France is home to several academically impressive university programmes, and it is a very popular place for international students, welcoming over 400,000 foreign students in 2023.

However, the rigor of the course is only one factor when deciding where to study.

Luckily the student online magazine L’Étudiant has come out with its 18th annual ranking of the leading university towns.

L’Étudiant started off looking at the cities with more than 8,000 university students, then they ranked them based on student questionnaires and a number of criteria, including the availability and cost of accommodation, student life, sport, culture, public transport, and post-graduation employment opportunities.

Out of 47 different French cities, these were the top 10 for 2024;

1 Montpellier

2 Rennes

3 = Caen / Toulouse

5 Grenoble

6 = Angers / Besançon / Lyon / Strasbourg

10 Nantes

The full list is here.

READ ALSO EXPLAINED: What type of French visa do you need?

Here are some more details on the top five.

Montpellier

Montpellier, where students make up 17.1 percent of the city’s population, came in first place. The city is known for its warm, Mediterranean weather and proximity to the sea. It also scored the maximum number of points for available courses, student population and health. 

Montpellier’s ‘eternal summer’ was cited by one student as ‘its greatest asset’ in an interview with Ouest France, while another told the paper that the city’s ‘good social climate’ was also a key factor.

“Everyone gets along well, and day and night, the city is very dynamic,” she said.

Another added: “The Écusson is always lively, with bars and restaurants on every side.”

Public transport, in particular, made a clear difference, as the Hérault city has made its public transport free for residents. No other city with a large student population has done this.  

There are six ‘Grandes Écoles’ in Montpellier, as well as a number of research facilities.

According to L’Étudient, 94 percent of students in Montpellier would recommend it as a place to study.

Rennes

Located in western France, Rennes is known for being the capital of Brittany. It came in second place, moving up one spot from its 2023 ranking to second, while Toulouse and Caen, tied for third, complete the podium. 

The Breton city’s 869 km of bicycle paths score highly with students, while access to public parks and gardens was also noted.

One asset about Rennes is the number of university courses to choose from: Université Rennes I and II, the math and statistics focused Ecole Normale Supérieure, as well as Sciences Po and Rennes school of business, which seeks to have a high proportion of foreign students.

As for small city Rennes: “I feel like I can do everything on foot,“ one student said of the city’s ‘almost intimate’ downtown area. “Everything’s fairly close by, and the two metro lines mean you can get everywhere quickly,” one student told Ouest France.

“By train, we’re very close to the sea and Paris. Even with only one or two free days in the week, you can quickly enjoy a change of air. And when it comes to the landscape, Brittany is particularly rich!”

Caen

And the Calvados capital, Caen, is located in northern France and this marked its first time in the top three, thanks in part to a number of schemes intended to make the city more attractive to students.

It offers, for example, preferential rates to encourage students to take up sport and offers assistance with housing, driving licences, mobility and various social aid schemes.

Toulouse

With more than 120,000 French and international students calling Toulouse home from home, it is no wonder that the La Ville Rose has got the hang of being a university city. It scores highly on the standards set by L’Étudiant.

It performs particularly well on the criteria related to employment and stands out for its living environment and its student life.

Grenoble

The often-overloooked capital of the Alps was recently declared the best place to live in France, and routinely does very well in student surveys. It was declared the best university city in the same poll in 2016.

It is large enough to offer variety, but small enough so that it is not overwhelming, while the city centre offers a usual array of shops restaurants, cafés, pubs, and nightlife. And the Alps are but a short distance away…

Do you agree that these are the best French cities for students? Let us know in the comments below.