>>2536892>I liked Nice, which I guess is somewhat similar, if not a bit more fancier, no? Does Montpellier get as many tourists?Yeah Nice would def be considered to be on the fancier side. It suffers from a few things as well but it's a romantic destination. The whole Côte d'Azur aka French Riviera has millionaire mansions in the vicinity of medieval hilltop villages.
Some great excursions to do in the backcountry where you get to enjoy the Mediterranean side of the Alps which is really unlike your typical Switzerland postcard. The Mercantour, Luberon
I think Paris and the Riviera are like the 2 most iconic places internationally.
You could consider Nice if being closer to Italy is something you want, smaller than both Lyon and Montpellier but still a sizeable city in this country. I agree with your statement that Italy is fucking great, so.
Montpellier definitely gets a lot of tourists, although since it does not sit directly on the coast it doesn't get cruise ships or a yacht marina like Marseille and Nice. I feel like the tourists are mostly Europeans, lots of Spaniards throughout all year unsurprisingly considering the short distance but also all the Dutch, Belgians, Scandis, Brits and German who come to the beach during summer and take trips to Montpellier.
And of course French tourists from other regions, because we tend to lot to travel within the country
But it's pretty liveable, I don't remember ever being bothered by crowds in Montpellier never felt as rushed as I did in Paris during peak season. And the rest of the year it's not crowded but still animated by the locals because the weather is soft and there's a ton of young people
