CEA CAPA Education Abroad in French Riviera, France

I spent the fall of 2023 in Antibes, France and it was such a wonderful time. The city was at its most vibrant until the end of October and then again at the end of December. There is a lot to do around the city and traveling to other parts of the French Riviera is very easy and cheap. The community always felt pretty safe and the people were very nice. I would say to try to learn some French, as the locals appreciate when you try to make an effort and will often respond back in English if they can tell you are stuggling. As a STEM student, I attended SKEMA business school, which is a great business school but I struggled a bit with the STEM classes, I require a stricter learning environment that was different than the way we were taught. Overall, the experience was so amazing and I would recommend it to anyone that is thinking of going!

Studying abroad with CEA CAPA at the French Riviera was the most wonderful experience, and I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to study abroad. The program was incredibly well-organized, and the staff was supportive and attentive, ensuring that we had everything we needed to thrive both academically and personally. The location itself is stunning, with breathtaking views, historical old towns, and a rich cultural heritage. I had the chance to explore beautiful places like Nice, Monaco, and Cannes, all while taking courses that were engaging and relevant to my studies.

My experience with the CEA CAPA French Riviera study abroad program was truly incredible. From the moment I arrived in the bustling but quaint little town of Antibes, France just outside of Nice, I was deeply immersed in French culture and lifestyle. The area itself has much more of a local and genuine feel to it than many other popular study abroad destinations. Especially since my program ran from January to April, there were far less tourists and crowds throughout the French Riviera, which is a very popular vacation spot in the warmer months. This quieter environment made it feel like a much more personal experience, and allowed me to better enjoy the sights, sounds, food, and just general atmosphere. As someone who had never even step foot outside of the US prior, traveling to a foreign country halfway across the world where I would then live for several months was somewhat daunting. However, upon my arrival, I was greeted with warmth and welcomeness from the on-site CEA CAPA staff. They made the transition into life on the French Riviera much smoother, and provided loads of information and guidance throughout my stay. I am so thankful for my experience in this program, as I learned so much about myself and the world around me!

When growing up thinking about study abroad was always in my mind, I knew that going to college study abroad was a priority. When I was doing my college applications I noticed that one of my top schools offered the opportunity for students to study abroad with CEA CAPA their very first semester of college. When I saw this I knew I had to apply and as I committed to the university I hoped to go to France. With my time in France I was able to have a unique start to college that really propelled me into this experience and going to France with CEA CAPA was the best way to do it. In France the CEA CAPA staff was incredibly supportive and made my experience infinitely more fun. The French Riviera offered an incredible experience between the culture and the people that I really got to take advantage of during my study abroad.

I loved this program! The CEA CAPA staff was so hopeful from start to finish and helped with everything to transferring credits to finding our apartments to helping me when I was sick. I had a random roommate and our cute apartment was on a pedestrian only street in Old Town Antibes. It was a five minute walk to the ocean, to the market, to the grocery store, and to most of my friends' apartments. Also only 10 minutes to the bus stop to school and 15 to the train station. Super easy to visit Nice, other nearby towns, and get to the airport. Antibes has fun bars mostly, but we also had fun at a cfew clubs in Nice. Definitely dies down in the winter, but super cute and festive during Christmas time. CEA CAPA's excursions were wel planned and were great for learning about the area and getting closer with people in the program. Highly recommend!

This was a wonderful program and location. The location of this program is super convenient for traveling to other cities and countries. I was able to travel easily and cheaply almost every weekend. But I would also really recommend staying close to the city. There are so many things to see and do without traveling far. The people were amazing, I was really good friends with my roommates and made a lot of friends with the others in the program. The school was in a very cool location and the classes were perfect for me, although the structure varied from what I was used to.

Studying abroad in the French Riviera was an amazing experience, and CEA CAPA was extremely helpful through every stage. I was able to take two engineering courses and two electives at Skema Business School. I found the academics to be easier than the courses at my home university. My host city, Antibes, was the perfect spot as my home base. It is less touristy than other towns in the South of France, but it still has plenty to do in terms of eating out, shopping, sightseeing, and nightlife. My on site program coordinators were extremely welcoming and made me feel comfortable and at home the second I arrived.

Study abroad is something that I have wanted to do since I was ten years old. I always knew I wanted to go to college and further my education. Learning about Europe in my classes and how beautiful it is, I knew I had to go experience it myself. The French Rivera is seriously one of the most beautiful places on Earth- filled with culture, food, beaches (that are sand!) ancient architecture, and so many more things. The French Rivera has some of the best access to travel that I've experienced as well, so not only did I live in the most gorgeous and iconic place ever, but I could easily hop on the train or busses to other parts of France, or even different countries! The food was amazing- I could go on forever about the French knowing how to cook anything. I miss the bakeries and restaurants almost as much as the breath-taking view of the Alps. I would recommend the French Rivera to everyone who wants to study abroad. The weather was amazing- mostly warm and sometimes rainy, but never terrible. If you are hesitant to study abroad in France because of the stereotypes that they don't like Americans, it's not true! They are just very reserved people, so if you're respectful they will be respectful back! Almost everyone also speaks English here so if you don't speak French, it's not a problem.