Photo Essay: The most beautiful town in France

Aix-en-Provence. The name "Aix" comes from the Romans who built ramparts over the local hot springs and claimed this astonishingly beautiful place as their own about 100 years before the birth of Christ. In the earliest days blood flowed there as prolifically as water as the Romans, Cimbri, Teutones, Visigoths, Lombards and Saracens all battled, conquered, occupied and plundered its riches. In the middle ages, Aix became the seat of power in Provence. But it wasn’t until the 12th Century that it flourished as a center of art and learning. With the rest of Provence, it passed to the crown of the French king, Louis XII, in the 15th Century. After the 17th Century the French pulled down the remnants of the Roman settlement and designed the stunning mansion-lined cours Mirabeau and built fountains over their hot springs.

Today it remains as one of the most beguiling towns in the South of France. Its compact, winding streets are filled with small shops and its open central market is filled with the bounty of Provence: fruits and vegetables, local olive oil, wine, and lavender. It is the birthplace of painter Paul Cézanne and novelist Émile Zola, among others, and is perhaps mostly unchanged from the time that either of them lived there. As one walks through the market there vendors beckon with flavors and smells: samples of a terrine de foie gras, a fresh ripe fig turned inside out, farm-fresh cheeses accompanied by a hot crusty boule and a glass of wine, or perhaps one of the local almond and citrus confections called calissons.

Though tourism is a key industry in Aix-en-Provence, it is not as well known among outsiders as other towns in the South of France like Arles, Nice and Cannes. But the town of only 100,000 people features some of the most desirable real estate in all of France and the elegant townhouses command premium prices. Many native French people vie to live and work in Aix. Traditions are important to the people of Provence. Artists who went there for the light and scenery found additional inspiration in the observance of regional craftsmen. Local pottery and woodworking are not a devalued currency, revived simply for the tourists, but respected, time-honored occupations. Even those who have the good sense to visit Aix-en-Provence, and who partake of its beauty and rich tradition of artistry, may fail to discover all of the secrets it refuses to surrender. Perhaps that is the basis of its appeal.