Aix-en-Provence - Surroundings

Overlooking the Aygues valley is this 12th century chateau d'Ansouis. Fitted along the terraces below the chateau are a series of gardens. From the gardens an excellent view of the Alps can be seen.

Château la Gaude was designed in the form of a circular labyrinth is the moated box parterre. A series of steps lead down from the labyrinth to the broad terraces and smooth lawns with yew and fountains.

During World War II, when France was occupied by the Germans, some 3,000 German Jews who had fled from Nazi Germany were interned here in the local brick-works. Some escaped, but the remainder - together with a further 2,000 Jews betrayed by the Vichy Government - were sent to German concentration camps. There is a plaque in memory of this sad tale to be seen near the loading bay at the railroad station.

In a beautiful park south of Les Milles, by the D59, stands the 18th C. Lenfant Palace.

The D10 road leaves Aix and leads northward through the charming countryside on the north bank of the Bimont reservoir. The latter is in fact not visible from the road, and it is worth making a detour to the wall of the reservoir in order to enjoy the impressive view of the bold triangular mountain peak, the Montagne Ste-Victoire.

About 12km/7.5mi east of Aix, above the river which supplies into the reservoir, lies the village of Vauvenargues, known for the abundance of game and wildlife in the surrounding countryside. The pretty village church dates from the 12th and 16th C., and the Renaissance palace, where Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues, wrote his famous 18th C. philosophical maxims, was purchased by Picasso in 1958. Picasso and Jacqueline Roque, his second wife, are buried in the park.

Today the palace is owned by the daughter of Jacqueline Roque and is not open to visitors. Jacqueline wanted to instal a Picasso Museum here, but the local authorities would not allow it, for fear that the little village and quiet valley would be spoiled by hordes of artists and other visitors.