I want to go to France with the Erasmus programme. Paris, Strasbourg or Rennes should I choose?and why?

Question

I am looking for the traditional french way of living and for a lot of natural places to see and visit.

Answer 1

I quite agree with  the ones above, I studied in Strasbourg for 4 years, then transfered in Rennes and my first job was in Paris. I know all of them.

If I were in your shoes I would have a hard time to choose also. Paris is expensive and not as friendly as the 2 other ones, however there are a lot of cultural life. i particularly enjoyed Paris on the week ends though.

Rennes was great, cheaper to live in, close to beaches and people are very friendly there. There is a strong local culture, and the people are very proud of their traditions, the crepes and cider are wonderful and Rennes is very student friendly. Thursdays evening are quite up beat! this is the town I would choose to get to know France better.

Strasbourg is my home town, I spent 4 years there as a student, definitively love it. The German influence is there, it is very European centered. There are a lot of exchange students from all Europe, there are a lot of traditions also, a nice mix of French and German ones, you can take the city buses to Kehl in Germany (It takes 30 minutes from Downtown!), the country side is also beautiful in all seasons, the Vosges are a top spot for hiking and visiting old forts. Strasbourg also has a lot of students, and the student life is very active.

My choice would be Strasbourg or Rennes (depends if you like the beaches or the mountains better) and then Paris, beautiful town, a bit less nice people, less student friendly than the others.

BTW Erasmus is great I participated 12 years ago and I went to Swansee from Strasbourg - I had the best time ever!!!

Answer 2

I'd say you have to go to Paris given the opportunity. There's really nothing like, anywhere in the world. If you get the opportunity to study and stay there for a while then by all means, take advantage of it. All three places would be great, but if you want to experience France, go to Paris.

Answer 3

Paris is international, lot to see but hard to see nature or real french life.

Strasbourg is less big and close to the german border but my choice would be Rennes: Beautifull areas close by (mt st michel, beaches) and it have a great student life, bar and pub everywhere ( rue de la soif).

If you want to see real french life and have fun, choose rennes

Answer 4

I assume ur either finishing ur Licence or ur doing ur master's.

I would strongly suggest Rennes. It's one of the biggest student cities, it's a very nice city, u have pretty much everything, good nightlife, and im sure u will b able to meet new people and make friendships way easier than in Paris.

Strasbourg is to the border next to Germany, it would be quite an interesting option, but it's more traditional and maybe not as appealing for studying one year abroad. Rennes on the other side is a bit more to the center, if u wanna travel to any other cities u have Normandy, Paris, and others nearby.

The thing with Paris is that it is

a) too large

b) cold in winter

c) Parisians are too snobish, they are way different than those in the rest of France. Not as friendly.

d) very stressful. Parisians seem to not enjoy life at all.

e) some areas are too crowded specially at rush hours.

f) More expensive than the other 2.

g) It's more difficult to find a convenient place to stay in Paris than in other cities.

Dont get me wrong, Paris is cool and very interesting. U have plenty of things to do there. Another thing, if ur going back to ur country to establish urself, saying u went to Paris on an exchange program is different than saying u went to another city. Also, I would recommend Paris for working more than studying.

so IMO my preference in order would be Rennes, Strasbourg, Paris. But it's up to u, after all it's a matter of personal preference and lifestyle.

Answer 5

These are three different towns. What are you calling traditional french way of living? Cause people in Paris are very different from Rennes people, and Rennes people are very different from Strasbourg.

It really depend on what you want. If you want a big city to hang out a lot, etc.:Paris. It's just between Rennes et Strasbourg.

If you want nice people and nature close by, plus sea: Rennes. But it's really small, and a bit boring. But there are great bars and great people.

If you want nature too, a beautiful beautiful city plus mountain, Germany, but unfriendly people: Strasbourg. I like this city, I was born there but people, no. Too racist.

Answer 6

These 3 towns could be well. Each one can be chosen.

Of course, Paris is a the main town in France, but it depends on what you prefer :

- if you want to live in a great town (great for France but no so big as NY), visit the most well-known buildings and museums, go in theater, go dancing, meet many kinds of people,  .....choose Paris. Paris is a beautiful towns (my town) but sometimes tiring and be carefull not to live in some bad suburbs.

- if you want to live in a more little town (but not small), more calm than Paris, less comuting, more nature, not very far from the sea (but cold sea), choose Rennes. It's one of the main towns of Brittany. The landscapes look like south england.

Less possibilities to meet people but better for many sports activities (sailing, bike...). In Rennes, you will be obliged to speak french all the time.

- if you want to live in a rather great town (but smaller than Paris) very close to Germany, good things to eat (choucroute, sausage) then go to Strasbourg. More European and german culture.

For renting a flat, probably, Rennes will be the cheapest and Paris the most expensive.

Answer 7

I have visited Rennes and Paris, but I studied in Strasbourg.  DO NOT GO TO STRASBOURG.  The people there are Alsatian; their history is different from the rest of France.  Alsace has been spirited back and forth between France and Germany; the result is basically that the people only trust each other, I guess.  I could go for an entire day there with NO TALKING at all - not a Bonjour, not a Pardon, nothing!  Also, they have an accent in French.  Not that French isn't their native language; it most certainly is, but just like Texans have an accent in English, the Strasbourg folks do too.  And it's not the standard French pronunciation.

Now then, Paris is magnificent for visiting, but if you are going in order to improve your French, you might not want to choose Paris.  Many Parisians speak English, and at the slightest English accent or hesitation on your part, they will switch to English to help you.  Or, alternatively, they will glare at you for being there, although thankfully the former outnumbers the latter.  Once you are fluent in French, they will speak French with you, but not until your French is better than their English - and sometimes not even then.  (I had lived in France for a year when I asked a lady at the airport which gate a flight was coming in on.  By this time, most French people thought I was native French-speaking, just from a DOM-TOM or something.  This lady said to me, "It's good to practice your French and all, but when it comes down to business, you should stick to English."  I wanted to SLAP HER REALLY HARD, but I refrained.)

Another disadvantage with Paris is that there are a lot of foreigners there already, so there is no real incentive for French people to get to know you.

When I studied in Angers, however, the people were SUPER friendly, they spoke in French, and it wasn't stock-full of Americans, so being foreign was interesting to the French people there, and gave them a reason to want to talk to me...Which was cool, because it helped me improve my French!

Choose Rennes.  The French accent there is desirable; the region is known to be friendly.  Choose Rennes and then visit Paris once your French is very fluent.  This way you will have the best of both worlds!

Bon voyage!