Hey guys,

Which city in your opinion is the best place to live in France for hospitality, night life, and overall charm?

Also, I'm a little hesitant to visit France because I keep hearing that the French are "language perfectionists." In other words, they think it's embarassing when you don't speak a language perfectly, and well, my French is really bad (almost nothing).

Do you think I could still have a nice time, make friends, and have a nice time, or will the language "barrier" be too much you think?

Thanks!

If you want to avoid the language barrier, you'll have to learn 8 regional languages (including german dialect, netherland dialect and basque :) ).

Without joking, there are 70 millions of tourists visiting France every year, most of them can't speak french.

It depend on what kind of city you want to visit ?
"French" culture ==> Paris
Mix of French and German culture ==> Alsace (Strasbourg)
Mediteranean culture ==> french riviera (Nice)
Basque culture ==> Biaritz (good to surf there)
Brittany culture (if you like rain :) ) ==> Brest.
Alpes culture ==> Chamonix.

The best for hospitality is Strasbourg. I'm from Strasbourg. What ? I'm biased ? :D

Hi!

Thanks for the tips.

I've never heard of Strasbourg. How much of a German influence (both ethnically and culturally) is there in your area?

Also, I'll be in Copenhagen on September 8th. Do you think it might be worth it for me to take a train ride over to where you are to visit for a few days? I hope it's not too long of a ride.

I've heard that the people in Southern France are really nice. How does it compare with "your people" in Strasbourg? :)

Thanks!

If you want to avoid the language barrier, you'll have to learn 8 regional languages (including german dialect, netherland dialect and basque :) ).

Without joking, there are 70 millions of tourists visiting France every year, most of them can't speak french.

It depend on what kind of city you want to visit ?
"French" culture ==> Paris
Mix of French and German culture ==> Alsace (Strasbourg)
Mediteranean culture ==> french riviera (Nice)
Basque culture ==> Biaritz (good to surf there)
Brittany culture (if you like rain :) ) ==> Brest.
Alpes culture ==> Chamonix.

The best for hospitality is Strasbourg. I'm from Strasbourg. What ? I'm biased ? :D

For France, Of course Paris is a must

Other recommandations by region :

-Strasbourg, Colmar (In Alsace),
- Toulouse
- Aix en Provence and marseille, Avignon
- Montpellier
- lille
- Annecy


As far as I ma concerned, I was really taken by ANNECY , capital of "Haute Savoie" in the Alps, : the setting of the lake is just magnificient whatever the the season, the town has an irresistible charm, a very high standard of living (60 km of Geneva), is very neat, colorful, so pleasant for pedestrians, plenty of parks, beaches with crystal clear water : a dream ..
take a look

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/318181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/306181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/365181674.jpg

the casino in modern town ANNECY
http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/344181674.jpg

Canals in old town :
http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/303181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/299181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/308181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/304181674.jpg


http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/331181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/305181674.jpg

Lake of annecy seen from old town
http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/307181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/353181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/311181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/314181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/315181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/309181674.jpg


http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/325181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/333181674.jpg

Town of annecy (at the end of the lake) seen from surrounding mountains or the air :
http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/294181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/351181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/361181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/319181674.jpg

Alonf the lake of ANNECY
http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/321181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/326181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/339181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/341181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/347181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/342181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/354181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/358181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/359181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/363181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/327181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/337181674.jpg

http://www.photoways.com/photos/1/8/181674/zoom/343181674.jpg

Hi!

Thanks for the tips.

I've never heard of Strasbourg. How much of a German influence (both ethnically and culturally) is there in your area?

Also, I'll be in Copenhagen on September 8th. Do you think it might be worth it for me to take a train ride over to where you are to visit for a few days? I hope it's not too long of a ride.

I've heard that the people in Southern France are really nice. How does it compare with "your people" in Strasbourg? :)

Thanks!

Strassbourg actually sits right on the French, German border, with part of it's metro crossing over to Germany via the town of Kehl. Strassbourg is not a big city, but very nice as it's on an island of sorts, and has some stunning buildings. You can see some photo's I took last year and posted at this site: http://www.pbase.com/jchambers/strasbourg

Remember, there are no borders in this part of Europe anymore, so you could walk across the bridge to Germany just as you were crossing a normal bridge in a normal city (although it's not in downtown, so a suburban train maybe the best option)

Nothing much on the German side though to be honest, but a change of scenary so to speak.

Strassbourg actually sits right on the French, German border, with part of it's metro crossing over to Germany via the town of Kehl. Strassbourg is not a big city, but very nice as it's on an island of sorts, and has some stunning buildings. You can see some photo's I took last year and posted at this site: http://www.pbase.com/jchambers/strasbourg

Remember, there are no borders in this part of Europe anymore, so you could walk across the bridge to Germany just as you were crossing a normal bridge in a normal city (although it's not in downtown, so a suburban train maybe the best option)

Nothing much on the German side though to be honest, but a change of scenary so to speak.

Thanks for the nice pics. Do the people look more German (blondes, etc) in Strasbourg than the rest of France, or is it difficult to tell the difference? How about culturally?

honestly, get rid of the stereotype that you'll get insulted by the french for speaking bad french.
They don't want to make you feel bad, they want you to learn it so that you can get it right when speaking to other people. If you met someone who mispoke your name, wouldn't you correct him?
Before I came to the US, I knew just the english they teach you in school, so not much, so I remember some fat US tourist asking me about the Invalides. I wanted to help, but she kept saying it In-va-lid-is so I didn't get it right away.
For Strasbourg, I'm surprized you never heard about it, I believe it was Guttenberg's hometown!
And for Annecy, do not miss it! It's a great city, the photos shows you how beautiful it is, and the best of all, go to the 'beach' and bathe in the lake. It's refreshing, clear, and when I was there I got a very bad sunburn. :D the city is even better, great architecture, you can make picturesque pics almost at every street corner of the centre ville. In any case, the Alpes are a great trip to make, in summer or in winter.
personally, I also loved Perpignan, but not Toulon, miss that one, instead check out the Calanques near Cassis, between Toulon and Marseille.
Rouen is great if you love Normandie architecture, and of course the 100 years war.
other small cities include Beauvais, Reims, Hyeres, Honfleur, Rochefort was a nice day trip from La Rochelle.
anyway, if you check out a guide, I'm sure you can get way better information than from me

Thanks for the nice pics. Do the people look more German (blondes, etc) in Strasbourg than the rest of France, or is it difficult to tell the difference? How about culturally?

The blond German thing is really an odd thing these days. There are no more blonds in Germany than anywhere else.

Germany (and France) are both quite multicultural country's these days, and although there are people you can tell straight away that they come from Germany or France just by looking at them (And you can do that for almost any country, including American's, Canadians and Australian's) Most German's and French couldn't be told apart unless you hear them speak.

Hey Justme,

I noticed you live in Frankfurt. How do you like living there?

And in your opinion, what are some of the nicest cities in Europe for quality of life that ex-pats generally love living in?

Thanks!

Hey Justme,

I noticed you live in Frankfurt. How do you like living there?

And in your opinion, what are some of the nicest cities in Europe for quality of life that ex-pats generally love living in?

Thanks!

I'm not really fond of Frankfurt all that much to be honest. Although I have come to appreciate it a little more than I did when I first moved here. (Actually, when I first moved here, it was like the honeymoon period, where everything was pretty cool, then reality set it and the city droped in favour dramatically)

That said, I absolutely love living in Europe, and have no question about my decision to move here.

The problem with Frankfurt (and pretty much Germany to be honest) is that it's a place that dislikes new idea's. Take the glossy skyscrapers from Frankfurt away, and it's almost like living in the 1960's or 1970's. German's are quite content with this, although, thankfully the minority that want to improove things is slowly growing.

German's, in general, don't like change. If things sort of work ok, they can't see the need to change them, even if the changes are improvements, because to many of them, this means negitive elements are always included as well. Even when times get tough like they are now, few Germans want to encourage the needed changes that would bring things abck up to date.

Just yesterday morning I was confronted by this again. It was a Sunday, and we woke up to find we had no bread for breakfast. We had a late night partying and woke up about 11:30. Now, in Frankfurt, pretty much everything is closed on a Sunday, much like your town may have been in the 1960's. However, recently, some bakeries have started opening Sunday mornings - but only the early hours of a Sunday morning. I went out to find some bread about 11:50 to find pretty much what few bakeries had actually opened were now closes, and after an hour and a half searching found only three open - two of which had completely depleted shelves of stock (empty shelves are another odd thing about frankfurt supermarkets and bakeries).

You can imagine how pissed off I was by the time I got home with "breakfast", and this is a big city, and a major finacial center. The third bakery that was open, had emptied out of anything nice, and so we had to "make do" with the leftovers.

When I brought this up to my German friends their only response was "you should have got up early to buy the bread like a good German does", rather than actually wishing that more was open.

What makes it harder to accept is that this is not like this all across Europe. Many other country's that neighbour Germany are far more liberal with change and new idea's. Places like Spain, Portugal, Britain, the Netherlands and even France. I was in Portugal last year and never had any problems with finding food on a Sunday, and the same in Britain. In fact, any German city on a sunday is like a ghost town. Walking the streets here on that day is one of the most depressing things a person can do. There are loads of people walking about, all trying to find something open, somewhere to spend money, something to do, and just scratching their heads in confusion at what is presented to them.

Even when some places can open by law, they rarely do. Cafe's can open on Sunday's for instance, but you walk around and find almost all of them closed. The ones that are open are crowded and often with a line stretching outside past the closed cafe's of people desperatly trying to get in and have a snack or coffee. I mean, what go's through the owner's mind of the closed cafe to see a line of potential customer outside but he/she refuses to open ??? Then multiply that as only one cafe in 10 are probably open.

When I visited Auckland earlier this year, it struck me how that city, on the bottom of the world and far smaller than Frankfurt (and far less dense) had countless 24hour shops and eateries in the city center, yet Frankfurt has none. Absolutely zero. Frankfurt is the only place in the entire world I have been where finding eggs on Saturday afternoon can be a mission. The only place where I have had to go without food because none is available...

In a time when Germany's economy is doing so bad, you would think people would try new idea's to bring money in - but they simply don't.

There are some very nice things about Frankfurt and Germany though which work pretty well. I love the public transport here (and the honour system that is used). The bars are pretty good and there is a very relaxed attitude to drinking which is very forward thinking.

I have a great job here, and a strong relationship so it's a bit hard to leave. As well as some great friends I don't really want to say goodbye to, otherwise I would have packed up long ago and moved to Barcelona, Paris or London.

Things will get better here one day, but I'll probably be an old man by then. At least when I first came here, I couldn't find a single person that thought things need to improve here, despite being a lot worse than it is now, but now when I bring up these points I do find the odd person that agree's it's time to think of change.

I'm not really fond of Frankfurt all that much to be honest. Although I have come to appreciate it a little more than I did when I first moved here. (Actually, when I first moved here, it was like the honeymoon period, where everything was pretty cool, then reality set it and the city droped in favour dramatically)

That said, I absolutely love living in Europe, and have no question about my decision to move here.

The problem with Frankfurt (and pretty much Germany to be honest) is that it's a place that dislikes new idea's. Take the glossy skyscrapers from Frankfurt away, and it's almost like living in the 1960's or 1970's. German's are quite content with this, although, thankfully the minority that want to improove things is slowly growing.

German's, in general, don't like change. If things sort of work ok, they can't see the need to change them, even if the changes are improvements, because to many of them, this means negitive elements are always included as well. Even when times get tough like they are now, few Germans want to encourage the needed changes that would bring things abck up to date.

Just yesterday morning I was confronted by this again. It was a Sunday, and we woke up to find we had no bread for breakfast. We had a late night partying and woke up about 11:30. Now, in Frankfurt, pretty much everything is closed on a Sunday, much like your town may have been in the 1960's. However, recently, some bakeries have started opening Sunday mornings - but only the early hours of a Sunday morning. I went out to find some bread about 11:50 to find pretty much what few bakeries had actually opened were now closes, and after an hour and a half searching found only three open - two of which had completely depleted shelves of stock (empty shelves are another odd thing about frankfurt supermarkets and bakeries).

You can imagine how pissed off I was by the time I got home with "breakfast", and this is a big city, and a major finacial center. The third bakery that was open, had emptied out of anything nice, and so we had to "make do" with the leftovers.

When I brought this up to my German friends their only response was "you should have got up early to buy the bread like a good German does", rather than actually wishing that more was open.

What makes it harder to accept is that this is not like this all across Europe. Many other country's that neighbour Germany are far more liberal with change and new idea's. Places like Spain, Portugal, Britain, the Netherlands and even France. I was in Portugal last year and never had any problems with finding food on a Sunday, and the same in Britain. In fact, any German city on a sunday is like a ghost town. Walking the streets here on that day is one of the most depressing things a person can do. There are loads of people walking about, all trying to find something open, somewhere to spend money, something to do, and just scratching their heads in confusion at what is presented to them.

Even when some places can open by law, they rarely do. Cafe's can open on Sunday's for instance, but you walk around and find almost all of them closed. The ones that are open are crowded and often with a line stretching outside past the closed cafe's of people desperatly trying to get in and have a snack or coffee. I mean, what go's through the owner's mind of the closed cafe to see a line of potential customer outside but he/she refuses to open ??? Then multiply that as only one cafe in 10 are probably open.

When I visited Auckland earlier this year, it struck me how that city, on the bottom of the world and far smaller than Frankfurt (and far less dense) had countless 24hour shops and eateries in the city center, yet Frankfurt has none. Absolutely zero. Frankfurt is the only place in the entire world I have been where finding eggs on Saturday afternoon can be a mission. The only place where I have had to go without food because none is available...

In a time when Germany's economy is doing so bad, you would think people would try new idea's to bring money in - but they simply don't.

There are some very nice things about Frankfurt and Germany though which work pretty well. I love the public transport here (and the honour system that is used). The bars are pretty good and there is a very relaxed attitude to drinking which is very forward thinking.

I have a great job here, and a strong relationship so it's a bit hard to leave. As well as some great friends I don't really want to say goodbye to, otherwise I would have packed up long ago and moved to Barcelona, Paris or London.

Things will get better here one day, but I'll probably be an old man by then. At least when I first came here, I couldn't find a single person that thought things need to improve here, despite being a lot worse than it is now, but now when I bring up these points I do find the odd person that agree's it's time to think of change.

Ok I can`t really speak for FFM, cause in the last years I was only one time for a few days there, but I can hardly believe that the situation is so "sad" in FFM. In Berlin for example I can buy nearly everything (food and stuff like this) 24 hours the day, 7 days the week. On sundays 9 of 10 Cafes are open and extremly crowded and the streets aren`t ghost town like, but pretty crowded, too. Ok in the outer districts (I´m not sure, whether it`s the right word) the situation is little bit different, but even there you can find open cafes and bakeries or at least gas station fitted like little super markets.