France with teen (not visiting Paris) - Suggested other Large Cities to visit?

I would consider Nice for one of your stops. Plenty of things to do plus the beach.

What is it she likes about big cities? That might help target some other great cities for you. Did she like the museums or shopping in London? Do you have to spend the remainder of your time after Toulouse in France or can you move to another country?

As a fellow "city person," I understand.

My favorite city in France, after Paris, is Lyon. It certainly has lots of "city attractions." Rick's France book has a good chapter on it.

For a place that's really different from other French cities, and doesn't have lots of designated "attractions" but is fascinating to experience, you can't beat a few days in Marseille.

I haven't been to Lille, but a friend enjoyed it more than he expected to, and it certainly sounds interesting, with its Flemish heritage, industrial past, "downfall" and recent upswing.

There was nothing wrong with Nice, Strasbourg, or Bordeaux, but I wasn't as taken with them as I had hoped. There are exceptions; for instance, I loved the Museum of Alsatian Life in Strasbourg.

Nancy is a smaller city that is very nice, particularly if one is interested in Art Nouveau or glassware.

If you are looking at nearby countries, Barcelona and Madrid are obvious big cities, with lots to see and do, and both will be very pleasing to a city lover (and they are totally different from each other). One problem with Barcelona is that many of the sights now require advance purchase timed tickets, so it can be hard to coordinate the logistics of a visit (my sister's going for 7 days, and even she's finding it stressful to figure out what to do when).

And if you're willing to go farther afield, and want to go to dynamic and exciting cities, look into Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Berlin, and Budapest - for starters. These have the advantage of being cheaper than London too. If you want to see what I did in Glasgow, Manchester, and Liverpool, here's my trip report, which should give your daughter lots of ideas: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/uk-trip-report-glasgow-manchester-liverpool-in-september-2016

Since you are going to Toulouse, Nice makes a lot of sense for a teen girl with those interests. It's a bit of a combo, as a short train ride will also take you to Monaco and smaller cities like Cannes. There is the glitz and glamour, but there are plenty of things for those with other interests as well. Lyon is also great, with fantastic food, but I'm thinking the Cote d'Azur may hold more appeal. Lyon is technically bigger (more populous), as is Marseilles, but some of that size is lost in sprawl.

Another option is to hop countries and head to Barcelona.

I would agree with Nice as good place to stay and do day trips and also lots to see and do there. For a 2nd city Lyon would work well for a city girl. I also think Strasbourg would be something a bit different from Nice and the south, and a good base for possible day trips to Nancy, Metz, Colmar, Reims, and even Luxembourg. All easy to do by train with less than 1-1/2 hr travel time.

One plus for Nice (depending on your daughter's interests) is the existence of colorful weekly markets in many of the towns in southern France.

Note that this area, and Toulouse, can get quite hot in the summer. Odds are that early June will be more pleasant than late June.

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. I'm afraid we can't much out of her in regards to likes/dislikes and the reasons behind them. She's not much of a conversationalist :) She's not much of a shopper nor into fashion etc. She enjoys photography. She likes wandering through cities.

I'll review these options with my husband. We plan on using only public transportation for our travels. We already have our plane tickets to fly into and out of Paris.

Back in 2015, we spent one week in Montreux and one week in Paris with her.

We live in Sonoma county and are surrounded by rolling hills, farms, and of course vineyards.

For the "large cities" in France, I would suggest Strasbourg, Amiens, Arras, Lille, Toulouse, Soissons

Marseille and Lyon are the two biggest after Paris, and quite dissimilar. Marseille has a wonderful harbour, a history of immigration, memories of organized crime, big churches, and pretty good food, some of it typical of the south, including seafood.. Moderate hotel prices too. But to be clear, big urban centres do come with drawbacks, which the urban tourist should take in stride.

We particularly liked Nancy . An incomparable collection of Art Nouveau buildings and the Musee de L'Ecole de Nancy has a magnificent collection of stained glass , art glass , furniture and other decorative arts from the early 1900's . The Place Stanislas , main square of the city , is reminiscent of the grandeur of Versailles , and the Musee de Beaux Arts , is one of the best . Among its fine collections is a large display of Daum art glass , and fine paintings from the renaissance to the early twentieth century . Four days there went by in a shot .