Discover Provence on foot
If, as we do at IS Aix-en-Provence, you love the French language as much as you love hiking and nature, we have something for you.
IS Aix-en-Provence offers the possibility to combine a French course with hiking in the beautiful surroundings of Aix-en-Provence. It is a two-week option to combine with the standard French course and it offers the best of both worlds: in the morning, you will enjoy a French course in a small group to improve your French and during some afternoons plus one full day, you’ll go hiking with our partner guide.
The French course
It’s called Français Général (FG) and is open to students from all over the world, with an elementary level of French or more (A1 or plus) who wish to improve their French. The course is for adults only (18+). The groups are small with a maximum of 10 students per group, organized according to levels of French.
The hiking option includes 3 afternoon hiking trips and 1 full day around the countryside of Aix-en-Provence and it allows you to discover Provence on foot. You’ll keep wonderful memories of our beautiful nature and scenery, and of the scents of rosemary and thyme that grow wild here.
Hiking at Sainte-Victoire
The afternoon hikes will first take you through Cézanne’s footsteps to the Sainte-Victoire and then to the Domaine de Beaulieu, a vineyard that is situated on a unique ancient volcano in Provence. The third trip takes you to Vauvenargues and its area, where the painter Picasso spent the last years of his life. The full day hike during the weekend is in the National Park of the Calanques, the rocky creeks of the Mediterranean Sea. You will discover the very typical vegetation of this area and if the weather allows you to do so, a dip in the sea will be the high point of this day.
This option is the best way to practice French with a professional guide while discovering on foot the countryside of Aix-en-Provence, its natural sites, its vegetation and its culture. Learn more about the flora, the different minerals that align the paths you’ll follow and enjoy hiking with the other students.
Our hiking guides are professionals and have been our trusted partners for many years; you are safe with them. Starting dates for the option in 2020 are June 8th and September 14th. These dates have been selected for you to discover the region in spring or fall, when the scenery and scents of nature are memorable.
For a group of minimum 4 students we can organize the hiking trips at other dates, except during the warm summer months, when the nature areas are closed off to limit risks of forest fires.
