Maybe somewhere round the Jardin Public in Bordeaux or in Chartrons which is a little more raffish. 18th Century elegance, galleries, bookshops, restaurants which are cheaper than out in the sticks, a choice of bars.
Well like English people ....LIKE most people but not kean on the gold chain,
White shoes and sailors hats which toast themselves on the crammed cote d snor
beaches of Nice and Cannes. Exceptions and exceptionals live here....truely lovely...
Like Vance....NOT ST Paul de Vance.
Yes Aude and 66 oriental J adores Caloure but we could buy a shoe
box here for 700.000 euros.
We strated off in the area of St Malo Cancale in a windmill opposite the beach.
Yes windy.
Then Charente ....No not lively enough.
and if you like skiing and winter sports better be near some mountains, plenty of choice of those in France so see Ben's previous post to decide what you want to mix it with...! ;-D
Oh well might as well try:
If you like beers and heavy food: the north of France
If you like beers, heavy food, pine tree forests and the German language: Elzas
if you like rough coastlines, apple trees and cows: Bretagne and Normandie
if you like bourgeousie: Paris
if you like to live dangerously: the hard-core banlieu's of Paris and Marseille
If you like to surf: the coast of the Aquitaine and the Bayonne area.
If you like to stroll endlessly along seaside boulevards of the "twenties": channel coast
If you like kiting: Rhone valley
If you like English people: Dordogne, Limousin
If you like Dutch people: Dordogne
If you have respiratory problems, but a heart that's in good condition: any place above 1 mile of altitude
If you like to become an painter-artist: any-place in the Oc-part of France that has a small rustic village with a local "Café" and a terras shaded by big-leaved trees infested with "cigales".
If you like warm water and sailing: the Mediterranean area
But I'll stop here, there's a limit on the length of posts :-)
and for those who would like a little more information according to "official" figures and surveys, here's the france département by département according to different criteria. I can't remember if it was l'express or le point which published the figures but it makes interesting reading and it's something I use with my foreign students when familiarising them with France geographically and getting them to talk about different aspects of france both good and bad (as they're chinese they haven't got a clue and often have some rather odd preconceived ideas!)
It should answer the question for those who want the safest place possible or the best overall weather or best health care etc... ;-)
good god you've asked the question that'll get you as many different replies as there are members - it depends what you're looking for, France has so many different climates and landscapes plus the people are notably different from one part to another, their attitudes, their way of life etc. My choice is the south well away from the ocean because I can't stand the humidity it brings, and preferably close to the sea for the mediterranean climate but well away from the big cities and away from all the crime and racial problems that go with them (and dog shite everywhere!) cost is also a big factor for most, it was for me. My choice is the Hérault, just down the road from family in the Aveyron and others in the Aude and relatively protected from the tramontane (wouldn't go for the aude or north PO because of the wind) or the Gard too but keeping west out of the mistral's playground and not too far into the cévennes either- all those épisodes cévenoles...! adore provence but don't like the prices and too many other people adore it too - you can't even get to the beach in summer! the météo side of things makes a great difference to me, it's something that many don't seem to look into and are then surprised (as may be the case at the moment!) thinking you just have to go south and everything will be warmer but there again it's something I've studied in the past...! ;-)