French Language School Life & Activities
Studying at our french language school in Aix-en-Provence combines high-quality instruction with immersion in local culture and activities.
300 sunny days per year: the summer spends the winter in Provence!
The city of Aix-en-Provence
If you want to learn French in south of France, Aix-en-Provence is a great destination:
– 141.000 inhabitants, including 35.000 students
– 35 km from Marseille and from the Mediterranean
– Situated in the heart of Provence, with its rich natural and cultural heritage
– 300 sunny days per year: the summer spends the winter in Provence!
– Aix-en-Provence is the perfect place to study French in France.
It’s a picturesque spa town of Roman origin which is at the same time a young and vibrant city thanks to the large student population ensuring that the café terraces are always full. Its narrow streets, colorful facades, its markets and its cultural life attract visitors from all over the world.The city is baptised “Ville d’Eau – Ville d’Art” (city of water – city of art) thanks to its fountains and to all the artists having been charmed over the centuries by the specific light and by the beautiful surroundings. One of its children is the painter Paul Cézanne whose workshop is open to the public, facing the mountain la Sainte-Victoire.With its situation in the heart of Provence, our city benefits from all the characteristics of this world famous area and your stay in Aix-en-Provence will offer you numerous opportunities to live fabulous scenic, cultural and gastronomic experiences.
Getting around Aix-en-Provence :
The most convenient way to discover Aix-en-Provence is on foot, but you can also choose to use the regular bus service.
How to get here?
From Marseille Provence Airport
BY BUS N°A2 Aix – TGV - Aéroport
The bus will take you to Gare routière Aix-en- Provence, 5 minutes walking distance from the city centre.
Duration: about 30 minutes (bus every 15-30 min)
Price: about 10€
From Nice Côte d’Azur Airport
BY BUS ZOU 60
The bus will take you to the gare routière d’Aix-en-Provence, 5 minutes walking distance from the city centre.
Duration: about 3 hrs. (bus every 2-3 hrs.)
Price: about 30€ to 40€
Schedule →
*Reservation required
BY FLIXBUS
The bus will take you to P+R Krypton. Take Bus A to the gare routière in the city centre (bus every 10 minutes)
Duration: about 2 hrs 30 min.
Price: about 20€
Schedule →
*Reservation required
From the Aix-en-Provence TGV train station
BY BUS N°A2 Aix – TGV – Aéroport
The bus will take you to the gare routière d’Aix-en-Provence, 5 minutes walking distance from the city centre.
Duration: about 20 minutes (bus every 15-30 min)
Price: about 6€
From the Marseille Saint-Charles train station
BY BUS N°50 Marseille – Aix-en-Provence.
The bus will take you to the gare routière d’Aix-en- Provence, 5 minutes walking distance from the city centre.
Duration: about 30 minutes (bus every 10-20 min)
Price: about 7€
Autoroute du soleil (E80 / E74):
Paris-Nice via Lyon (Aix-en-Provence is located at 8 hrs. from Paris) Consult the available maps on the following website: Here →
Please email us starting the month prior to your arrival to make a reservation: info@is-aix.com
Please indicate: the exact date and time, the place of arrival (airport or train station), your train or flight number and the provenance, your phone number in case there is a problem.
From Marseille Provence Airport: 90€
From the Aix-en-Provence TGV train station: 65€
Your first day
If you decide to learn French with our school, you should arrive in Aix-en-Provence on the Sunday in order to start your course on Monday morning. If you have chosen homestay, your host family is expecting you on Sunday from 18h00. For other types of accommodation, the arrival procedure varies from one formula to another.
The first day of your French course in Aix-en-Provence
You are expected at our French language school on Monday morning between 08h30 and 09h00. The schedule for the first day of all the General French and General French Plus is usually the following :
- 09h00-10h00 : Welcome orientation and oral evaluation
- 10h00-10h30 : General information
- 10h30-11h00 : Break and group orientation
- 11h00-12h30 : FG course
Lunch break
- 14h00-15h30 : FG+ course
- 16h00-17h30 : Optional city guided tour
Schedule may vary, make sure to read your arrival information.
On the first day at IS Aix-en-Provence you will be provided a folder containing your schedule and all necessary information regarding your stay. Cultural and leisure activities are organized every week and you will receive detailed information on these as well.
The schedule for the first day of other course types will be indicated in the confirmation letter that you will receive about 3-4 weeks before your arrival.
IS Aix-en-Provence activity program
Outside the French courses, we offer a wide program of cultural and social activities. We are also happy to help in organizing sports activities such as tennis, golf, swimming etc.
We work with trustworthy partners – associations, professionals and private individuals – to provide our students with a diversity of activities. They all offer a cultural interest, an opportunity to practice your French and a chance to get to know the other students better.
In addition to the activity program we give our students ongoing information about current events in Aix-en-Provence; it’s a very lively town with always something on. In summer there are several music festivals, such as the International Festival of Lyric Art in July and “Aix in Music” in June. Throughout the year there are numerous dance events, mainly thanks to the Ballet Preljocaj.
To read more : http://www.aixenprovencetourism.com/en/
A sample of activities programmed :
– Guided town tour
– Cooking classes
– Wine-tasting
– Pastry workshop
– Writing workshop and other language workshops
–Pétanque contest
– Accrobranche
– Hiking
– Excursions to places of interest (Arles, les Baux, la Camargue, Avignon, Pont du Gard, le Luberon, Cassis & the calanques, Marseille, Saint-Tropez, Monaco, the carnaval in Nice, the Cannes film festival, les Gorges du Verdon…
The importance of student activities:
Why is organising student activities important?
It’s important for the students to see another side of the city of Aix-en-Provence, not just take the classes, and experience what we enjoy doing. Learn , discover and try something new – all in French. A good selection of activities offers all students the possibility to interact and thrive outside of the classroom.
What is the impact of student activities on the overall student experience?
The student will meet a “real” French person, not just the school’s teachers and staff and will get to practise speaking French doing something outside the classroom. Just like homestay, it’s an excellent complement to their learning experience.
How do student activities contribute to adding a personal touch?
It gives us an opportunity to get closer to our students, to learn what they like, what they are looking for, what they do or don’t appreciate. Good contact with the students means getting more information from them and improving our offer.
What are the key challenges when organising student activities?
Offering every week a wide variety of activities for all tastes, levels, ages and budgets; cultural, sports, gastronomical, literature, games, outside, indoors etc. Something for everyone so that everyone is tempted to participate and interact in French.
What are the most popular activities and why?
Excursions to discover our beautiful region (Luberon, Arles, Avignon, Pont du Gard, Cassis, St Tropez, Gorges du Verdon etc) as well as activities with a gastronomical theme close to the heart of the French : winetasting, cooking classes, pétanque tournament.