My next stop was Aix en Provence, one of the larger cities of Provence.
Aix isn’t exactly over-burdened with sights. And the biggest reason I visited was that it was Easter weekend and, after my Christmas 2005 experience in Ireland (where even most of the hotels were closed), I wanted to be in a larger city where I figured I’d have a better chance of finding meals. As it turned out, I needn’t have been concerned. Even the daily produce market was up and going on Easter morning.Aix’s old town is punctuated with a series of well-utilized squares. In the morning, most seem to host a market of some sort or another (produce, flowers, antiques, clothes, etc.). And in the afternoon, the market stalls clear out and the café tables move in. Along with seemingly a large portion of the population. Some of the squares are quite large, while other feel more like cosy street corners enlarged just enough for a restaurant or two to spread out some tables. Wandering about after dark, you never know when you’re going come upon the next square. Some quiet and cosy, others alive with action. All of them filled with people enjoying this relaxing little city.