Every design for Salon-De-Provence

Salon-de-Provence lies on the edge of the plaine de la Crau, between Marseille, Aix and Arles, and owes much of its history to water brought from elsewhere. In 1559 the engineer Adam de Craponne opened the Canal de Craponne, carrying fresh water from the Durance to the town and the plain, and Salon prospered on the trade that followed.

That position on the old crossroads of Provence explains a great deal. Salon began as a Gallo-Roman oppidum on the salt routes, hence its name, and later belonged to the archbishops of Arles, whose Château de l'Empéri still towers over the old town from its rocky hill. The historic centre stays inside its walls, entered through the Tour de l'Horloge and the Porte du Bourg Neuf. Nostradamus spent his last years here, and the Maison de Nostradamus keeps his memory, while the air base is home to the French Air Force Academy and the Patrouille de France.

If you grew up here, the map brings back the moss-covered Fontaine Moussue, the market on the square and the jets drawing colours over the rooftops.