Aix-Marseille University

7 October 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  5 minutes

University of the Mediterranean Aix-Marseille II in Marseille © Georges Seguin/cc-by-sa-3.0

University of the Mediterranean Aix-Marseille II in Marseille © Georges Seguin/cc-by-sa-3.0

Aix-Marseille University (AMU; French: Aix-Marseille Université; formally incorporated as Université d’Aix-Marseille) is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II of Anjou, Count of Provence, petitioned the Pisan Antipope Alexander V to establish the University of Provence, making it one of the oldest university-level institutions in France. The institution came into its current form following a reunification of the University of Provence, the University of the Mediterranean and Paul Cézanne University. The reunification became effective on 1 January 2012, resulting in the creation of the largest university in the French-speaking world, with about 80,000 students. AMU has the largest budget of any academic institution in the Francophone world, standing at €750 million. It is consistently ranked among the top 200 universities in the world and is ranked within the top 5 universities in France according to ARWU, USNWR, and CWTS.   read more…

Les Baux-de-Provence in Provence

7 November 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  6 minutes

© BlueBreezeWiki/cc-by-sa-3.0

© BlueBreezeWiki/cc-by-sa-3.0

Les Baux-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the province of Provence in southern France. It has a spectacular position in the Alpilles mountains, set atop a rocky outcrop that is crowned with a ruined castle overlooking the plains to the south. Its name refers to its site: in Provençal, a bauç is a rocky spur. The village gives its name to the aluminium ore bauxite, which was first discovered there by geologist Pierre Berthier in 1821. Les Baux-de-Provence is part of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (meaning “the most beautiful villages of France”).   read more…

Arles in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region

16 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Town Hall on Place de la République © flickr.com - Wolfgang Staudt

Town Hall on Place de la République © flickr.com – Wolfgang Staudt

Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence. As part of the cultural initiative of the European Union’s European Capital of Culture, Arles is one of the convention and exhibition venues of Marseille-Provence 2013.   read more…

Theme Week Provence – Aix-en-Provence

25 October 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  14 minutes

© Wolf Meusel

© Wolf Meusel

Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a city-commune in the south of France, about 30 km (19 mi) north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix numbers approximately 143,000. Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains. Aix-en-Provence is situated in a plain overlooking the Arc, about a mile from the right bank of the river. The city slopes gently from north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aix’s position in the south of France gives it a warm climate. Aix is among the cities with the highest quality of life in France. In particular, the mix out of art and culture as well as bars and nightclubs are making the city attractive. Aix-en-Provence was part of Marseille-Provence 2013, the year-long cultural festival when the region served as the European Capital of Culture, together with Košice in Slovakia. Aix hosted several major cultural events including one half of the Grand Atelier du Midi gala exhibition and an episode of the Révélations pyrotechnical performance. The city also unveiled major new cultural infrastructure to coincide with Marseille-Provence 2013, including the Darius Milhaud Conservatory designed by Kengo Kuma.   read more…

Theme Week Provence – Salon-de-Provence

23 October 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Jardin de la République © Jjpetite/cc-by-sa-3.0

Jardin de la République © Jjpetite/cc-by-sa-3.0

Salon-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France with 43,000 inhabitants. Every Wednesday the Place Morgan is host to a Provençal market. Salon-de-Provence Air Base is the site of the French Air Force Academy, as well as the home of the French Aerial Demonstration team, the Patrouille de France.   read more…

Theme Week Provence – Aubagne

22 October 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Kremtak/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Kremtak/cc-by-sa-3.0

Aubagne is a French commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of southern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aubagnais or Aubagnaises.   read more…

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, capital of Camargue

28 July 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  5 minutes

Aerial view © flickr.com - Jean-Louis Vandevivère

Aerial view © flickr.com – Jean-Louis Vandevivère

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is the capital of the Camargue in the south of France. It is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department by the Mediterranean Sea. Population: 2,500 (50,000+ during the summer holidays). It has the second-largest area of all communes in Metropolitan France, smaller only than that of neighboring Arles. The village of Saintes Marie de la Mer, a place of warm reception, tradition and pilgrimage, is built between sky and sea, where the Rhone meets the Mediterranean Sea. A legendary site, its shore once welcomed at the dawn of the Christianity Marie Jacobi, Marie Salomé and their handmaid Sarah, who were persecuted Christians escaping from Palestine on a boat without a rudder.   read more…

Theme Week Marseille, France’s oldest and second largest city

3 May 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, French Riviera, European Union, Bon voyage, European Capital of Culture, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  9 minutes

Corniche - Petit Nice © Jddmano

Corniche – Petit Nice © Jddmano

Marseille, known in antiquity as Massalia, is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of 240.62 km2 (93 sq mi). The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of 1,204 km2 (465 sq mi). 1,530,000 or 1,601,095 people live in the Marseille metropolitan area, ranking it third among French metro areas. Located on the southeast coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, Marseille is France’s largest commercial port and largest French city on the Mediterranean coast. Marseille is the capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, as well as the capital of the Bouches-du-Rhône department. Its inhabitants are called Marseillais. Marseille enjoys a Mediterranean climate. The summer/holiday season lasts for six months, from May to October, although also in April sometimes there are temperatures above 20 °C (68.0 °F). Winters are mild, with average temperature 12 °C (54 °F) during the day and 4 °C (39 °F) at night in the period December–January–February.   read more…

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