Why go
Come here for a walk that joins Aix's domestic architecture with its cultural landmarks. Rue Cardinale leads your attention towards Saint-Jean-de-Malte and the Musée Granet, while Place des Quatre-Dauphins gives the district a recognisable focal point. The street grid makes the relationship between those landmarks easy to follow.
What to look for
- The Fontaine des Quatre-Dauphins anchors Place des Quatre-Dauphins.
- Saint-Jean-de-Malte and the Musée Granet stand around Place Saint-Jean-de-Malte.
The full story
Quartier Mazarin grew from a deliberate extension of Aix rather than the gradual spread of its old town. Archbishop Michel Mazarin initiated the project, and Jean Lombard drew up the plans in 1646. The new ramparts enclosed land belonging to the archbishopric and the Order of Saint-Jean-de-Malte, bringing that territory into the city to the south of Cours Mirabeau. The district's grid provided plots for the nobility and wealthy merchants. Their hôtels particuliers were substantial private town houses, a term that explains the many buildings called hôtel on these streets. Rue Mazarine, Rue Goyrand and Rue Cardinale preserve this pattern of named houses within an ordered plan. Among the district's other anchors are Hôtel de Caumont on Rue Joseph-Cabassol and the Fontaine des Quatre-Dauphins in its namesake square. Together they help you read the neighbourhood as a planned residential quarter with cultural landmarks woven into it.
Useful to know
- Combine the district's streets with the Musée Granet around Place Saint-Jean-de-Malte.