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Mediterranean France
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Glamour, beaches, and inland villages and countryside that could be found nowhere else on earth – France’s southern coastline has so much charm that students are inevitably drawn to the region, as Jane Vernon Smith discovers.
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France’s Mediterranean south coast stretches for 620 kilometres from the border with Spain in the west to Italy in the east. Here lie several of the country’s major cities and a number of world-famous resorts, together with a wide choice of language schools, making it little wonder that the area is an ever-popular destination for international students.
Best known is the stretch of coastline between St Tropez and Monaco that is known as the French Rivièra. Here tourists flock to the sun, sea and sand and the expensive hotels and shops that line its promenades. Students too are attracted by the beaches (not all of them private), as well as by the beauty of the region and its cultural offer, as Andreas Schweitzer of the Collège International de Cannes, points out. “Everything,” he says, “is in close proximity – the city, beaches, mountains and forest.”
Cannes itself is a small town, but, says Schweitzer, with the infrastructure and other advantages of a larger one, thanks to the many events it hosts throughout the year. The most important of these being the May Film Festival, which is free to attend. However, should students wish to avoid the masses, Delphine Crevelle, Marketing and Operations Manager at Escapade Cannes, suggests students take a stroll around the Marche Forville, complete with quaint Provençal food stalls selling local produce. “Cannes is an authentic Mediterranean village with a rich and diverse heritage,” she observes.
Cannes’ close proximity to the beach means surfing, sailing, swimming and scuba diving are all close at hand. However, Schweitzer notes that hiking in the mountains is a popular activity, and a chance to escape the heat of the city, while skiing nearby is also available at varying levels of difficulty. A good bus service allow students to travel cheaply across the whole of the Alpes-Maritime area for just e1 (US$1.41), and there is a good, but more expensive, train service that runs along the coast to Nice, Monte Carlo and beyond. A stay in neighbouring Nice offers many of these same opportunities. The largest resort on the riviera, this attractive city is built around a bay, with its famous Promenade des Anglais running alongside the beach. A university town, as well as a working port, it is a centre for culture with many museums and galleries. With good transport links, including an international airport, it is an ideal base from which to explore the wider south coast area. Popular excursions at International House Nice include nearby Monaco, which Director, William Rubinstein describes as “a small foreign country, full of glamour”, Antibes, a small resort famous for its many yachts and its Picasso museum, and St Tropez, a mecca for artists on account of the quality of its light.
With a reputation as a lively, young town, where there’s something to do for all tastes and ages, the coastal city of Montpellier boasts 300 days of sunshine a year, according to Andrew Kinselle of local language school, Langues Sans Frontières (LSF). Its “wonderful, sandy beaches” are a big attraction, but there is more to the town than this, he underlines. Montpellier is at the same time a modern and historical city, says Kinselle, with a famous vibrant university that attracts students from all over the world.
While the resorts of the southeast have a reputation as playgrounds of the rich, the Montpellier region is much more affordable, comments Kinselle. Anne Debard at AS Intercultures in the city adds that internships here are readily available. One leisure attraction is the newly opened Odysseum leisure park, while Montpellier is also well placed for visiting other historic towns, such as Avignon. Kinselle also recommends the walled city of Carcassonne, a Unesco World Heritage site, as well as the Camargue National Park, with its bulls, white horses and gypsy traditions.
Typical local attractions include the courses camarguaises, a local version of bullfighting, while visitors to Sète may be lucky enough to witness displays of the historic custom of jousting.
South of Avignon, the port of Marseille has a completely different feel, thanks in part to its cultural and ethnic diversity, which, says Marie-France Villette at the Centre International pour la Promotion des Etudes Linguistiques (Cipel), is displayed in its food and traditions. “We celebrate every French or local tradition with a different dish or cake,” she relates.
The city’s reputation has sometimes deterred potential students, but, assures Villette, “All Cipel students leave saying the same thing: in their home country, people tried to dissuade them from coming, and none of them has ever wished they hadn’t come!” Not only are they astonished when they realise how lively the city is, she adds, but also how peaceful and safe it is.
Not far inland lies the ancient university town of Aix-en-Provence. With one third of its population made up by students, according to Anna Clara Sainte-Rose of local language school, IS Aix-en-Provence, it is fully geared to a student community. “[Students love] to stroll around the narrow streets, the markets, to take a drink and watch people in the sun in a café on the Cours Mirabeau,” she observes. Food and wine are, of course, a local attraction, and the school offers a range of activities that reflect this, including cooking classes, wine tasting, painting and aromatherapy workshops.
Lovers of art will also be attracted to the picturesque fishing villiage of Collioure. Close to the Spanish border and approximately 25 kilometres from Perpignan, Collioure “is rightly famous for its charm, artistic history, striking colours and, of course, breathtaking views,” says Florence Delseny Sobra, Managing Director of Académie de Langues France Méditerranée (Alfmed) in Perpignan. “You may be in France, but the region’s distinctive Catalan culture and history – not to mention the climate – will make you feel like you’re in the real South!” she regales. “Founded by the Romans, this ancient capital of the Kingdom of Majorca enchants visitors with its palm-lined squares, sunny terraces, narrow streets and a very special, untarnished Mediterranean charm.”
For a fun night out in Perpignan, meanwhile, Delseny Sobra suggests students head to Canet-Plage. This nearby beach is home to the “very hip” Bar à Bulles (Bubbles Bar), whose name alludes to Nayendei, a sweet, sparkling Muscat wine that is made locally. “Expect to drink a few here,” says Delseny Sobra. “There’s more than a touch of Ibiza about this bar, with whitewashed walls and hot music that inspires clubbers to dance until dawn.”
Agent viewpoint
“Year-round sunshine, Mediterranean beaches and trendy shops and cafés make the South of France an obvious choice for students from the UK. Students tend to explore the whole region, even in a short space of time. In Nice, you can visit Antibes, Cannes and Monte Carlo, and, in Montpellier, you can visit Nîmes and Avignon. Add to this the possibility of scuba diving and sailing, and you have a very attractive destination. Easyjet and Ryanair fly to both Nice and Montpellier from a number of UK airports, which helps keep costs down for student budgets.”
Niall Abbott, Halsbury Travel, UK
“[Our clients] like the weather, I think, the water facilities, the good food, nice markets, the landscape and the Cannes film festival in May. And, of course, the more mature students like the French cuisine and wines!”
Kitty Wijsmen, Weg-Wijs, Netherlands
“[Our students like] the ease with which you can travel around the south coast and inland by train. It’s great for them to be able to plan weekend (or even afternoon) trips by public transport with other language students, see so many sights and get a feel for so many different aspects of this part of the world. For nature lovers, [there is] the Camargue; for walkers, the hills and mountains of the region; for gourmets, the amazing regional dishes. In fact, whatever type of person you are, there is a side of the south of France that will appeal to you.”
Katherine Brand, CESA Languages Abroad, UK
“Most of our students who go to the south love being sociable and love being out in the street enjoying a coffee and meeting new friends. They go to relax, but also to be surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the busy streets in the cities. They love the city life, but when they get the opportunity to visit smaller villages in the countryside they love the scenery and the pace of life – the picturesque villages of Provence are particularly popular.”
Michelle Curtis, Cactus Worldwide, UK
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