French Language Immersion Tour – Antibes, France (13 days)

Our 24-hour bilingual Tour Director will meet us at the airport and remain with us throughout our French language immersion tour until our final airport departure. We will also have use of a private coach to transfer the group from the airport to our homestays.

We will spend time getting acquainted with our French families, who will be hosting us for the next eleven nights of our French language immersion program. While here, breakfast and dinner will be provided.

The resort town of Antibes, sitting just across the Bay of Angels from Nice, possesses a quiet charm unique among the Côte d'Azur towns. This historic Mediterranean trading port has drawn the rich and famous to its beautiful shores for centuries, though its most famous inhabitant was the artist Pablo Picasso.

John Dewey once said, "We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience." On every evening of the program, we will set time aside to update our Reflection Journal and share thoughts and impressions that have come up during the day.

We will gain the knowledge and insights of half-day local guides while we are in France.

Each weekday throughout our French immersion study tour, we will participate in language classes that will enhance our cultural understanding, French vocabulary, and overall linguistic skills.

Cannes is a top Mediterranean resort whose name is synonymous with its film festival. There is, however, much more to this glamorous town, such as beautiful architecture, wide palm-lined boulevards, and some of the finest beaches on the coast. There will be some free time to explore the area.

Each weekday throughout our French immersion study tour, we will participate in language classes that will enhance our cultural understanding, French vocabulary, and overall linguistic skills.

After lunch at our language school, we will partake in a cooking class and learn how to prepare a famous Provencal specialty, "Le Pan Bagnat." This will include visiting the local market to select and purchase the ingredients. Note: money for buying the ingredients will be distributed at the start of the activity.

Each weekday throughout our French immersion study tour, we will participate in language classes that will enhance our cultural understanding, French vocabulary, and overall linguistic skills.

Visit the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, one of the Côte d'Azur's legendary villas. It was once owned by a Rothschild baronne who died in 1934, leaving the Italianate building and its gardens to the Institut de France on behalf of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. The museum preserves the wealth of her collection, including 18th-century furniture, Tiepolo ceilings, Savonnerie carpets, screens and panels from the Far East, Fragonard drawings, and Sèvres porcelain. During our visit, we will also stroll through the sprawling Gardens, which contain fragments of statuary from churches, monasteries, and palaces.

Each weekday throughout our French immersion study tour, we will participate in language classes that will enhance our cultural understanding, French vocabulary, and overall linguistic skills.

This afternoon, we will participate in a theater workshop.

Each weekday throughout our French immersion study tour, we will participate in language classes that will enhance our cultural understanding, French vocabulary, and overall linguistic skills.

The Provençal town of Grasse, cradled by hills with sweeping sea views, is surrounded by fields of fragrant flowers, herbs, and shrubs, such as lavender, mimosa, jasmine, and rose. Since the 18th century, this has been the center of France’s perfume trade.

Visit the Musee International de la Parfumerie, which houses interesting—often bizarre—exhibits relating to the perfume industry. One of the most fascinating is a 3,000-year-old mummy’s perfumed hand and foot, which owe their preservation to the perfuming process.

The tiny country of The Principality of Monaco is the world’s oldest monarchy and the most densely populated sovereign country in the world. It began as a Greek settlement before the Romans took it. The Grimaldis took power in 1297 and have reigned ever since. Visitors primarily come to enjoy the Mediterranean atmosphere and the casinos, for which the principality has become famous.

Visit the iconic Casino of Monte Carlo. Two Bond movies have been shot at the casino, as well as Fast and Furious 5. Interestingly, entrance is forbidden for Monegasque citizens, even the royalty. (Please note admission to the during gaming hours only possible for persons 18 years or older; tour available to all ages)

Visit the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. This Monte Carlo must-see, dedicated to oceanography and marine biology, boasts an impressive aquarium and a broad range of marine exhibits. View the skeleton of an enormous whale. See the mold of a giant squid. Dally at Shark Lagoon and gain insight into life on the coral reef. Gawk at the 600 fish. What better place is there to learn about marine life than the institute once headed by Jacques Cousteau?

Visit the Musée Picasso, featuring over 3000 works that span 75 years of the artist’s life and ever-changing style. Picasso’s personal collection from his favorite artists is also on display. France acquired the collection by accepting it in lieu of $50 million in inheritance taxes from Picasso’s descendants.

This afternoon is free to explore the area and spend time with your host families.

Each weekday throughout our French immersion study tour, we will participate in language classes that will enhance our cultural understanding, French vocabulary, and overall linguistic skills.

Enjoy a walking tour through Saint-Paul-de-Vence’s winding streets, including the pedestrian-only Rue Grande that runs the town’s entire length. Most of the stone houses along it date from the 16th and 17th centuries, and many still bear the coats-of-arms placed by the original builders. Along the way, we will visit La Collégiale de la Conversion de St-Paul, which was constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Romanesque choir is the oldest part, containing some remarkable 17th-century stalls carved in walnut. The Bell Tower was added in 1740, but the vaulting was reconstructed in the 1800s. The church is filled with art—most notably a painting of Sainte Catherine d’Alexandrie, attributed to Tintoretto, and the Trésor de l'Église is one of the most beautiful in the Alpes-Maritimes.

Each weekday throughout our French immersion study tour, we will participate in language classes that will enhance our cultural understanding, French vocabulary, and overall linguistic skills.

Today, we will embark on a treasure hunt that will take us to eight renowned locations in Antibes. We will discover unique things from the emblem of France to the local market.

Learn how to play Petanque, an exciting game that was first played in France around 1907 and is quickly becoming popular all over the world. Players divide into two teams. After deciding who goes first, a player throws the jack from a designated throwing spot. The rest of the game is spent trying to throw your boules closer to the jack than the other team does.

Demonstrate how far you have come throughout your immersion trip to France during your final language class.

Nice is the largest resort on the Mediterranean coast and the fifth largest city in France. Its temperate climate has attracted visitors from the Greeks and Romans to Queen Victoria. As the capital of the Côte d’Azur, Nice also has plenty to offer in culture, museums, and atmospheric streets. We will stroll along the Promenade des Anglais that encompasses the Bay of Angels.

Visit the Villa Massena. The museum Massena, architectural jewel of the Promenade des Anglais, evokes, through its collections, the art and the history of the Riviera from the attachment of Nice to France until the end of the Belle Époque.

Overlooking the picturesque Baie des Anges, the Colline du Château (Castle Hill) offers some of the most spectacular views of Nice’s pristine harbor. Explore the medieval ruins, which are all that’s left of the castle from which the hill received its name, before enjoying a relaxing hike back down the mountain to the city below.

This evening we make the final entries in our Reflection Journal and share some of the most significant observations and perspectives that have taken shape in the course of our French language immersion tour. We will also discuss how these insights may be most relevant for us all as we return home.

Our rewarding and enjoyable French language immersion study tour comes to an end as our Tour Director accompanies us to the airport on our final day.

As a result of participating on this program, all high school students are eligible to take an online Global Perspectives course through a learning management system, where all the grading and assessment will be undertaken by the WorldStrides Curriculum and Academics team. The course offers 3 college preparatory credits through the University of California at San Diego Extension, where credit will be awarded upon successful completion of the online coursework with all costs associated with the course covered by WorldStrides.