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Quick Aix en Provence review with photos

yokeagan

By yokeagan,
in France Ports

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yokeagan

yokeagan

Posted
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We took the Marseille & Aix en Provence tour through Norwegian. I reviewed the Marseille portion in a seperate post. This is the Aix en Provence portion.

 

Our tour actually started with Aix en Provence. We drove from Toulon to Aix. Pretty drive. Our guide was fairly good. Once in Aix we did a walking tour where our guide pointed out the various Architectural features of the buildings. We walked down the Cours Mirabeau. Then down a few side streets. We then had about an hour and a half of free time for lunch and shopping. Aix is a pretty town , but there's not a lot there except shopping and food. We had a great lunch and wandered around. If you are looking for many places of historical importance-- this is not the stop for you. All-in-all, it was a nice laid back tour. We even stopped by the local farmers market and picked up some good sweets to munch on.

 

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19700203_4396.jpg

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paiagirl

paiagirl

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Yokeagan, thank you for posting photos with the NCL tour.

 

We will be on the JADE and plan to do the NCL excursion.

 

Am debating rather we should do the Aix en Provence only tour or do the Marseille and Aix en Provence. Have you heard any feedback from cruisers that did only the Aix en Provence excursion?

 

Did you book the tour when you boarded? Am wondering because we have OBC and want to use it for the excursion but not sure if there will be space available.

 

paiagirl

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Papalove12

Papalove12

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Thanks for posting your pictures of Aix. We are just doing Aix with NCL. Being that we will be seeing a lot of historical points of interest at other ports, this is just what I was looking for. 7 more weeks before we fly out for our Sept 25 sailing!

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yokeagan

yokeagan

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For me personally, I enjoyed doing both the Marseille & Aix en Provence because I like seeing more than just one place. If you want a completely laid back experience, then doing just the Aix portion may be for you. There's not a lot to do in Aix but shop and eat. But the food is wonderful and the shops are fun.

 

If you want to do more, then do both. I think that's a personal preference call. I'm not a big shopper- so I needed more to do.

 

Not sure if that helps. But that's my two cents anyway. Enjoy your trip!

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kimkencruzers

kimkencruzers

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Thanks for posting! I am happy to hear some feedback on the NCL tour because I also plan to take it in late March and was wondering the same thing about adding Marsailles or not. I can't decide.. I will look at your Marsailles review also. We are a family of four and adding Marsailles adds about $120 on top of just the Aix tour and after all of our touring elsewhere, I am wondering if it would be worth it.

 

Kim

 

Edit: I just looked at the Marsailles tour and your pics were beautiful, but since we don't have free time there I will probably just go with the Aix excursion to save some bucks for all the other tours we are going on!

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paiagirl

paiagirl

Posted
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For me personally, I enjoyed doing both the Marseille & Aix en Provence because I like seeing more than just one place. If you want a completely laid back experience, then doing just the Aix portion may be for you. There's not a lot to do in Aix but shop and eat. But the food is wonderful and the shops are fun.

 

If you want to do more, then do both. I think that's a personal preference call. I'm not a big shopper- so I needed more to do.

 

Not sure if that helps. But that's my two cents anyway. Enjoy your trip!

 

Thank you. We will take the same tour as you did. That is if there are openings when we board, otherwise only Aix en Provence. I enjoy your photos very much and appreciate you taking the time to post them.

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mskaufman Great Review Rare

mskaufman

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I don't remember language being a problem. However, my DW speaks a little french. I seem to remember most of the shops in the main tourist areas spoke some English.

 

By the way, the candy store did give samples.

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yokeagan

yokeagan

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I didn't have a problem with the language either. Between my very little bit of French, and their better English, we got along just fine.

 

Also, I believe someone asked if we booked early-- yes we booked a couple of months prior to going.

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KCcruisin07

KCcruisin07

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Thank you for the photos. Sure like the candy store.

Mark and Karen,

Love your pictures, especially the one with the clock and the sculpture in the niche below!

What was the area (square) with the artists sitting around the edge?

Thanks,

Kathy

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mskaufman Great Review Rare

mskaufman

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Hi,

 

Sorry, I don't remember the name of the square with the artists. However, if you Google Aix, that is the fountain that is shown in many of the tourist pictures. The other place there were artists was on the main street (don't know it's name) that ran between the two fountains at both ends of town.

 

Glad you enjoyed the pictures. The one you reference is one of my favorites. The other one is the one of the fountain that has multiple water streams.

 

Mark

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kimkencruzers

kimkencruzers

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Since there seem to be people interested in pictures from Aix. Here is another set. We took the ship's tour to AIx (only)

 

https://markandkareneurope2012.shutterfly.com/pictures/497

 

 

Thanks for posting those pictures! How was the ship's tour to just Aix? Did you have commentary and scenery on the way? Was there enough time in Aix? Thanks!

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mskaufman Great Review Rare

mskaufman

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Hi,

 

We were there on a Sunday and took the ship's tour because we were concerned about things being less dependable on Sunday. We paid something like $54 and felt it was well worth it. There was commentary on the way and a guided tour of the town. We then have about 90 - 120 minutes of free time. We felt it was enough time and there were enough shops open to do some shopping. The main problem we had was finding a bathroom. The public restrooms were closed (maybe because it was Sunday), but we found one in a fast food restuarant.

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kimkencruzers

kimkencruzers

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Hi,

 

We were there on a Sunday and took the ship's tour because we were concerned about things being less dependable on Sunday. We paid something like $54 and felt it was well worth it. There was commentary on the way and a guided tour of the town. We then have about 90 - 120 minutes of free time. We felt it was enough time and there were enough shops open to do some shopping. The main problem we had was finding a bathroom. The public restrooms were closed (maybe because it was Sunday), but we found one in a fast food restuarant.

 

Thank You!

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KCcruisin07

KCcruisin07

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Hi,

 

Sorry, I don't remember the name of the square with the artists. However, if you Google Aix, that is the fountain that is shown in many of the tourist pictures. The other place there were artists was on the main street (don't know it's name) that ran between the two fountains at both ends of town.

 

Glad you enjoyed the pictures. The one you reference is one of my favorites. The other one is the one of the fountain that has multiple water streams.

 

Mark

Thank you. It is a great picture.

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EMED2010

EMED2010

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Loved seeing your Aix pictures. It was wonderful seeing what this little town looked like on a sunny day. When we were there for our tour in October 2010, it poured the entire day! All my pictures are taken from under my umbrella.'still had a great time though!:)

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