Paris

City Profile

Paris is the first city most people consider for studying French abroad. And with a good reason: Paris is the capital of nearly everything that has to do with the French language and culture. Not to mention the fact that, historically, the city imposed its linguistic "standard" on the entire French-speaking world. There is no shortage of schools offering French instruction in Paris.

Language Schools

Selected schools:

• Accord - Paris / Les Grands Boulevards (14, boulevard Poissonnière, Paris) - Accord is a well-known language school in Paris. Every year, the school is attended by students of over 50 nationalities.
• Alliance Française - Paris (101, boulevard Raspail, Paris) - Perhaps the most "official" private French language school in the world, the Alliance Française was founded over 100 years ago. The Paris school is the network....
• Berlitz - Paris (35, avenue Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Paris) - A U.S.-based company with over a century of teaching experience in many languages, Berliz is one of the best-known "language education" brands worldwide.
• CFILC École de langues - Paris (7, rue Duvergier, Paris)
• LSI - Paris (350, rue St-Honoré, Paris) - LSI - Paris is part of the LSI school network. The school is located in an 18th century building and is equipped with a computer lab.

See more Paris French Language Schools »

Accommodation

One of the problems associated with studying in Paris is the high cost of short- and medium-term accommodation (from a few weeks to a few months). Several approaches can be considered:

• School-arranged family stay. Relatively inexpensive and potentially useful for an "immersion" experience, it may not nevertheless suit everyone's needs, particularly those of adult learners and professionals.
• School-arranged aparthotel. These are typically 2-star properties located on the periphery of the city. There may indeed be a price advantage over booking direct, but many schools won't let you choose the perferred location.
• School-arranged student residence. Cheaper than an aparthotel, but typically without the conveniences or privacy of the latter - often, bathrooms are shared and rooms don't have any cooking facilities.
• Aparthotel booked directly. This gives you the advantage of being in the driver's seat in terms of location, but not necessarily in terms of costs.
• Apartment rented through an agency. Typically, not the cheapest apartments around and requires paying an agency fee (sometimes included in the rental price).
• Apartment sublet. This option may very well be the cheapest for private apartments, but risks and problems abound - for one, for a sublet to be legal, you have to have a written notice of consent from the landlord (otherwise, you may be evicted). Subleasing an apartment from a local may require a certain level of French (although, it should be noted, there are also English-speaking expats living Paris who occassionally sublet their apartments). Also, it is rarely possible or advisable for such deals to concluded without a personal visit, which may require your presence in Paris prior to the start date of your French language course.