Aix en provence

I hope this was a day trip.

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear you did not like Aix. It’s not one of my favorite places in Provence but I did like it. I found it boring but pleasant but I went in June. I think Rick does say there is not much to see there and that it is more a place to visit for the feel of it. Weather in early May in unpredictable. I try not to comment on typos but really a space after a period would not kill you and would make your post more readable.

We stayed with friends in Aix one year, for a few days. We found it a bit dull but not awful, as the OP did, who has not one positive thing to report. I hope elsewhere in France was more pleasing to him and that the dogs were more mannerly.

Well, a rainy and overcast day in Aix is indeed not ideal... Most of the appeal of going to Aix is to amble in the lively streets, preferably on a big market day (three times a week, but can't remember the days), so the rain would put a "dampener" on this. Hope you enjoy(ed) the rest of your holiday!

We enjoyed our visit to Aix - we've actually been twice, but the first time it was during a thunderstorm, so it was a bit of a bummer.

Our trip last July was beautiful and hot (too hot, honestly) - I enjoyed dipping my feet into the fountains to cool off. We popped into the Aix Cathedral and were able to have a tour of the Cloisters with a docent (it was my husband and I and one other lady who had to leave early because she was with a tour group, so basically a lovely private guided tour). We sat on the main drag under a tree, listening to a guy play the saxophone whilst eating a delicious dessert. Had an amazing pizza alfresco and bought some chocolate goodies. Wandered the streets admiring the beautiful doors. Got there early enough to wander the outdoor food market and had some local raspberries (so good we ate them all and went and bought more) and got a yummy cheese and bacon baguette.

There was some construction going on, but otherwise...sorry you didn't enjoy it.

Sorry you didn’t like Aix en Provence on your cool, rainy day trip. We spent a month in a village about 10k from Aix and went into the city several times a week. We really enjoyed the variety of restaurants, the lovely plane trees shading the streets, the fountains, the fabulously colorful markets, the Cezanne artifacts. Many of the table linens we use daily were purchased at the markets in Aix.

I really think weather and time of year can make an impression and larger cities aren’t to some people’s liking so I understand your negativity in that regard. I do hope this report doesn’t discourage others from visiting Aix, especially on one of its many market days. You’ll see the largest displays of linens, flowers, fruit and vegetables, olives and on some days antiques displayed in several several plazas.

We stayed in Aix one night, and definitely enjoyed it. I didn't find it wonderful, and don't pine to return, but it's worth visiting if you're in the area. And it's probably a great place to live.

Well, I must say that I disagree with the OP. I love Aix. We have been fortunate to visit Aix several times because our daughter lived there for 2 years. I agree that bad weather can influence a person's opinion of a place, but we certainly never saw the dog droppings he/she mentions. And we did have nice weather every time we visited, so that does make a difference.

Aix is not a city with a huge amount of important sites to visit. Rather, it is a beautiful city, with its gorgeous old town, tons of fountains, many lovely squares, and beautiful architecture, that is meant for leisurely wandering and relaxing at cafes sipping rose wine. I love seeing bottles of rose chilling in the fountains! Aix has lots of great restaurants and cafes. Of course, we had the luxury of our daughter living there, so she knew which restaurants were good.

When we visited, we always had good luck buying stuff at the market in Place Richelme. There was tons of fruits, vegetables, food, lavender products, linens, etc. We enjoyed a visit to Saint Sauveur Cathedral, and happened to be there when there was a choir rehearsal going on! We also liked the Musee Granet, an interesting, medium size art museum. And we like Cezanne's studio. Had no trouble getting in when we were there. Place d' Albertas is one of my favorite squares with its beautiful architecture and lovely fountain.

I wish you could have been there on a sunny day. I think you might have a different opinion. Or maybe not. Everyone is different.

We are slow travelers.

We spent 8 nights in Aix-en-Provence in a rented apartment (from an American owner). It was on the 3rd floor, not air conditioned and it was hot, but there were fans in the apartment. Our time there included the Fête de la Musique. We did all the things the OP lists and enjoyed them. I love the olives and cicadas tablecloth I bought at the market.

In town we walked everywhere. We took the bus to Cezanne's atelier. I dont remember having to wait for the English language tour. Maybe we had advance tickets. From there we walked up the hill to the spot where he painted so many versions of Mont Sainte-Victoire. I loved seeing something close to what he saw. We walked down a bit and caught the bus back to town.

We had a rental car that we used to drive around the area. We love to drive. Our wanderings included the the Camargue, Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, the Pont du Gard and Saint-Tropez, to mention a few.

Enroute east one day, my husband did a big U-turn to get to a go-kart track so he could get a little track time in. We'd seen lots of go-kart tracks and he swore that the next one we saw, he'd stop and drive. He said the French karts were much more powerful than those you rent in the States.

We rented the street car in Reims and returned it in Aix-en-Provence. I've seen others on the forum complain about parking in Aix-en-Provence. Before arriving we learned where the underground garages were and what the entrances looked like. We also had a medium size car because, due to limited availability, they upgraded us at no charge from the much smaller and cheaper one we reserved. My husband had no problems with parking it in either of the underground garages we used.

So our experience was totally different. We had time to learn a bit about the city and the area. The weather was good, if hot.

I can see how one day under less than optimum weather conditions could be a bummer. On our first trip to Venice together, the one full day we had was cold and rainy. My husband's griped about Venice ever since.