The other French ¨big cities¨

Toulouse if you want to see beautiful airplanes being made

They say it's nicer, much nicer, in Nice.

I want to go to that incredible island castle. Forget the name.

Strasbourg, Nice, Marseilles, for variety.

[quote]They say it's nicer, much nicer, in Nice.

Nice has become a shithole since they introduced very cheap flights from England.

I used to love it there.

Yes, Toulouse!

Port Au Prince

Biarritz was lovely when I was there 30 years ago.

But the weather on that side of France is a bit shit, even in summer.

I also liked Nancy and Grenoble.

R3 here

Biarritz is a town. Grenoble has a fantastic setting but its a small city and a bit gritty.

in Brittany

Marseille is a hole.

That's what is good about Marseille. Plus it is not all shitty. AND, Mediterranean rough trade.

The fortified city of Carcassonne.

Mont Saint-Michel is located near Normandy.

R14 anyone who uses the word ‘trade’ shouldn’t be giving advice to be honest. Only sad old queens who ride their dildo to g4p pornstars or the thought of sucking str8 dick, or who would have transitioned many years ago if the had the balls (pun intended), say the word ‘trade’.

Pot, kettle?

Carcassonne = 46K pop. Some of you have strange notion of "big cities"

R18 nope, I’m not some old queen. 25 year old top who backpacked around Europe after college. One of my stops along the south of France included the shithole that is marseille.

Marseilles has some pretty beautiful areas, but you have to be wealthy to enjoy/live in them. The expensive houses/apartments on the hills on the south side of the city are really gorgeous, with beautiful views of the Mediterranean Ocean (as per Google Earth).

Also Perpignan is somewhat ok, like a smallish Barcelona.

Enjoyed Strasbourg...

Avignon is lovely. Biarritz and that whole area is a big surfing destination now.

Actually I meant to say that Montpellier is lovely, but Avignon is nice too.

Bayonne has some of the friendliest French people I've met. It's a small city near Biarritz with a relaxed and welcoming feel

Plus, it has some of the best chocolates.

Le Havre. Not everyone has the same taste.

Strasbourg has some great food. Good combination of French and German cooking. Choucroute of course, with regional sausages and potatoes, fois gras, chicken in riesling, lots of farms nearby with fresh ingredients for the table. Good cathedral to visit, interesting to hear people speaking a variety of languages there (It's on the border of Germany, which is just across the Rhine) and is also one of the capitals of the EU, so there are ministries from every country in the EU there. An old section with half-timbered houses. No one has mentioned Lyon, but that is the second or third biggest city in France (depending on how you're counting. Also very famous for good food. A city of technology, not as beautiful or distinctive architecture as Paris, but not bad. Some old areas dating back to Roman times.

I really enjoyed visiting Rouen, which has a lot of great churches besides the cathedral. It has so much history (as almost all French cities do).

I wasn't thrilled with Tours, but it has a nice medieval old square, and is close to the chateaux of the Loire Valley.

Here are some properties for your perusal

Lyon. Culinary capital of France. Paris without the arrogance and machine-gun French. Headquarters of INTERPOL. Two rivers - Saone and Rhone, quaint old town, buchons, Roman ruins. Check out the traboules, covered passages running all through the old town built when Lyon was a center for silk weaving to protect the silk from the elements when moving it between workshops and from workshop to market.

Grenoble. Alps, 1968 Winter Olympics, excellent hiking around Grenoble and the surrounding towns and national parks. Tallest bungee jumping site in Europe, Le pont de Ponsonnas, nearby. 75 Euro, 95m drop, 5 sec, 100 kph and the motherfucking RUSH of a lifetime. I know 'cause I did it.

Dijon, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Tours, Rennes, Caen, Rouen (halfway from Paris is Monet's gardens in Giverny), Annecy and Chambery, Montpellier, Toulon... + Lyon, Strasbourg

Ok let's list every town over 35K in France. Thread closed. Grandes métropols?

R33 These are some of the places I visited in France off the beaten track for most tourists.

R20 A studly 25-year-old top (who asked for this ultra-specific data?) who already behaves like a jaded, bitter old queen. You have a bright future ahead of you!

tant pis

Montpellier is lovely, and close to the beaches on the Côte d'Amethyste.

St. Barts. The small town with a big city attitude.

Another for Rouen and Jeanne D'Arc.

Nancy is Art Nouveau Central.

Annecy in the Savoy Alps is a pretty postcard town. Not quite a big city.