Clermont Ferrand

JamesReeves

Hey

I'll be studying abroad in Clermont Ferrand in France in January for the semester.

Has anyone been there and if so what is it like, where did you stay and any other info that you think would be useful ?

Thanks

confusticated

A friend of mine was there for a year and I visited her - the only advice I'd give (and I know she would!) is to stay away from the college accommodation, CROUS. It's really, really grim. Get a houseshare with some French students instead if you can.

Seems like a nice place, I wasn't there for long though.

Victor

JamesReeves wrote: »

Clermont Ferrand in France in January

Has anyone been there and if so what is it like,

Cold

JamesReeves

confusticated wrote: »

A friend of mine was there for a year and I visited her - the only advice I'd give (and I know she would!) is to stay away from the college accommodation, CROUS. It's really, really grim. Get a houseshare with some French students instead if you can.

Seems like a nice place, I wasn't there for long though.

Yeah , I've seen pictures of the student accommodation, I think we will get a house/ apartment.
Could you ask your friend, how did she travel there and, if she can remember where is the best place to get groceries and all that crap.
Thanks for the reply

JamesReeves

Victor wrote: »

Cold

Ah sure, I'm from Ireland, haha we're used to the cold

confusticated

She flew Cork-Paris, Paris-Clermont. Afaik Paris-Clermont was with Air France. You could also fly Dublin-Lyon, Clermont is about 2 hours by train from Lyon and Dublin-Lyon usually isn't that expensive.

For groceries the nearest supermarket to where she lived when I visited was Simply, I think there might be a Carrefour in Clermont somewhere but she didn't go there very often...I lived in Paris for a bit and Simply was the cheapest and best supermarket near me then too. Casino is pretty expensive for what you get, the grandes surfaces like Auchan and Carrefour are less expensive but I tended to buy more stuff since they were massive so it ended up costing me more to shop there!

Also on a more general note, if you can find furnished accommodation, do. I had to buy loads of stuff on Erasmus like plates and cutlery, a kettle, lamp, mini oven etc. It cost me a fair bit (had a great time in IKEA getting it though!) but I was there for 12 months so it was worthwhile, might not be if you're only going for one semester. Also not sure if there's an IKEA in CF (I lived in Lyon first). Shout if you've any more questions

Victor

JamesReeves wrote: »

Ah sure, I'm from Ireland, haha we're used to the cold

Average winter temperatures there are several degrees colder than in Dublin, so you can expect the coldest daysd to be substantially colder - it's the equivalent of being half way up the Wicklow mountains.