French Language trip to Paris by coach: 3 days, 2 nights
Your French trip to Paris gives opportunities for students to practise their French in real-life situations, such as in the market, alongside extending their experience of French culture. The four day French trip option gives you the chance to see more suggested sights, including the Louvre, the Pompidou Centre, and the Stade de France.
Excursion Ideas
Town Trail
Subject range: Cultural, Language
What you’ll experience: ‘Hunt Fun’ treasure hunts are a great fun way to get your students out and about and exploring a town whilst on your tour, learning so much along the way. The treasure hunts will guide you past historical buildings, statues and monuments encouraging problem solving, team work, navigation skills and much more. Your treasure hunt packs contains treasure hunt booklets to complete.Select says: A treasure hunt will normally last about 2 hours but could be made longer by incorporating a lunch stop or another local visit. Available for selected towns within Belgium and France – speak to one of our travel advisors for further details.
FlyView Paris
Subject range: Art, Cultural, History, Language
What you’ll experience: Discover Paris as you’ve never seen it before with a thrilling jetpack flight over Paris in fully immersive virtual reality.
- Immersive video and a dynamic movie platform combine images of flying over Paris with your jetpack’s movements to give you all the sensations of real fight!
- Take off, accelerate, and stop to enjoy the panoramic view, then turn, move sideways, and swoop down for a closer view of a monument
- Paris landscapes, filmed from the capital sky using drones
- A last generation VR headset with a 360-degree vision
Eiffel Tower
Subject range: MFL, Art, Cultural
What you’ll experience: This iconic monument, built in 1889, is the symbol of Paris and France. The Eiffel Tower is one of the best known monuments in the world. In 2014 a new glass floor was completed on level 1 where visitors can walk 57m from the ground and experience the sensation of stepping out into the void.Select says: View further details via the Eiffel Tower website.
Boat Cruise - Bateaux Parisiens
Subject range: MFL, Art, Cultural
What you’ll experience: One of the best and most relaxing ways to see the sights of Paris is to take a Seine river boat cruise. Starting at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, your cruise will take you up stream to the Ile de la Cité and Notre Dame Cathedral.Select says: Trips depart every 20 minutes at peak times.
Notre-Dame Cathedral
Subject range: MFL, Art, Cultural
What you’ll experience: Notre Dame Cathedral is one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in the world. It is situated in the eastern half of the Île de la Cité. The many organs are a centrepiece of the cathedral along with the cathedral’s five bells which are some of the most famous in Europe.Select says: The twin towers go as high as 69 metres (387 steps). The south tower houses the Emmanuel bell.
Montmartre and Sacré Cœur
Subject range: Art
What you’ll experience: Montmartre is an area in the north of Paris perched high on the ‘Butte’, Paris’s highest hill. Montmartre is dominated by the beautiful white Basilica of the Sacré Cœur located at the top of the hill. It remains the most romantic part of Paris with narrow alleyways, atmospheric cafés, pretty stairways and ivy-clad houses. Many artists had studios or worked in or around Montmartre, including Dalí, Modigliani, Monet, Mondrian, Picasso, Pissarro and van Gogh.Select says: Look out for the two windmills (moulins) and a small vineyard.
Louvre Museum
Subject range: MFL, Art, Cultural
What you’ll experience: The Louvre building has a wonderful history, having dominated central Paris since the late 12th century. This unmissable gallery holds must see treasures including the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the treasures of ancient Egypt and the sculptures of the Renaissance. Guided tours can be arranged.Select says: There are great resources on the Louvre website including some excellent videos on elements of art such as perspective, composition and viewpoint. You can pre-download audio guides for smart phones.
Pompidou Centre
Subject range: MFL, Art, Cultural
What you’ll experience: The Pompidou Centre is France’s leading centre for contemporary arts and houses the National Museum of Modern Art. You will be able to see examples of Modern art from 1905-1960 including examples of Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism, Expressionism and Dada and Contemporary art including Pop Art, Nouveau Réalisme and Conceptual art. Guided tours may be arranged.Select says: Colours have been used to decorate the structure, using a code defined by the architects: blue for circulating air, yellow for circulating electricity, green for circulating water, red for escalators and lifts.
Markets in Paris
Subject range: MFL, Cultural
What you’ll experience: Explore Paris’s fabulous and varied markets – some examples of possibilities are: Rue Montorgueil, Marchés Bastille et Popincourt, Marché Saxe-Breteuil, Marché La Chapelle, Marché Saxe-Breteuil, Marché des Enfants Rouges, Marché Monge and Marché Rue Cler.Select says: Marché Saxe-Breteuil is straight in front of the Eiffel Tower and is particularly varied with all types of fresh food, clothes, and a variety of household goods (on Thursday and Saturday).
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Subject range: MFL, Cultural
What you’ll experience: This magnificent stadium with a capacity of 80,000 was built to serve the 1998 World Cup. A guided tour takes you behind the scenes to the changing rooms and the VIP stands. At the end of the tour you can view the permanent exhibition and relive the key moments in the stadium’s existence.Select says: There are many event related items to view in the permanent exhibition including trophy replicas, autographed guitars, signed jerseys, videos and more!
French Cooking Class
Subject range: MFL, Cultural, Food Technology
Enjoy the chance to cook a French meal with your group and enjoy it together. Catering for either lunch or dinner, everyone prepares their own dish following the chef’s instructions and then dines together in the on-site restaurant.
French Language trip to Paris by coach: 3 days, 2 nights Accommodation
European Campus Sainte Therese
Location: Paris suburbs
Capacity: 130
Situated at Ozoir-la-Ferrière just 25km SE of Paris and 15 minutes' drive from Disneyland Paris. Set in 84 acres of grounds, this quality, purpose built accommodation is ideal for schools and offers excellent facilities alongside good access to Paris.
Rooms: Sleep 2-4, all with en-suite facilities.
Facilities: 24-hour reception, 2 dining rooms, meeting rooms, computer room with 32 computers, free Wi-Fi, extensive grounds including 3 hectares of forest, sports facilities including basketball, football, table tennis, fitness room and more!
Première Classe - Bussy St George
Location: Paris suburbs
Capacity: 354
Located at Bussy St George, just 25 km from Paris and a short 10 minute walk to the nearest RER station.
Rooms: All rooms have en-suite facilities.
Facilities: Breakfast room, meeting room, free Wi-Fi, enclosed garden.
FUAJ Yves Robert
Location: Paris centre
Capacity:
The FUAJ Yves Robert is a modern youth accommodation located in an eco-district close to Butte Montmartre and the Gare du Nord.
Rooms: Sleep 1-6
Facilities: Wi-Fi, bar, library, relaxation area, TV room.
Résidence Internationale de Paris
Location: Paris centre
Capacity: 102
A modern and simple youth accommodation situated in the 20th arrondissement of Paris near to the Paris Péripherique to the east of the city centre. Staff at the Résidence are experienced in accommodating youth groups and your group is sure to have an enjoyable stay.
Rooms: Spacious rooms sleeping 3-6, all en-suite.
Facilities: 24 hour reception, free Wi-Fi, packed lunches and hot meals available (on reservation).
Reseda Hotel
Location: Porte de Bagnolet (East of Paris)
Capacity: 240
Located within easy access of a metro station that will quickly take groups into the city centre, the Reseda hotel offers recently renovated, modern, simple accommodation very suited to groups. Students may also enjoy the nearby shopping centre. Park Asterix is also within easy reach of this hotel.
Rooms: Rooms sleep 2-3 people and all have private facilities.
Facilities: Meeting rooms, WI-FI.
Meininger Paris Porte de Vincennes
Location: Porte de Vincennes
Capacity: 946
With metro connections to the city centre and Disneyland (via RER) this hotel offers a good standard of accommodation, perfectly suited to groups.
Rooms: Bedrooms sleep 2-6 people and all offer private facilities.
Facilities: Restaurant, bar, breakfast room.
Links to Learning
Learning areas:
For KS2 Foreign Language: listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding; engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; develop accurate pronunciation and intonation; broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words.
KS3/4 Modern foreign language: develop and use a wide-ranging and deepening vocabulary that goes beyond their immediate needs and interests; listen to a variety of forms of spoken language to obtain information and respond appropriately; initiate and develop conversations, coping with unfamiliar language and unexpected responses, making use of important social conventions such as formal modes of address; speak coherently and confidently, with increasingly accurate pronunciation and intonation.
Select Extras:
For KS2 students to practise their language skills pre-tour try these resources:
BBC Primary French – language lab
BBC Primary French – all about me (also includes French sounds video and songs)
KS3/KS4 There are some fantastic video clips available here including situations such as a visit to the market:
KS3 BBC Bitesize – a visit to the market
KS4 BBC Bitesize GCSE resources
Have you thought of selecting a relevant movie for the coach journey? We recommend Ratatouille!
