Study Abroad: Nice or Paris? ?

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bumblebee63

It totally depends on what you expect to gain from your stay in France. Paris is beautiful, it is probably one of the most amazing places anyone could visit BUT there is so much more to France than just Paris. When i went to live in France i wanted to live in Paris, I simply could not afford to, EVERYTHING is expensive. I ended up living in a city called Clermont Ferrand. In hindsight, this was the best thing for me. I went to France to improve my French and I found that very few people in CF spoke English fluently so I simply had to improve my French in order to survive. I had no other option. However, if I had lived in Paris, I personally feel that I wouldn't have learned as much. Almost everybody in Paris speaks English, whether they are Parisians or tourists. It's very hard to immerse yourself in the French language in Paris when you can hear people speaking in English all around you - on the metro, on the bus, in the streets, restaurants etc. It seemed to me as if my ear would automatically be drawn to the English conversations around me rather than those conducted in French. Contary to popular belief, I found that French people in Paris spoke to me in English rather than in French even when I persisted to speak in French. I'm not sure whether this was due to my foreign accent or signs of low confidence in my own langauge ability.

Both Nice and Paris are full of tourists, perhaps this will happen in both cities but if your intention is to improve your French I would advise you not to live in Paris. It's too easy to make English-speaking friends. Also, look into the cost of living, Paris is uber expensive!

That said, if you are travelling there and looking for fun - yes a lot of places in Paris close in August but it's Paris, there is so so so much to do there. You will still have a great time. I think you need to think about what your main goals are and decide after that! Bon Voyage!

sotires

Nice will give you the opposite problem - it is jam packed full of tourists in August. Some of them are the escapees from Paris.

Personally I find Paris fun in August - there is much less bustle and you can even park your car free in some streets (usually I wouldn' t even try to drive in Paris).
The " all shut" phenomenon is not as widespread now as it used to be. People are taking shorter vacations. The first time I came to Paris, in August 1966, I thought there had been some kind of national disaster or a foreign invasion - everything was shuttered. Now it is almost like normal. Maybe about half of the small shops will be closed for the month, but there is indeed always plenty to do.

I wouldn't bank on taking a train to Nice for a day. It's 1000 km and takes six hours.

david464014

Paris

jaynnyc89

There is ALWAYS something to do in Paris. Its a large city with a lot to do. Trust me, theres no way youll get bored. And if you do, you can always catch a train to Nice for the day :)

Jerry 71

You will have a swell time in either city. I liken Paris to NYC, full of life and culture. Nice is not exactly a small town and has its own charm but is smaller than Paris.OTOH you can see the Mediterranean Sea in Nice and it's really blue (previously, all the oceans i've seen are green). If you are in Nice, you can drive over and see Italy too.

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