RAR

The GF and I are pondering a month stay somewhere in France, renting an apartment. It'll be my first time in France, she's fluent in French and studied there a year (Clermont-Ferrand).

Size of city is unimportant, as long as it has a compact center and a good selection of cafes and nightlife we'll be happy. When I travel, I basically walk, eat, and read. The walking part means I'd like an appealing aesthetic environment. I'm more into twisty warrens than broad boulevards. The foodie part of me needs a good market and good restaurants, although the wallet will constrict us to bistros rather than elegant white linen locations. And the reader in me needs good cafes for such a thing.

She enjoys shopping and running. So a good, large park would be helpful. I reckon we'd want either hiking trails or beach in the vicinity.

Neither of us are really into more touristy stuff, like seeing churches or going museum hopping. Looking more for a cool place to live for a month. Is there, perhaps, a French version of Bologna or Montreal?

Any tips appreciated

travelhorizons

Aix-en-Provence

Mimar

Or Lyon. Great city for food (like Bologna) and close to the French Alps.

I also thought of Nice; she could run along the Promenade des Anglais.

SuzieC

OK, I'll bite. Why not Paris?
Loads of parks to walk. Bistros in which to sit and read...

This is my dream to spend a month (or more) living IN Paris and exploring the rest of France by train. But I wouldn't rent a flat right smack downtown. I'd probably look in the 16th or 17th...or such.

StCirq

Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Périgueux, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Nîmes, Grenoble, Montpellier, Biarritz, Troyes, Dijon, ....there are literally thousands of options. Can you be more specific?

RAR

SuzieC: not Paris because I am trying to familiarize myself with other options.

StCirq: I thought I might've been overly specific in what I was looking for. I am unfamiliar with France so I thought I'd outline our general interests. I'm much more familiar with Italy (studied in Bologna). We're youngish (mid 20s) and love the youth of Bologna and Montreal, not to mention the great food and nightlife each city has to offer.

hanl

I vote for Lyon.

Very pedestrian friendly, lots of great restaurants, bars and cafés, and definitely cheaper than Paris.

Interesting walking options with the traboules ("hidden" passages linking up many of the city's old streets and buildings). Plenty of good museums, interesting architecture and historical sites (e.g. Roman amphitheatres).
Excellent markets, both indoor (les Halles in the 3rd arrondissement) and out (Croix Rousse, Quais de Sâone, etc.).
Lovely big park in the 6th arrondissement (parc de la Tête d'Or) plus, slightly further out of town but still accessible by public transport, the Miribel Jonage park which is a huge area with a large lake, part of which has a "beach" area for swimming, along with nature trails and cycle paths (you can rent bikes there). Here are some pictures to give you an idea http://www.grand-parc.fr/phototheque/eau.asp.

There are also loads of great options for easy day trips (north to Burgundy or the lakes of La Dombe, north-west to the Beaujolais region, east to the Alps (Annecy etc.), south to the Ardèche, Drome and Provence...)

hausfrau

What size city are you looking for? Time of year?

I'm like you - I like to walk, eat, and read - and I thoroughly enjoyed doing all of the above during my college semester in Montpellier. It's well-situated for exploring southern France, near the coast about half-way between Spain and Italy. It's a vibrant university town and has a lot of what you're looking for.

ira

Hi R,

>..not Paris because I am trying to familiarize myself with other options.<

St C has given you a very good list.

I should think that a 1st timer to France would jump at a chance to spend a month in Paris, especially with an SO who is fluent in French.

Paris certainly has a compact center and a good selection of cafes and nightlife, not to mention the chance to take daytrips to other towns.

RAR

Would be next July. Montpellier looks interesting. Paris is of course under consideration!

StCirq

I'm going to vote for Lyon, too. It's got a Montreal-like air about it, only better, and it's got everything you're looking for. Plus it's just 2 hours north to Paris and 2 hours south to Provence.

Christina

If your wife lived there a year and is fluent in French, shouldn't she have some ideas as to where she wants to stay? I would also think of Lyon or Montpellier. Montpellier has a lot of young people and is laid back, but is a decent-sized city. It also has good train connections to other places. They do have a large park in the center, but I think you can find a park in most cities or suburbs of them.

If you are thinking Montreal-like, some of the smaller places aren't going to be anything like that. that suggests a major urban area if you want that kind of feel.

Be aware that July can be very very hot in Montpellier or most places in France, actually. So I"m not actually sure I'd choose Montpellier for July (or Lyon -- at least Montpellier isn't far from the beach).

RAR

She didn't venture much from Clermont. Luckily I'm agnostic towards heat, lived in it my entire life.

When it comes to cost of living, how does Lyon, Aix, and Montpellier compare?

parisnow

Have been exploring France for past 10+ years. For what you have listed, I would recommend Bordeaux. Train ride to the ocean (beach), beautiful park, nice area to walk along the river. Very clean and efficient Tram system. Perfect size to have the walks, cafes, ect that you listed. It is a city but has a more laid back (southern) relaxing atmosphere than Paris or Lyon. You can also take the train to surrounding villages like Sarlat(listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France) or St. Emilion and bike/hike/run vineyards or Midi P.
If you want more of the 20 something college scene atmosphere than I would agree, Montpellier.

Grassshopper

I love Lyon. It's very easy to navigate.

Ronda

Why just one place for the entire month? There are so many beautiful places in France that I can't imagine spending a month and not seeing more than one area.

hanl

If you are going in July and seeking a student town, remember that the university term will have finished so most of the students (except for the foreign students on summer courses) will be gone! This does make a difference in terms of atmosphere, especially in bars and clubs.

Re. cost of living, Lyon is cheaper than Paris, but probably more expensive than, say, Montpellier. That said, it will have a wider range of accommodation simply because of its larger size.

It does get pretty hot there in the summer, though.

blackduff

How about Marseille. I'm drooling about visiting to this city. It meets all of your requirements and you can walk down the small rues for a month without repeating.

Lots of restaurants and cafes. Give a good thought.

Blackduff

RAR

We plan to rent an apartment and use that as our base. Slow travel. More economical that way too.

Is France anything like Italy in terms of its academic calendar? In Italy students are taking exams into July, thus a university town like Bologna only empties out towards the end of the month (and all of August for ferragosto).

Blackduff: if we choose Aix, I imagine a lot of time will be spent in Marseilles. I hope to find a bit of Naples in Marseilles.

blackduff

RAR
I lived in Montreal for nine years and spent a whole bunch of time working in Naples, I would believe Marseille is closer to Montreal.

This city is re-juvinating now and it might be the latest site to visit.

Aix is about 170,000 +/- population. Marseille is around 800,000 +/-. Personally I would use Marseille as the hub and Aix on one of the spokes.

I think that the prices in Marseille are cheaper now than many of the other centers in that area.

The twisty warrens in Naples are similar to Marseille.

Overall, I think Marseille is the least touristy part of the Medi, still being the most Mediterranean.

Blackduff