LANGUAGE LEARNING: A Taste of Paris in France

Stephanie Bon, Language Travel Advisor for Cactus Language, on Paris, France.

Paris…so many images flash before your eyes when you hear this word! The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, the Notre-Dame Cathedral, Montmartre…

Many of us will also think gastronomy, wines, fashion or French kiss…

One thing is for sure, Paris has something for everyone!

Whether you decide to go bargain-shopping or designer-shopping, whether you prefer fromage to pâte, or strolling in a park to running places to make the most of every minute, you are bound to enjoy your time in this wonderful city that has so much to offer.

A first visit can be quite overwhelming while at the same time fascinating. Like most capitals, Paris is huge, busy and slightly intimidating, and it can be quite hard to know where to start when there is so much to do and see. Apart from the many obvious attractions, a tour of Paris “by night” is definitely a must and I guarantee that once you have admired the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the dark, you will be in love!

When it comes to learning French in France and especially Paris, most people tend to think that the “Parisiens” are very unhelpful toward foreigners. I personally would say that this is a bit over the top (then again I am French but I am being honest!). This is probably exaggerated from the fact that French people in general do appreciate foreigners trying to say “Bonjour”, “Merci” or “S’il vous plait” rather than just start speaking away in their own language. After all, isn’t the whole point of travelling to France to speak French?

You will find that if you go to Paris with a few sentences ready to start with and a dictionary to continue, people will be happy to try and help you along the way. So if you take it one step further and take a French language course as well, before long you will be enjoying it so much that you won’t want to leave!

On a more personal note however, I would add that after having had a taste of the big city, it would be a great idea to take a few more days to travel down south and discover the less hectic and warmer France, which also has a lot in store for you.

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