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Aix-en-Provence Epiphany Parade or La Marche des Rois in French is one of our favourite street events in Provence. We like it for several reasons. For one, it extends the Christmas season into January. Secondly, for one afternoon Aix feels transported to another time and place. Thirdly, at no other time of the year will you see camels, sheep, goats, donkeys, ponies and horses running around the streets of Aix. And lastly, it is completely free of charge. So if you happen to be in Aix in the first half of January, look for this parade.

So what is Epiphany? It is a Christian holiday celebrating, amongst other things, the arrival of the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men with gifts for baby Jesus. If you look up Epiphany, you will see that it is normally celebrated on January 6 in Western Christian countries that follow the Gregorian calendar. However, the Aix-en-Provence Epiphany Parade does not necessarily take place that day. Everything depends on when the Christmas school break ends. Before you plan your visit, look up the schedule on the Aix tourism website to make sure you don’t miss it.

Aix-en-Provence Epiphany Parade

The Aix Epiphany Parade usually takes place on a Sunday afternoon and lasts roughly about two hours (not counting the Catholic Mass after the parade). This year, the Aix-en-Provence Epiphany (La Marche des Rois) parade will take place on Sunday January 8, 2023 beginning at 2:00 PM.

If it’s your first time attending this beautiful procession, I recommend you follow it from beginning to end, because different events take place at different times along the way. The tourism office of Aix posts a schedule on it website, but as most scheduling in the south of France, the times are more of a guide than set in stone. Below I outline different meeting points for you to join in depending on what you want to see.

Place des Prêcheurs / Place de la Madeleine

Everyone who is part of the procession gathers at this beautiful 15th century square in front of the Church of Mary Magdalene (L’église de la Madeleine). You can’t miss this square. The largest Christmas tree in Aix is located here. Here, the participants get organized about 15 minutes before the official start time of the Aix-en-Provence Epiphany Parade. We like to come here because you can see the camels up close and sometimes kids are able to have a photo taken with the Three Kings.

Rue Thiers & Rue Tournefort

Once the procession departs from Place des Prêcheurs, it progresses past the Palais de Justice down rue Thiers. At rue Tournefort, the procession turns towards Cours Mirabeau. If you missed the Place des Prêcheurs, this is a good place to start. At this point in time, there aren’t many people about yet. So if you want to catch a close glimpse of the animals, this is a good place to start.

Fountain of King René

Most people who want to see the Aix-en-Provence Epiphany Parade gather here by the fountain of King René (fontaine du Roi René). At this point, sheep and goats are released onto the street.

It’s quite an exciting sight for kids and grownups alike. Once the animals are released and the rest of the procession arrives from rue Thiers and rue Tournefort, we like to find a good place to watch. Some people even stand on surrounding benches for a better view.

For the next half hour or so, the locals, dressed in traditional Provençal clothing, perform folk dances and songs in both French and Provençal dialect of the Occitan language.

The performers are adults and children. It is a very lovely sight to behold. This is one of my favourite parts. I literally feel transported to pastoral Provence from a few centuries ago.

Cours Mirabeau

From the Fountain of King René, the Aix-en-Provence Epiphany Parade continues down Cours Mirabeau, the main street of the Old Town Aix, towards La Rotonde, the largest fountain in town. Here, the pageant stops again, this time between the allegorical sculptures of Art & Science and Industry for more singing and dancing.

Women in traditional Provençal clothing walk around and give out leaflets with lyrics to the songs so you can sing along if you like. Some songs are in French, others in the local dialect of the Occitan language. After about 20 minutes, the parade moves on.

City Hall (l’Hôtel de ville)

Next, the Aix-en-Provence Epiphany Parade traverses Place Jeanne d’Arc towards rue d’Espariat, it then turns on rue Aude and continues onto rue Maréchal Foch and it arrives at the City Hall (l’Hôtel de ville).

At this point, all the animals are taken away. Folk dancers and singers perform in front of the city hall. Then, the Three Kings walk around giving out les calissons (traditional almond cookies) to children.

Aix Cathedral

And finally, the Aix-en-Provence Epiphany Parade continues onto rue Gaston de Saporta and a few minutes later arrives at the Aix Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint Sauveur).

This is the final stop of the procession. After a few minutes of waiting, the large doors of the cathedral open and a group of pageant participants enters through the centre isle towards the altar.

There, the Archbishop of Aix and Arles welcomes everyone and a Catholic Mass follows with the participation of a local Provençal choir. If you wish to participate in the mass, be aware that it is beyond the two hours of the actual parade. So you may want to allocate extra time.

And that is the Aix-en-Provence Epiphany Parade. If you don’t have time for the entire parade, then the most important points are the Fountain of King René (if you want to see camels and watch folk dancing) and City Hall (if you want to taste a traditional calisson).

Here is a walking guide for the procession, which will help you join in at different points. You can open it on your phone in Google Maps and follow along. You can also send this map to your friends via social media, email or text.

And after the Parade, treat yourself to a King Cake

After the parade, we love to reward ourselves with a typical cake called gâteau des rois (or King Cake). We usually purchase this cake at any pastry shop in town (there is one on almost every street corner). If you want to feel like a local, then follow the proper etiquette on how to eat this cake. First, the youngest person in the household either closes their eyes or hides under the table. Then someone else cuts the cake. Once the cake is cut, the youngest person designates which piece of cake is for whom.

Inside the cake, there are two items hidden (so be careful when eating). One item is a porcelain Nativity scene figurine and the other item is a black or white bean (la fève). The person who finds the bean in their piece, gets to wear the paper crown that is provided with each cake. This festive dessert is typical of Provence, Occitanie and Iberian Peninsula. The north of France, Quebec, Belgium & Luxembourg prefer a different version of this dessert.

We hope this guide to the Aix-en-Provence Epiphany Parade will come in handy if you visit Aix in January. And if you plan on spending Christmas in the south of France, we have a complete guide to the Christmas markets of Aix-en-Provence.

Have you ever attended an Epiphany parade in another city? Where was it? Please tell us about it in comments below.

Merci beaucoup!

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