Montpellier

Montpellier needs 1 day: touring the Place de la Comédie, the largest oval pedestrian square in Europe and the heart of the historic center, and strolling through the Antigone district, a postmodern neoclassical architectural complex designed by Ricardo Bofill in the 1980s, the same afternoon. April-June and September-October bring the mildest weather. It's cheaper than other cities in southern France. It has France's youngest population thanks to its university, founded in 1220 and one of the oldest in Europe still operating, with a medical school that trained Rabelais and Nostradamus.