Toulouse.

Evenings start on the Prairie des Filtres, a riverside park where students gather with picnics and guitars, and continue in the bars around Place Saint-Pierre and rue Gabriel Peri. The Carmes and Saint-Aubin districts add a mellower, more local scene. Rugby is close to religion here, so catch a Stade Toulousain match, and lean on ESN Toulouse for the international calendar.

• Place Saint-Pierre by the Garonne is the classic student night-out square.
• Sunset picnics on the Prairie des Filtres when the weather is warm.
• Grab tickets to a Stade Toulousain rugby match at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.

Toulouse is one of the better-value big French cities: budget roughly 800 to 1,150 euros a month. Shared rooms run 380 to 500 euros, cheaper than Lyon or Paris, and APL applies. With CROUS canteens at around 3.30 euros and cheap markets, the south easy living comes without a big price tag.

• Colocation rooms typically 380 to 500 euros; claim APL via caf.fr to reduce it further.
• The Tisseo youth transit pass is cheap - sort a Pastel card in your first week.
• CROUS restaurants at Rangueil and Mirail serve full meals for around 3.30 euros.

Housing is tighter than the price suggests, so start early. CROUS residences cluster near the Rangueil (science) and Mirail (humanities) campuses; private colocations are found on leboncoin and La Carte des Colocs. Saint-Cyprien and the Carmes are central and lively, while Rangueil suits science students. Use the free Visale guarantee if you have no French garant.

• Rangueil for Paul Sabatier science students; Saint-Cyprien and Carmes for central life.
• Hunt on leboncoin and La Carte des Colocs; secure a Visale guarantee at visale.fr.
• Ask the Studcasa Toulouse group where rooms are opening between semesters.

The Tisseo network - two automatic metro lines, two tram lines and a dense bus web - gets you across the city fast, with a third metro line on the way. The centre itself is flat and walkable, and VeloToulouse bikes cover the rest. Under-26s get a heavily discounted Pastel travel pass, so it is always worth registering as a student.

• Metro line B runs to Rangueil (science campus); line A serves the centre and Mirail.
• Register for the youth Pastel pass - Toulouse student transit rates are among France cheapest.
• VeloToulouse bikes are ideal along the flat Canal du Midi towpath.

Toulouse universities divide by field: Capitole (Toulouse 1) for law and economics, Jean Jaures (Toulouse 2) for humanities, and Paul Sabatier (Toulouse 3) for science and health, alongside the aerospace elite of ISAE-SUPAERO, ENAC and INSA. Science students are based south at Rangueil; humanities at Mirail in the west. Expect the standard CM-and-TD teaching format.

• ISAE-SUPAERO and ENAC make Toulouse the top choice for aerospace exchanges.
• Science and health teaching is concentrated at the Rangueil campus in the south.

What you need depends entirely on your nationality. EU/EEA/Swiss students need no visa and can just enrol. Non-EU students on an exchange over 90 days apply for a VLS-TS student long-stay visa before arriving, then validate it online within three months and pay a small OFII tax; under 90 days you may only need a short-stay Schengen visa or none at all.

Budget time for the admin marathon: you will want a French bank account, proof of accommodation, health cover (EHIC for Europeans, or enrolment in French social security), and civil-liability insurance. Book prefecture and OFII steps the moment you can, because slots vanish.

• EU/EEA/Swiss, no visa, just enrol
• Non-EU, over 90 days, VLS-TS long-stay student visa, validated online after arrival
• Proof of ~€615/month funds usually required
• Get civil-liability insurance (assurance responsabilite civile) before term

This is the home of cassoulet, the rich bean-and-duck stew, and the plump Toulouse sausage - try both when the weather cools. Spend a morning at the Marche Victor Hugo, the covered market whose upstairs restaurants serve what the stalls sell downstairs. For something lighter, the city violet sweets and syrups are a local speciality worth taking home.

• Eat cassoulet at least once when it turns cold - it is the city signature dish.
• Marche Victor Hugo for produce downstairs and lunch at the restaurants above.
• Sunday Saint-Aubin market for a laid-back browse and street food.

The Capitole and its grand square are the beating centre, ringed by the chic, old-stone Carmes district. Across the Garonne, Saint-Cyprien is cheaper, younger and rising fast, while Saint-Aubin draws a bohemian crowd around its Sunday market. Rangueil in the south is quieter and studenty thanks to the science campus.

• Carmes for central charm; Saint-Cyprien for value and a rising bar scene.
• Saint-Aubin for a bohemian feel and the best Sunday market.
• Rangueil if you want to be near the Paul Sabatier science campus.

Toulouse is a springboard south. The fairytale medieval citadel of Carcassonne is an hour by train, Albi and its Toulouse-Lautrec museum just as close, and the Pyrenees are a few hours away for skiing or hiking. Push on and Bordeaux is two hours by TGV, Montpellier a couple more, and Barcelona reachable by direct bus. Cycle a stretch of the Canal du Midi for a gentler weekend.

• Carcassonne medieval citadel is an hour away by train - go for the day.
• The Pyrenees are within a few hours for winter skiing or summer hiking.
• Direct buses run to Barcelona; Bordeaux is two hours by TGV.

Handle the paperwork trio - bank, APL, SIM - in your first fortnight, and always open with Bonjour. The southern sun is real, so factor in that summers are hot and the terrace season is long. And do not underestimate rugby weekends: match days transform the city, so grab tickets early if a big fixture falls during your stay.

• Open a French account and claim APL early; both need doing before anything else clicks into place.
• Buy a Stade Toulousain ticket in advance if a big rugby match lands in your term.