SOCIAL EVENTS > Guided walking tour

Thursday 17 July (afternoon) visit to Aix-en-Provence

In keeping with IANLS tradition, congress participants will be offered the opportunity to take part in a guided tour of Aix-en-Provence or its places of cultural interest.

The tours, which will last between an hour and a half and two hours, in French or English, will mostly start from 4.00-4.30 pm, to allow the hottest hour to pass and to allow those who wish to do so to take part in the Early Career Forum (2.00-3.45 pm, Campus Schuman, Egger, E013), and then to go to the centre of Aix-en-Provence to the starting point of the guided tours (esplanade de la Rotonde, in front of the Tourist Office) or to the address of the place where the tour will take place. However, in some cases, so that several groups can follow one another, tours of museums or libraries are offered from 2.30pm. 

For outdoor guided tours, we advise you to bring water and sun protection for your head, eyes and skin, as well as good shoes and light, loose-fitting clothing.

Here is a choice of tours in French and English: 

1. Visit to the Paul Arbaud library-museum (Académie d'Aix) (French) 

Paul Arbaud, antique collector and bibliophile (died 1911), bequeathed his private mansion and collections to the Académie d'Aix. We'll be showing the antechamber and his large study (home of his library Muses), decorated with Latin inscriptions, and some of the highlights of his library relating to humanism and neo-Latinism. 

Three tour groups of no more than 15 people each: 2.30 pm, 4 pm, 5.30 pm 

Length of visit: approximately 1 h 30 

Meeting point: Hôtel Arbaud, 2 rue du 4 Quatre-Septembre, 13100 Aix-en-Provence. (link to the OT page devoted to the hotel and one or two images, a map, a photo of the door with the atlatls or of the interior).

2.Visit to the heritage collections of the Méjanes Library and the Archives municipales d'Aix-en-Provence-Michel Vovelle (French) 

The holdings of the Méjanes library, which date back to the precious founding bequest of the Marquis de Méjanes in 1786, stand out for their encyclopaedic nature and rarity: medieval manuscripts, printed books, periodicals, scores, prints, maps and artists' books. A remarkable heritage that continues to grow. Since 2020, they have been housed in a new 3,200 m2 building designed by Marseille architect Jean-Michel Battesti, along with the municipal archives, which retrace more than 800 years of the city's history. An overview of the most emblematic documents, including those more closely related to our studies, will be presented during this visit. 

Two tour groups of 12 people maximum each: 4 pm, 5.30 pm (to be confirmed) 

Length of visit: approximately 1 h 30  

Starting point of the tour: Bibliothèque patrimoniale Méjanes, site Michel Vovelle,

25 avenue de Philadelphie, 13100 Aix-en-Provence. 

3. Thematic guided tour ‘Aix-en-Provence in the 17th and 18th centuries’ (French) 

There is no limit to the number of participants on this French-language tour, as additional groups can be arranged with other guide-lecturers, each group not exceeding 20 people.

Mireille Nys, senior lecturer in the history of modern art at the University of Aix-Marseille (TELEMMe, UMR 7303), and a specialist in the history of architecture, built heritage and gardens (books: Le jardin classique en Provence méridionale, Aix-en-Provence, Édisud, 2002, preface by Michel Baridon; Provence, terre de jardins, Édisud, Aix-en-Provence, 2001) will take you on a stroll through the streets of Aix town centre, where you will discover the richness of its architectural heritage, which is quite exceptional, particularly for the 17th and 18th centuries, since the historic centre is home to no fewer than 140 listed monuments, including 9 fountains and 75 town houses. 

Group of 20 people maximum: 4.30 pm. 

Length of tour: approximately  1 hour 30 minutes 

Departure point: esplanade de la Rotonde, in front of the Tourist Office. 

4. Thematic guided tour ‘Aix-en-Provence at the time of King René’ (French) 

Yannick Frizet, doctor in medieval art history (AMU, LA3M) and author of two books on Provence at the time of King René: Louis XI, le Roi René et la Provence, Aix-en-Provence, Pup, 2015, and Munificence et stratégie de Louis XI en Midi Provençal, Aix-en-Provence, Pup, 2017, will take you back in the past and show you what the town looked like in the time of King René . 

A tour group of 25 people Maximum: 4.30 pm  

Length of visit: approximately 1h 30 

Starting point: esplanade de la Rotonde, in front of the Tourist Office. 

Additional tours in French will be available on request. 

5. Guided tours of Aix-en-Provence in English (120 to 180 places) 

Groups of 30 people maximum each. The number of groups will depend on the number of registrations. 

Thanks to the English-language commentary provided by the Tourist Office's guide-lecturers, Aix-en-Provence will reveal to you the elegance of its town houses, the beauty of its architecture, its fountains and its monuments, all witnesses to its prestigious past. All groups depart from the tourist office at 4.30pm and the tour lasts around 2 hours.