This guide covers eight places in the old centre of Aix-en-Provence: the cathedral of Saint-Sauveur, the Madeleine church, the squares of the Cardeurs and the Quatre-Dauphins, the fountains of the Rotonde and King René, the Cours Mirabeau and the Hôtel de Caumont. They sit within a short walk of each other, and together they tell the story of the town, from a Roman-era baptistery to the grand mansions of the 17th and 18th centuries and the fountains that gave Aix its nickname, the city of a thousand fountains.
Fontaine de la Rotonde
The Rotonde is the big roundabout fountain at the bottom of the Cours Mirabeau, and the place where most visitors first meet Aix. It was inaugurated in 1860, at a time when the town finally had a reliable water supply from a new canal, and it is the largest fountain in Aix. Its tiers of basins carry bronze lions, swans and dolphins ridden by children, and at the top stand three marble women, each looking down one of the roads that leave the square.
- Justice, facing the Cours Mirabeau, Agriculture, facing the road to Marseille, and the Fine Arts, facing the road to Avignon.
- The bronze lions at the base and the small figures riding fish and swans on the middle tier.
- The fountain at night, when it is lit up and the traffic goes quiet around it.
Cours Mirabeau
The Cours Mirabeau runs from the Rotonde to the King René fountain and is the town's main promenade. It was laid out in the mid-17th century on the line of the old town walls, as a broad avenue where carriages could parade, and it took the name of the revolutionary orator Mirabeau in the 19th century. The south side is lined with the town houses of the nobility, the north side with cafés, and a double row of plane trees shades the whole length.
- The Fontaine Moussue, a fountain fed by a warm spring and so overgrown with moss that its shape has almost disappeared.
- The Fontaine des Neuf Canons, a low basin in the middle of the avenue, said to have been a watering place for flocks passing through the town.
- The carved stone figures holding up the balconies of the mansions on the south side, and the café Les Deux Garçons, open since the late 18th century.
Fontaine du Roi René
At the top of the Cours Mirabeau stands a statue of King René of Anjou, Count of Provence in the 15th century, who held his court in Aix and is still remembered there as "good King René". The statue is by the sculptor David d'Angers and was added to the fountain in 1823. René holds a bunch of grapes in his hand: by tradition he is credited with bringing the Muscat grape to Provence. At his feet lie a sceptre and books, a nod to his interest in the arts and letters.
Place des Quatre-Dauphins
South of the Cours Mirabeau lies the Mazarin quarter, a grid of straight streets laid out in the 17th century by the archbishop Michel Mazarin, brother of the famous cardinal. At its centre is the small Place des Quatre-Dauphins, with a fountain made in 1667 by the sculptor Jean-Claude Rambot: four stone dolphins spouting water around an obelisk crowned with a pine cone. Closed in by elegant façades and with very little traffic, it is one of the calmest squares in town.
Hôtel de Caumont
A few streets away, the Hôtel de Caumont is one of the finest 18th-century mansions in Aix. Building began in 1715, to plans linked to the royal architect Robert de Cotte, and lasted for decades. Since 2015 it has been the Caumont Centre d'Art, with temporary exhibitions of major painters, period rooms furnished in 18th-century style and a short film about Paul Cézanne, the painter born in Aix. Even if you don't go in, look at the stone façade and the courtyard, and if you visit, the formal French garden at the back is a quiet place to sit.
Église de la Madeleine
On the Place des Prêcheurs, north of the Cours Mirabeau, the Madeleine church stands where the Dominicans had a church in the Middle Ages. The present building went up between 1691 and 1703, while its columned front is much later, added in the 1850s. The church owns the panels of the Annunciation of Aix, a 15th-century altarpiece now attributed to Barthélemy d'Eyck, as well as a listed 18th-century organ. The building has been closed for many years for restoration work, so check before you go whether you can get inside; the façade and the square, with its market days, are worth the stop anyway.
Place des Cardeurs
The Place des Cardeurs, named after the wool carders who once worked in this part of town, lies just behind the town hall. It is a long, open square lined with restaurant terraces, busy at lunch and in the evening. In the middle is the Fontaine des Cardeurs, a modern work by the Aix sculptor Jean Amado, commissioned by the city in the 1980s: water runs over a massive dark block of basalt-like cement that Amado made himself, with plants growing in its hollows. The fountain also lets air into the car park under the square.
Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur
The cathedral of Saint-Sauveur is where the history of Aix is easiest to read in stone. Its baptistery, from around the year 500, is one of the oldest buildings in Provence, and its parts range from a Romanesque nave and cloister to the Gothic main façade. Inside hangs the Burning Bush triptych, painted by Nicolas Froment in 1475–1476 for King René, who is shown kneeling on one of the side panels.
- The octagonal baptistery, whose dome rests on ancient columns reused from earlier Roman buildings.
- The carved walnut doors of the main portal, made in the early 16th century by Jean Guiramand.
- The small Romanesque cloister with its slender paired columns and carved capitals.
How to see them in one walk
Start at the Fontaine de la Rotonde and walk up the Cours Mirabeau, stopping at the Fontaine Moussue and the Neuf Canons, to the King René fountain at the top. Turn south into the Mazarin quarter for the Place des Quatre-Dauphins and the Hôtel de Caumont, then cross back over the Cours and head north to the Madeleine on the Place des Prêcheurs. From there, wind through the old streets past the town hall to the Place des Cardeurs, and finish at the cathedral of Saint-Sauveur at the north edge of the old town.
See Aix-en-Provence with World City Trail
Our Aix-en-Provence scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, and all eight places in this guide are among them, from the Fontaine de la Rotonde and the Cours Mirabeau to the cathedral of Saint-Sauveur. The other two stops are the Musée Granet and the Place d'Albertas.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Aix-en-Provence.
Play the Aix-en-Provence scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Aix-en-Provence →
Play the outdoor escape game in Aix-en-Provence →
Facts checked in October 2026.