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
Hautes-Alpes from the relative autonomy and certain fiscal privileges enjoyed by the region since the fourteenth century under the terms of the . Napoleon passed through Gap when he returned to reclaim France after his exile on Elba using what is now known as Route Napoléon. The department is surrounded by the following French departments: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, :Drôme, Isère, and Savoie. Italy borders it on the east with the Metropolitan City of Turin and the Province of Cuneo, region of Piedmont. Hautes-Alpes is located in the Alps mountain range. The average elevation is over 1000 m, and the highest elevation is over