Orientation

You’re in Aix-en-Provence. So far so good. Now you need to find pl. de la Rotonde, a large, spritzing fountain and traffic circle that marks the entrance to the vieille ville. This is your homebase and the hub for Aix’s public transportation. Thankfully, the tourist office is right next door, so you’ll probably pick up a map and render this orientation useless. But just in case, here’s the lowdown.

From pl. de la Rotonde, av. des Belges stretches downhill away from the old city and toward another traffic circle where it meets av. de L’Europe. The Gare Routière (bus station) is at this intersection, and the Auberge de Jeunesse is a 30min. walk straight along av. de l’Europe (or a 5min. bus ride on #4). Back at the fountain and your home-base (keep your eye on the ball), Cours Mirabeau is a tree-lined boulevard with numerous cafes. This is your promenading ground for essential services, food, and partying at all hours. Any left turn on Cours Mirabeau leads into the alleys of the old city with shops and restaurants galore. The best way to reach the heart of the old city, pl. de l’Hotel de Ville, is by using a map from the tourist office (sorry bud... those medieval streets are confusing.) Other awesome squares in the old city are pl. des Cardeurs to one side of pl. de l’Hotel de Ville and pl. Richelme just below it.

The remaining main street to know is av. Bonaparte, which exits from pl. de la Rotonde in the opposite direction of Cours Mirabeau. The next main street av. Bonaparte hits is the perpendicular Cours Sextius, which has nightlife hotspots. It forms one border of the old city. Moving in a circle around the old city from Cours Sextius, bld. Jean Jaurès/bld. Aristide Briand (same street, but the name changes), Cours Saint Louis/bld. Carnot and bld. du Roi René form the other borders. Now that you’re oriented, go eat a trianon cake at Patissier Riederer.