I am planning to stay in the French Riviera for 6 weeks in late April to May/early June with my husband with the purpose of improving my French fluency and of course absorbing French culture. I am an educational professional in my mid fifties who has just stepped back from 15 years as an educational leader and would like to get back to my roots as a French teacher (15 years prior to leadership). I have taken students on several trips in Europe but all are fast paced and tend to have been in the most touristy areas. The French Riviera appeals to me as I love the coast, and have spent most of my previous journeys to France in Paris, the Loire Valley, and a little bit of Provence.
I am pondering where to stay as a home base - ideally a place where I can easily take trains and buses to explore other towns on the French Riviera and possibly into the Italian Riviera too. Provence is also a place where would love to spend time. Smaller towns appeal to me most, and I had considered Villefranche-sur-mer. However, as this is a very touristy town with daily cruise ships, I feel that I will not meet my goal of immersing myself in the French language. Nice is much bigger, but perhaps more space for me to explore.
I would need to find a reasonable place to rent that has air conditioning, in suite laundry and a kitchen, as I intend to shop at markets and cook for myself much of the time. A nice living space would be lovely - perhaps a balcony or patio with a view. Ideally one or two home bases would be ideal. Somewhere safe, where I will meet locals but also within walking distance to markets, shops and interesting sites/beaches.
Any suggestions would be so welcome.
Posted by
Seattle, WA & Bordeaux, France
370 posts
Hi there! I would say, smaller, less touristy towns will offer you more opportunity to practice and improve your French as it is more likely that you will encounter fewer people who speak English. If your husband does not speak French, only English, then that will be an additional hurdle (speaking from experience.) Once you've decided on an area, you could then research local classes in French (yoga, pottery, painting, etc.) as well as local conversation groups.
Posted by
USA
417 posts
Although I've never been there I've heard Menton is a great place to stay.
Posted by
France Southwest
2608 posts
A suggestion for starting an immersion:
Go to the Gites de France website and stay in the French version.
https://www.gites-de-france.com/fr
When you select an accommodation you can see a "spoken language" section
Keep those who only speak French
And don't be surprised, on the French Riviera and Provence they don't speak French like in Paris
Posted by
Nice, France & San Francisco
738 posts
It will be more difficult to fully immerse with a non-French speaking husband and by being on the French Riviera, unless you a) stay in an inland area or more remove seaside town (St. Raphael, for example, the other end of the train line from Menton). You can also stay in a more local neighborhood b) structure your stay not only with French-based activities, but perhaps an immersion course at a local language school. On the latter, you have full residential immersion courses like those at the Institute de Francais in Villefranche-sur-Mer, or you can do half day intensive programs at B2/CA and above at less expensive schools.
Regarding the local accents, you will find instances of strong Provencal or Nicois accents, but more often than not, Italian inflections. The latter is especially true in Menton due to the border, in older populations and smaller inland areas. A friend told me she worked very hard growing up to eliminate her accent.
Posted by
Washington DC
28787 posts
I enjoyed day-tripping to Menton from Nice in 2017, but Menton seemed to have a very large number of British visitors. I think it would not be ideal for your purposes.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10822 posts
Since it's a question of revising what you once specialized in, I agree that a couple of weeks of the half-day course suggested by Gooster will get you closer to your goal faster. You could stay in Villefrance for that period. Since you had fluency and taught, we can assume it will return quickly. Then, you probably won't have many people answering your questions in English, but if someone does, ask in French if they want to practice their English, which is what I do. They realize your French is better than their English and continue in French. Once in a blue moon someone does want to practice English, so we do.
Nice is the transportation hub. That time of year, you don't need air conditioning yet. The heat is July-August, and the heat wave from July 15-August 15 plus ou moins. Nice Pebbles is the rental agency some people use.
While you are immersing yourself, striking up conversations and asking questions with everyone around you, if your husband wants some activities in English, he can consult the Nice English groups via FaceBook private groups.
Don't be surprised if some apartments are empty because they belong to people who visit only a few months a year. Other apartments will be occupied by people from all over the world, which is common on the Riviera and is the case where my in-laws live near Monaco. The Riviera is a very international environment.