Aix-en-Provence: the City with a Thousand Fountains

Aix-en-Provence, France? What a dream! I have read about Provence for so many years, that finally visiting truly felt surreal. And to walk into a town that greeted me with this fountain? It was a dream.

The food in this town... oh my word. Everything we ate was just so good. And the produce market (which took place in the square outside of our Airbnb) happens every day! I understand why culinary icons like Julia Child and M.F.K. Fisher flocked here.

This was the view from our Airbnb! Yes, it was worth the seven flights of stairs.

There actually are over a thousand fountains in Aix, and every time we stumbled upon a new one it delighted us all over again.

Aix also boasts Paul Cezanne’s studio. It’s just a short walk from the center of town and so worth it! It is a tiny, charming studio that Cezanne had built according to his specific needs as an artist. All of his things are still in the studio, even his painting smocks. It was quite special to see such a personal space that belonged to one of the great Impressionist painters.

One of my favorite memories from Aix-en-Provence was this twilight walk. We took a long stroll around town after dinner, too enchanted by this little city to go to bed. I fell in love with the city on this walk: seeing it in the soft evening light changed everything. The soft blue of the sky echoed off a thousand windows and softened everything around us. Not to mention the twinkly joyful conversation of all the sidewalk cafes floated in the air.

I am overjoyed that I finally got to experience Provence. It was just as I imagined it would be and better. If you ever get the chance to visit Aix-en-Provence, do it… or just go with me next time because I will be going back to this dreamy little city.