Aix-en-Provence , [ a ] or simply Aix , is a city and commune in southern France , about 30 km 20 mi north of Marseille. The population of Aix-en-Provence is approximately , Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains. Aix Aquae Sextiae was founded in BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus , who gave his name to its springs, following the destruction of the nearby Gallic oppidum at Entremont. In the 4th century AD it became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda.
It was occupied by the Visigoths in In the succeeding century, the town was repeatedly plundered by the Franks and Lombards , and was occupied by the Saracens in and by Charles Martel in Aix passed to the crown of France with the rest of Provence in , and in Louis XII established there the parliament of Provence, which existed until In the 17th and 18th centuries, the town was the seat of the Intendance of Provence.
Aix-en-Provence is situated in the south of France, in a plain overlooking the Arc river, about 1. The city slopes gently from north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aix's position in the south of France gives it a warm climate, though more extreme than Marseille due to the inland location. It has an average of days of sunshine and only 58 days of rain. The Cours Mirabeau is a wide thoroughfare, planted with double rows of plane trees , bordered by fine houses and decorated by fountains.
It follows the line of the old city wall, and divides the town into two sections. The new town extends to the south and west; the old town, with its narrow, irregular streets, and its old mansions dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, lies to the north. Built on the site of a former Roman forum and an adjacent basilica, it contains a mixture of all styles from the 5th to the 17th century, including a richly decorated portal in the Gothic style with doors elaborately carved in walnut.
Among its other public institutions, Aix also has the second most important Appeal Court Palais de Justice outside of Paris, located near the site of the former Palace of the Counts Palais des Comtes of Provence. It contains some fine woodwork and tapestries. At its side rises a handsome clock-tower, erected in This ornately decorated 18th-century building was designed by the Vallon brothers.
