This handsome church was built between 1344 and 1480 (aside from a brief hiatus when half the town had a touch of the Black Death). Nostradamus' remains lie inside one of 11 side chapels; his tomb was visited by Louis XIII and Louis XIV, then desecrated by a soldier in the 1790s.
Collégiale St-Laurent
Pays d’Aix
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
25.68 MILES
The largest Gothic palace ever built, the Palais des Papes was erected by Pope Clement V, who abandoned Rome in 1309 in the wake of violent disorder after…
25.91 MILES
Legend says Pastor Bénézet (a former shepherd) had three visions urging him to build a bridge across the Rhône. Completed in 1185, the 900m-long bridge…
19.64 MILES
Aix established one of France's first public museums here, on the site of a former Hospitallers' priory, in 1838. Nearly 200 years of acquisitions …
15.57 MILES
It might lack the scale and ambition of some of Provence's better-known Roman monuments, but for a glimpse into everyday life in Gaul, this ancient town…
23.48 MILES
In Roman Gaul, every important town had an amphitheatre, where gladiators and wild animals met their (usually grisly) ends. Few examples have survived,…
20.16 MILES
If you're searching for that classic postcard shot of the medieval abbey surrounded by a sea of purple lavender, look no further. This sublime Cistercian…
28.42 MILES
East of Aix rises Cézanne’s favourite haunt, the magnificent silvery ridge of Montagne Ste-Victoire, its dry slopes carpeted in garrigue (scented scrub),…
27.8 MILES
Named after its fiery red and orange landscape (which locals likened to Colorado), this former ochre quarry is one of the best places to appreciate the…
Nearby Pays d’Aix attractions
0.2 MILES
Michel de Nostredame, popularly known as the prognosticator Nostradamus, lived here from 1547 until his death in 1566. A physician and philosopher, he…
0.26 MILES
One of the oldest and largest fortified palaces in Provence, the Château de l'Empéri has roots in the 9th-century, though it grew to its current immensity…
0.54 MILES
From the turn of the 20th century until the 1950s, soap was a buoyant business in Salon, making fortunes for manufacturers such as Marius Fabre. Run by…
4. Observatoire Ornithologique de Mérindol
8.7 MILES
This bird reserve on the Durance River is home to some 243 species, including herons and great cormorants. Hides are strategically positioned along the…
12.2 MILES
The Abbaye de Silvacane is one of a trio of medieval abbeys built in Provence by Cistercian monks. Constructed between 1175 and 1230, it has all the…
6. Le Château de la Reine Jeanne
12.23 MILES
Built in the 10th century to consolidate land 'reconquered' from the Moors, this ruined castle originally bore the name Ventabren – the village growing…
12.88 MILES
In the days before synthetic dyes, natural colours obtained from plants, fruit and seeds were the main way of creating tints for clothing, textiles and…
13.95 MILES
The arches of the three-tiered Aqueduc de Roquefavour reach 83m in height, making it the world’s largest stone aqueduct. Three hundred and seventy-five…