Albertas Square

Welcome to Albertas Square. There’s yet another fountain here, but this one is well worth a closer look. It’s actually the most photographed fountain in the whole city, and for good reason! Not only is it located in this charming square lined with elegant 18th-century buildings, but it’s also been featured in many commercials and films, including the famous “Cézanne and I” which chronicles the friendship between the painter Paul Cézanne and the writer Émile Zola. The fountain was installed here in 1862, with the decorative metalwork added in 1912. It stands proudly on Albertas Square, whose clean, elegant design is reminiscent of Parisian royal squares. The square is much older than the fountain, as it was first laid out in 1724. You see, Henri Rainaud d’Albertas, member of a local noble family, chose to build his townhouse here. So he bought and demolished the houses that once stood here to open up the space and make way for his building. His son, Jean-Baptiste d’Albertas, went on to have the square landscaped; it was in front of his father’s mansion, after all, so it had to look pretty. So this is how one of Aix’s most beautiful squares came to be! Today, the Albertas square bustles with activity, full of street performers and artists entertaining the crowds of locals and tourists strolling through!