Parma/strasbourg or frankfurt???
 

Hey... i have the possibility to travel to parma, strasbourg or frankfurt to study for five weeks in september. The problem is, that i dont know which one should i go to! Please someone help me !! Give me good sides and bad sides! For example which one is the biggest city, best for students, has best shopping place, best cultural heritage etc!

Go to your local library and get good guidebooks for all of those places and read them. Only you can determine what is the best fit for you. I can tell you that I was not impressed by Frankfort, but that doesn't mean you won't like it.

How about your language skills? Your interest in a particular country and its culture? The quality of the classes you'll attend?

We do not know you, so we cannot tell you what you want...

Don't remember PAram, love Strasbourg and find Frankfurt dull (it is a city of office, the german capital of insurance companies etc). And in septmber weather can be bad.

I don't do in 'best' so yes, read a guidebook.
But if I had to send my daughter I would send her to Parma.

Frankfurt is famous all over the world for its Struwwelpeter museum . . .and Goethe's house. Parma has excellent ham and cheese sandwiches. Strasbourg has a French version of sauerkraut. What else is there to know?

Thanks everyone who helped me, and them who wanted to know my interests and language skills: my education would be in english, because i dont speak fluently any of those languages which are spoken in those countries. Which one is the best for a good / english education? And the quality of classes should be high... i am not interested in any particular cultural heritage but i am very interested in the food culture and parks. I would like to go in to a place where there's a lot of youth. Can anyone help me after this lecture? Should i go to parma, strasbourg or frankfurt for a 5 weeks exchange?

Them who...
High level ...
Sure about the coherence of those sentences ?

How would we know the level of classes in English in france vs Germany ?

You have just repeated yourself and I don't see how we can help.
Maybe wrong forum ? Why don't you ask the guys who give the possibility for you to go ? Surely they know a bit about the classes they send you to ?

Parma first choice, Strasbourg second. No to Frankfurt. I am surprised that your classes will ne in English. Most students I know had to be fluent in the language spoken at their study abroad school or university.

To go to Parma or Strasbourg to get five weeks of some kind of classes in English, without any instruction or guidance in the local language and customs, seems weird.

Frankfurt maybe not so much, because it is after all called Mainhattan, meaning "Wall Street on the river Main", and English rules in the world of finance. A dull city of suits and corporates... But still...

Even if you don't care for the local language (what a pity - that's the wrong attitude if you ask me!), go to your local library and study the local history and culture of each of these three in advance. They are like chalk, cheese, and something else, or apples, oranges, and blackberries... Then pick one.

If I were you, I'd select which language you want to immerse yourself in - Italian, French, or German, and do a crash course in advance of your trip. Then while you're there, immerse yourself with the locals as much as possible. You'll learn a heck of a lot more than whatever those five weeks of classes in English can teach you.

A lot of US schools do these kind of study abroad things that are really vacations, not serious study. Which is why the language is irrelevant and they have special classes for them in English, they aren't going to any local school.

So it is weird, but common in the US.

Parma.

If you want young people & parks, go to Frankfurt. So many youth in Italy & France have migrated out in search of opportunity, since youth unemployment in so catastrophically high in their own countries. You are likely to run into more young Italians spending money in bars & clubs in Frankfurt than you would in Parma.

Traveling abroad to places where you don't speak the language but have lots of opportunity to socialize with people of many many nationalities -- which is what Frankfurt offers -- is a great experience when you are young. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise or discourage you.

http://www.guide-frankfurt.com/home/...urt-parks.html

When is the last time you were young and/or in Frankfurt ?

That's funny, this emphasis on parks in Frankfurt. Like a youngster like that will go whiling away his/her five weeks looking for encounters in parks. Sounds louche if anything.

The source of that website referenced by Frencharmoire says about themselves:

"Twelve years of experience, guide-frankfurt.com is the follow-up of selected-restaurants.com, the English restaurant guide for international visitors to Frankfurt launched in 2002 by Hilton de la Hunt and Markus Schulz"

A little bit off-topic, no?

Frankfurt is the largest city with a huge university and a relevant party/club/bar scene.
Strasbourg is a small city with huge European Institutions and a cute old town. More tarte flambée than parties and clubs.
Parma - never been there, so no comment. But it should be better than Strasbourg (for a 20something yo student).

I loved Parma - spent a night there. Found it a lively town for sure. It's easy to get anywhere by train. Bologna, a bigger town (big university town) is a direct train ride away, but there are plenty of other places to visit.

Oh, and if you love Italian food (I do!), Parma is in Emilia-Romagna, which might have the best food in Italy.

I spent a night in Colmar a few years ago and stopped for a few hours in Strasbourg. Also a nice town, feels bigger than Parma. There are certainly lots of places to get to for nearby exploration - Paris is a few hours away by TGV train. My personal preference would be Parma (partly for the food), but I wouldn't be heartbroken if I had to go to Strasbourg instead.

Haven't been to Frankfurt, but I'd probably rule against it partly due to its size.

I have not had the pleasure of visiting Parma yet and would say YES simply because I would like to go and enjoy the food but I agree with the comments made about Frankfurt in respect to the bar/club scene and the international melting pot being a bigger one. I suppose it depends if you want to eat your way around or have a more party scene?

No matter where you choose you should learn some of the native language to help you survive, socialize, and just to be polite. Strasbourg is not very big or "happening" but there are schools there as well and many opportunities to meet international students, expats and otherwise but don't expect to get around with only English there at all. It is definitely best to learn some French there. It is a picturesque town with picturesque surrounding areas and it will make for many nice photos.

Given the choice between the 2 places I've actually been I'd have to vote for Strasbourg just because of the scenery but this is personal preference. The fact it is smaller without the nightlife of Frankfurt might be a better environment if you plan to have more time to study though. I can see 5 weeks of it getting old if your main focus isn't study though and for this Frankfurt feels more livable to me because it is a real city but if you prefer plenty of distractions instead of just some then this will be the better choice.

Again, my heart says Parma since I've always wanted to go and from others on this question I think it sounds like the most of everything.

Learn some of the language wherever you're going, especially in these 3 countries. Many people speak English, but that doesn't mean everyone, and it also doesn't mean that everyone is willing to speak English either. Where are you originally from?

I would say Parma for sure because you'll definitely get the best food there and there are many nice towns to explore in the region where you can eat some more. I think with my stomach very often.

When I was student age though I had the time of my life in Frankfurt just meeting people and doing things I'm sure you can no longer get away with so I am curious to go back-but it was the 60s-70s and I'm sure it's not what it was then. I never think of Parma in terms of young people hanging out and meeting since I was older when I began doing business there but again, if you're eating well, you can't go wrong. Parma for sure!

Also as far as not speaking local languages, the Italians are much more patient and forgiving as a people than the French and Germans. The French are actually pretty horrible about it and Strasbourg is a terribly rude place even if pretty. French food is pretty but lacks the flavor of Italian food and German food is boring, even if they have good beer. PARMA! There's great beer in Italy too and of course all the wine is there.

<<The French are actually pretty horrible about it and Strasbourg is a terribly rude place...>>

Rubbish.

The OP doesn't seem to know English very well, never mind other languages. S/he is going to need to learn some French, German, or Italian if s/he wants to get anything at all out of this experience.

Frankfurt is one big bore for me. Parma is lovely, but relatively small. I would pick Strasbourg - plenty of opportunities to travel into Germany and elsewhere in France from there.

I can't see how parks figure into any sort of overseas student experience, except that they're usually pretty and good for a stroll. But as a criterion for choosing where to go to study? Weird.

Might be that original poster, who posted long ago, lives in an urban environment where parks are one of the nicest amenities of the city, for contact with nature & because they are free. Insensitive suburbanites might find it weird, but I would not want to be a student in a city that lacked wondrful public green spaces.