While most of us spent our high school years in an often gray and ugly establishment, a lucky few study in a setting worthy of a fairytale castle. Where?
In France, there are few high schools that make you want to get up every morning before 8 a.m. to quickly get to class… Gray, soulless, sometimes in ruins or poorly heated, these establishments find their place without problem in the landscapes of ugly France. But, fortunately, a few are doing well.
The rankings site, Topitohad fun drawing up a list of the most beautiful secondary establishments in France. And if Bourges, Clermont-Ferrand and Genech, a small town located in Hauts-de-France, are at the top of the ranking, there is a city which can boast of having a high school in its heart. “even better than Hogwarts.” All the students who have ever waited for the owl to drop off their admission letter at Harry Potter Castle would undoubtedly like to study there.
Surrounded by water, planted in the middle of a small island in the heart of the city, it seems straight out of an animated film. Located near one of the jewels of the city, the cathedral, the said high school therefore easily climbs to the highest step of this podium. A former convent renovated in 1902 in a Germanic style, the Lycée des Pontonniers, in Strasbourg, is therefore the most beautiful high school in France according to Topito. It is also rated 4.2/5 on Google and the comments are laudatory: “One of the most beautiful buildings in Strasbourg, successfully mixing the old and the modern to bring a certain something of Hogwarts” ; “Strasbourg Hogwarts, I am fiercely jealous of all the students who were able to study in this magical building!“
And it is not only known for the splendor of its decoration. Renowned for its very good baccalaureate results, and its highly rated economic and commercial preparatory classes, it is today the French high school with the most international sections: English, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish and Korean.
A thousand students walk on its grounds daily, but it is also a tourist hotspot in the Neustadt district of Strasbourg, the former German imperial district of the city, itself classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thus, it opens its doors every year to curious little ones during Heritage Days.
