Aix-en-Provence

A graceful university city defined by grand seventeenth and eighteenth-century hôtels particuliers, tree-lined cours, and the steady murmur of fountains. The Cours Mirabeau, flanked by plane trees and café terraces, forms the social spine of the city. Cézanne was born here and spent his career painting the surrounding countryside, most notably Mont Sainte-Victoire visible to the east.