Here’s what you’ll find out:

• Places to learn the language
• What French language schools have to offer
• Accommodation options
• Where to buy food and eat out (with prices indication)
• Travelling costs
• How to stay connected. Choosing Internet and mobile provider
• Average temperatures
• Budget planning

• Language courses and schools in France

  There are three common language course types in France: General, Intensive and Specialized French.

  General French course focuses on 4 competences (reading, writing, listening and speaking) and grammar. With 20 lessons per week on average, you’ll improve any level of Frenchat a comfortable pace, leaving enough time for communication and a cultural program.

  Intensive French involves more lessons per week (30 on average) offering the possibility to improve your fluency thanks to the time spent on oral communication activities. This type of courses pays due attention to phonetics, which will help to polish your accent.

  Specialized French courses cater for people who already speak French but want to use it in specific situations.

  Take a look at the cases:

  • —Краткосрочная Шенгенская виза (C) for students who want to obtain DELF and DALF diplomas awarded by the French Ministry of Education to prove their French-language skills;
  • —Business and Legal French courses are designed to improve career prospects at home and abroad;
  • —French with cookery allows to discover the delights of French gastronomy and learn the core cooking vocabulary.

  Linguatrip.com team have selected 15 top-rated language schools across France. Check out ACCORD in Paris, ILA in Montpellier or Sprachcaffe in Nice.

• Accommodation

  There are three options of lodging available: stay with a host family, live in a school residence or find lodging independently.

  Host family — stay with a French family, breakfast and dinner included. Be ready to follow certain house rules, e.g. eating at a particular time, no guests allowed.

  School residence - stay in a student residence in a single or shared room.. This is the cheapest option and will suit best those who want to mix a lot with international students at parties, events, etc.

  Independent lodging - you can rent accommodation in any part of the city your school in. We recommend the well-reputed service Airbnb. There are more than 300 options of apartments and rooms there.

• Food

  France is considered to be one of the cheapest western European countries when it comes to food and non-alcoholic beverages. So, dear language tourists, go and shop like locals!

  The French usually don’t shop in one large supermarket to buy everything from bread to eye drops for the week ahead. Instead, people shop in mini supermarkets, markets and specialized stores. The most common grocery chains are Carrefour (meaning ‘crossroad’), Monoprix (often abbreviated to Monop’) and Intermarché. Bread and cheese, French cuisine staples, are bought at specialty stores. French people buy bread from a boulangerie and cheese from a fromagerie. For fresh fruit and veggies, go to markets that will stun you with the display.

  Average prices on food essentials:

  • — Water (1.5 bottle) – €0.60
  • — Milk (1 liter) – €0.97
  • — Loaf of fresh white bread – €1.30
  • — Local cheese (1 kg) – €15.00
  • — Chicken breasts (1 kg) – €10.57
  • — Banana (1 kg) – €1.95

  If you are an eat-out person, the following information might come in handy.

  • Almost all mainstream restaurants in France offer you an à la carte menu, plus three fixed price menus. The latter are excellent value for money as it consists of 3 courses and the price can be as low as €20.
  • Just about every restaurant offers a dish of the day (plat du jour) which is usually priced at around €10-€15.
  • Lunch is generally served between noon and 2pm, dinner from 7pm to 10pm. It’s better to reserve a table, especially in smaller towns and villages. Chances are that you may need to be knocking on the door at noon should you wish to dine spontaneously.

  Average prices:

  • — Meal at a budget restaurant – € 10.00 – 15.00
  • — Meal at a mid-range restaurant – € 35.00
• Traveling

  Paris boasts a well-developed public transport system:buses, underground and overhead rail and trams are all grouped under one authority, called the RATP. You can buy one-journey tickets (€1.90) or travel passes (called carte orange, €22.80 week pass ) that allow you to use any of the services as often as you please.

  French towns and cities have public transport services, and regional coach companies operate bus lines in rural areas. Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes and Toulouse have metro services.

  French taxis are licensed by the local prefecture and all cabs operate in the same manner and to the same tariffs in each region. Two of the largest taxi operating companies in the capital are G7 (Tel: 01 47 39 47 39) and Taxis Bleus (Tel: 0891 70 10 10).

• Internet and mobile service

  The main French mobile operators include: Orange, SFR, Bouygues Télécom, Free Mobile.

  Orange is the largest and most popular mobile operator in France with the best coverage of all the networks. It is easyto get a prepaid French SIM from the provider of your choice. Orange, for example issues SIM cards for €4, and you will immediately have €5 of credit on your automatically activated SIM card.

• Climate

  The average temperatures range from 4.5 °C (40 °F) in January to 20.5 °C (69 °F) in July. However you should be prepared for occasional hot spells in summer with temperatures about 32/33 °C (90/91 °F) or above that. In winter there may be some freezing days as well, with night temperatures about -6/-8 °C (18/21 °F) or even lower.

• Budget

  Let’s say you’d already paid for tickets to your France destination and accommodation. How much cash (or how much money on your card) should you have to visit local attractions, taste French cuisine and have no problems with travel? About €70 per person a day will be enough.