Studying French in France

Montpellier, it's a university town, sunny and near Provence,

Hi,

Both are good, mainly depends on your interest in terms of priorities to see which part of France more. I would pick Rouen.

I started French at 35 and finished a BA degree in French Literature at 39 years old. Just from experience I found less people reverting to English after hearing my accent when I spoke French the further south I've gone away from Paris so choose Montpelier

Both cities Rouen and Montpellier are pleasant places to stay (to study and discover the culture). All places you are considering then are worth seeing, but it seems too much for only 1,5 week. You should limit the perimeter to better enjoy a few regions. In Mont Saint Michel and around, in Brittany, I mention that there are some special tours combining sightseeing and using French language (French'cursions).

Thank you Betts! I lived in Marseille for 1 month a long time ago. I was worried Montpellier was too cultural and not enough french natives since the city markets highly to students from all over the world. Is Provence worth seeing? The main excursion the schools markets is Provence for the weekends not in class. Otherwise I may be able to cover more ground if we study in the north and take weekend trips

Fred can you please let me know some reasons you would pick Rouen? 😃

Korriganed I agree ....so much to see so little time. If we chose to study in Rouen for the 3 weeks we may be able to rent a car and take day trips around Normandy for the weekend and then save our last week and 1/2 to hit Alsace area and Paris. Do you think that could be possible?
So study in Rouen. 1st weekend beaches of Normandy Bayeaux as sleeping spot. 2nd weekend MSM. 3rd weekend Giverny then done and head to Alsace/Colmar and end up in Paris? Not sure I can make it to Annecy and Provence would be off the list 😔

@ coley4....I would pick Rouen (and this just applies to me) because I am way more interested in northern France, ie, north of Paris and from Normandy to Belgium, culturally and historically. As far as location is concerned, that's one reason for choosing Rouen. The instruction at the respective language school has to be considered before choosing the city. Admittedly, I have not been to either Rouen or Montpellier.

OP: If we chose to study in Rouen for the 3 weeks we may be able to rent a car and take day trips around Normandy for the weekend and then save our last week and 1/2 to hit Alsace area and Paris. Do you think that could be possible?

I would say "go for it". According to Google it's about an 8 hour drive from Bayeux to Strasbourg in Alsace. With stops it would probably take 10 hours. So if you can face a 10 hour drive there and about a 4 hour drive back to Paris you are good to go.

I really like Alsace. My favorite town is Riquewihr. The main street is all pedestrian and has many half-timbered houses. Colmar and Mulhouse are also cute little old towns. These towns are connected by the Route des Vins. So if you enjoy a glass of wine you are in the right area.

For learning the language it doesn’t matter, put it in practice on the street, so just try to meet as much people as possible.