Please, Best place in France to learn French??

Question

Hello, Im looking to stay one month in France to improve my french. I would like to "live" in a culturally interesting city. (Tried Paris but want to try something else with friendlier people). Ive read about Toulouse, Dijon, Strasbourg.. any comments about those places??

If you can provide me with names of schools with intensive courses would be great!. (I have checked the Alliance Francaise 30 hours per month, is it worthy? are they a good school??.

Answer 1

Toulouse is supposed to be great, with plenty of bars, and big and small concerts. Student town. Beautiful town (its nickname: the pink city). Apparently friendly people. Might be called but don't know until when.

Rennes is supposed to be a lively and friendly (it's in Brittany).

Bordeaux is said to be posh (so not a good idea!!!)

Marseilles is not really beautiful, but the coast is great (you have the "calanques". And you can also visit the countryside, where there are tons of things to see. You might have difficulty understanding their accent, though!

Don't know about towns in the North, as it always looks too cold for me! But it depends when you plan on going there.

I personally don't like Nice, but then again, it might just be me!

You'll find plenty of cultural activities in pretty much all big French cities, above all if you're "only" staying for a month, and then you can also visit things outside of the town.

Don't know about schools as, being French, I obviously don't need to take French lessons. L'Alliance Française is famous, but I don't know if their courses are interesting and worth it. I know that the teachers are trained for 6 months before being sent to a school and they also need a university degree in French, and they must have studied French as a foreign language, and they must have taught before French as a foreign language before.

Answer 2

You should know what you are looking for, do you prefer culture or beach or mountains. Paris is a huge city and brings a lot of troubles. Toulouse can be very hot in summertime, if there is little wind. If you like the sea, you could try Nice or Biarritz. Grenoble is a nice spots close to the Alps. Strasbourg has a lot of German influence. People in Marseilles or Bordeaux may have s strong southern French accent. But as the level of education of people increases, the regional accents tend to disappear.

The Alliance Francaise is well known, they may be more expensive than others.

Answer 3

I don't know about schools in those cities, but I've had colleagues go to schools in Provence -- Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. Both are pretty areas with a variety of things to do. My friends both said that they were impressed with the quality of the instruction -- sorry I don't know the names but I'm sure there's info on the net.

I also have another friend who is a native Spanish speaker who spent two months in Paris at another course and has been able to do French-language assignments since.

Answer 4

Well maybe it'll sound a little cliché but it's absolutly true:
the best way to learn is to find yourself a french guy.
That's how I've learnd english and spanish...

but if you don't want a boyfriend, a friend can be ok.
If you want I can help,I'm from Paris.

Good luck

Answer 5

I don't know much about it, unfortunately, but I heard that Tours is where the best French is spoken. I think you can take French lessons through the University of Tours.

Answer 6

Hi

Think about Montpellier.

80,000 students, on the Med, great weather, good cultural amenities.

There are many French language schools. Search google with "montpellier french schools" for details.

Details of the area at : http://www.the-languedoc-page.com

Photos of the area : http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/photos/languedoc-photo-index.htm

Peter