lively and full of youth, and there is always something to do or see.” 
On your way to the train station, stop by Les Deux Garçons, probably the most famous brasserie on the Cours Mirabeau and order a treat. You may even feel the ghosts of Cézanne, Zola, or Hemingway who used to go there quite often!

Terrasses de cafés à Aix

*http://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/provence/aix-en-provence#ixzz3Oecyhtxk

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