Louise Wiseman is 21 and studying French and Italian at the University of Kent. She has spent five months in Montréal at the Université de Montréal and will be spending five months in Italy at Università di Parma from February. She fell in love with Montréal and Canada almost immediately after arriving for the first time in August, and is planning to move back once she graduates. Here she passes on her top tips to students studying either French or English and thinking of living in Montréal on their year abroad.

Charlotte Watson is studying French and German at Bangor University and is currently nearing the end of her placement in Toulouse, France, before moving onto Passau in Germany next semester. She is an Erasmus student at Université Toulouse II-Le Mirail, and chose Toulouse because she’d always wanted to see the South of France for herself, having heard such wonderful things about the weather, food and general way of life there. Here she passes on her top tips and advice for other students thinking of living there during their degree.

Christopher Hall is 21 and studies French & Linguistics at Queen Mary, University of London. This year he is spending seven months of his year abroad working as an English Language Assistant in two high schools in Loos, in the outskirts of Lille, France. He chose Lille as it provides an urban environment with excellent amenities yet without the expense of living in a capital city, and has speedy transport connections to the UK and many cities throughout continental Europe. Here he passes on his advice about accommodation, getting around town, student discounts, shopping, eating out and the nightlife in Lille.