Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (; , ; ), or simply Aix (; medieval Occitan "Aics"), is a city-commune in the south of France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the department 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 ("Aquae Sextiae") was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs, following the destruction of the nearby Gallic oppidum at Entremont. In 102 BC its
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (; "Alps of Upper Provence"; Occitan: "Aups d'Auta Provença") is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. Formerly part of the province of Provence, it had a population of 161,916 in 2013. Its main cities are Digne-les-Bains (prefecture), Manosque, Sisteron, Barcelonnette, Castellane and Forcalquier. Inhabitants of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence are called the Bas-Alpins or Bas-Alpines referring to the department of Basses-Alpes which was the former name of the department until 1970. Bounded in the east by Italy, the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department is surrounded by the departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Vaucluse, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes. It can be divided into