French Gastronomy
Our themed stays in France
Let’s plan your trip to France on the theme of French Gastronomy:
With or without
French lessons
Flexible duration 1-4 weeks
Several destinations
and schedules available
Optional: vocational course
Why choose a trip on the theme of French Gastronomy?
Our language and cultural stays on the theme of French Gastronomy are designed for students and young adults who want to perfect their French skills as they explore specific industries and trades.
What are we here for?
We bring you trips to quench your thirst for knowledge and satisfy your appetite for French gastronomy, culinary techniques and the art of French cuisine. Our trips may even inspire your young learners in their future careers!
3 destinations available: Paris, Lyon & Nice
Or you could visit all 3
With or without French lessons
Bespoke French lessons subject to objectives
Accommodation, transfer and travel on-site included
Destination Paris !
Highlights of our French Gastronomy trip to Paris
Cookery class – classic French cuisine
Pâtisserie classes (macarons and cakes)
Introduction to baking: the secrets of French bread
French cheese and wine tasting (subject to age)
Scavenger hunt/Quiz in a Paris market: Marché d’Aligre/Montorgueil
Culinary art class at École Ferrandi: table settings, service à la française etc.
Tour of the Musée du Vin, Musée du Chocolat or Cité de la Gastronomie
Lunch at a classic brasserie on the Left Bank
Make your own buffet for everyone on the trip
Paris’s high-end culinary heritage and connection to the culinary arts make the city the beating heart of French gastronomy. From famous 19th century restaurants to modern bistros, the French capital has played host to the biggest names in cookery: Escoffier, Robuchon and, more recently Pierre Hermé (the Picasso of pâtisserie!) and Hélène Darroze.
With famous catering colleges, traditional markets like Marché d’Aligre, iconic food shops like the ones in Montorgueil, independent pâtisseries and Michelin-starred eateries, the city celebrates French gastronomy in all its glory.
The themed schedule includes trips and tours to the capital’s best-known neighbourhoods and landmarks, including the Louvre, Panthéon, Sorbonne, Montmartre, Eiffel Tower and more.
Destination Lyon !
Highlights of our French Gastronomy trip to Lyon
Welcome dinner in a bouchon
Morning tour and quiz at Croix-Rousse market
Cookery class with a Lyon chef and guided sensory tasting
Immersive tour at the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie
Experience with a Meilleur Ouvrier de France or artisan (cheesemonger, butcher, baker)
Lyon pâtisserie class (pralines)
Tour of Institut Paul Bocuse and talk with students
Restaurant menu design class
Halles Paul Bocuse tour
Video making class to present a dish or cookery technique
Lyon is known as the world capital of gastronomy and is famous for its classic French home cooking. It has its very own traditional eateries called bouchons, where people go to tuck into local specialities in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Lyon is a breeding ground for legendary chefs like Paul Bocuse, who the city’s market is named after. The Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie at the Grand Hôtel-Dieu introduces visitors to the culture and connection between health and food. You don’t want to miss it!
Your time in Lyon includes a guided tour of the city, its traboules, canut shops, riverside walks along the Saône and Rhône and, of course, a trip to Notre-Dame de Fourvière. The schedule also includes trips outside the city to visit the Beaujolais vineyards, a city farm or food factory (mustard, chocolate etc.).
Destination Nice !
Highlights of our French Gastronomy trip to Nice
Market tour and quiz on Cours Saleya or Libération
Group picnic with Provençal specialities
Cookery class with a local chef and sensory tasting
Trip to Opio or Grasse: tour of a traditional oil mill, uncover the secrets behind tapenade, herbs etc.
Herb blend or condiment making class
Artisan sweetmaker’s tour (candied fruit, nougat, calissons).
Tour of Villa Masséna or the Musée des Arts Culinaires
Last dinner on a seaside terrace or uptown Nice with panoramic views.
Nice is the perfect place to sink your teeth into the sun-drenched dishes that encapsulate the Mediterranean diet. See another side to France’s foodie culture on the Côte d’Azur!
A guided tour of the old town, Vieux-Nice, takes visitors on a deep dive into a vibrant and colourful sensory world with a few tastings (socca, pissaladière, pan bagnat, tourte de blettes etc.).
The break includes trips inland and along the Mediterranean coast: Provençal pâtisserie class, visits to Bellet winemakers, a foodie tour of Èze or Saint-Paul-de-Vence, perfume making class (to work on your sense of smell!) or a trip to Menton to explore its citrus groves and PGI lemon.
Highlights of our French Gastronomy trips
- Guided tours of traditional French gastronomy sites: markets, restaurants, museums, market halls, catering colleges
- Immersive cookery, pâtisserie, wine and culinary art classes run by chefs, artisans or passionate coaches
- Experiences with respected professionals: Michelin-starred chef, Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, teachers at prestigious colleges
- Interactive activities to elevate your culinary vocabulary
- Tastings, sensory and cultural experiences to soak up the local area, history of the dishes and the art of French hospitality
Are you looking for something to help you get on the career ladder?
We can give our “French Gastronomy” stays a vocational slant to help students:
- Enhance their experience of the worlds of cookery, pâtisserie and the food industry
- Get ready to enrol at a French-speaking hospitality or catering college
- Explore a career plan related to gastronomy, hospitality art or catering
- Learn cultural values, technical vocabulary and language skills specific to the French world of gastronomy.
Our schedules include original itineraries, trips to famous institutions and experiences with industry professionals: Michelin-starred chefs, artisans, coaches, college directors and restaurant managers. Join a restaurant service, take part in a class at a famous college, go behind the scenes of an incredible market… the world’s your oyster!
With this in mind, our French classes and workshops (optional) are tailored to suit the world of gastronomy so students can practise their French in a professional setting with interview role plays, oral presentations and CV writing exercises specific to careers in catering and hospitality.
Do you want to add French lessons to your trip?
Vacances Actives Linguistiques organises trips to encourage (young) French students to travel, expand the French-speaking world and promote French culture overseas.
Our French Gastronomy and Culinary Art stays do exactly that. Depending on your objectives (language, culture, vocational), students can join French comprehension and communication classes, themed workshops, role plays and more.
Qualified teachers bring the lessons to life and incorporate the realities of the industry into class: oral understanding and expression, specialist vocabulary and professional experiences.
We can organise the following for attendees training or hoping to work in the hospitality industry:
- French CV and cover letter workshops to suit the catering and hospitality industry
- Interview role play
- Technical vocabulary lessons for professional experiences
- Oral and written exam preparation for college or university entry.
