Your French Language trip in Brittany & Normandy
Improve your French with a cultural full immersion.
Are you looking for a trip for your group in Brittany and Normandy?
For mixed groups:
- Children aged 13 and over
- Adults… no age limit
- Minimum group size: 10
Flexible trip designed for children and young adults
- Departures available all year round
- Half-board accommodation: home stay, youth hostel etc.
- Including public transport and transfers
A 100% tailor-made stay
With or without French lessons
Length of stay to suit flights and budget
Activities and trips to suit you: culture, sport, games etc.
“Wonderful way to immerse your language learning and learn more about French culture and history. Very knowledgeable and entertaining guide!”
Cloris M. Henry, Ed.D.
Our French travel options in
Brittany, Normandy and Vendée
Our language stay programmes and details
With French lessons
The perfect balance between French lessons and cultural activities to EXPERIENCE French language and CULTURE on an immersive break in Brittany and Normandy.
- Tailor-made 5-15 day stay.
- 2 hours of French lessons every weekday, usually in the morning.
- Cultural and recreational afternoon trips: guided tours of museums, monuments or historical landmarks, market trips, tastings, cookery classes, photo challenges, food tours, perfume making workshops and more.
- Half-board: Including 2 group meals per day (host family and/or travel group), 1 meal at your leisure per day.
- Accommodation in a host family (2/3 students per family), residence or hotel (multiple rooms).
Without French lessons
A programme entirely devoted to French CULTURE: tours, excursions and experiences on an immersive language break in Brittany and Normandy.
- Tailor-made 5-15 day stay.
- Cultural and recreational trips: guided tours of museums, monuments or historical landmarks, market trips, tastings, cookery classes, photo challenges, food tours, perfume making workshops and more.
- Free time to soak up the city.
- Half-board: Including 2 group meals per day (host family and/or travel group), 1 meal at your leisure per day.
- Accommodation in a host family (2/3 students per family), residence or hotel (multiple rooms).
“Immersive language learning (language immersion) means an intensive course where all activities in and outside school are in the target language.”
Dictionnaire de didactique du français (2003)
Brittany, Normandy, Vendée:
3 unique regions to learn French
Why choose Brittany?
- Brittany is famous for its mild climate: not too hot in summer or too cold in winter!
- It’s a one-of-a-kind region with its very own history, culture and granite houses!
- Feast your eyes on its unique coastline and unspoilt islands.
Why choose Normandy?
- This is the place for you if you like a mild climate: not too hot in summer or too cold in winter.
- Its scenery has inspired countless artists.
- It’s jam-packed with history and culture.
Why choose Vendée?
- If you love the sunshine, sea spray and lots of fresh air, this is your happy place!
- It’s perfect for embracing nature and outdoor activities off the coast or inland.
Transport and accommodation
Transport and transfers
Our travel package includes transfers and public transport tickets for all travellers. There are lots of travel options from Paris or your choice of airport.
Vacances Actives Linguistiques provides a free spot for 1 group leader per 15 students (same bed and board basis as students with free tours and activities).
Accommodation
We provide the following half-board accommodation options:
- Host family (the best for a real immersive experience), 2-3 students per family
- 2 or 3* hotels, apartment hotels or youth hostels (multiple rooms)
Our tailor-made tours and activities
A French language stay in Brittany: landmarks and culture
Brittany is a unique land that exudes Celt culture in north-west France between the English Channel and Atlantic Ocean. It’s a popular year-round destination among visitors and French people alike. Brittany, or Breizh in Breton dialect, is also famous for its incredible coastline.
Find out more about Brittany
So, is Nantes part of Brittany or not? It may not officially be part of Brittany but it (and the entire Nantes region) is part of its culture and history. Actually, one of its unmissable attractions is the city’s jaw-dropping Château des Ducs de Bretagne. The name says it all!
No trip to Brittany would be complete without sampling a few local specialities such as kouign amann cake, crêpes, far Breton flan, andouille de Guéméné chitterling sausage, Cancale oysters, seafood and more washed down with Breton cider.
Get your dancing shoes at the fest-noz (traditional dances) that pop up at every celebration and countless summer events including the Vieilles Charrues music festival, Le Cornouailles, Les Filets Bleus and Festival Interceltique de Lorient.
What not to miss in Brittany:
- The incredible coastline. Miles of coves, beaches, granite cliffs dotted with lighthouses, traditional ports with granite houses, fishing villages and sea resorts stretching from Cancale to Golfe du Morbihan.
- Magical islands: Bréhat, Molène, Ouessant, Groix, Belle-Île, Hoëdic and its rocky peninsulas.
- Pretty towns and villages full of history and life: Rennes (recent town), Nantes (once home to the Dukes of Brittany), Dinan, Dinard, Saint Malo, Vannes and more.
- Sites with an air of mystery and legend such as the Carnac megaliths and Brocéliande Forest.
- 27 towns and villages listed as “petites cités de caractère©” where you can see what makes Brittany so special: Rochefort en Terre, Malestroit, Guingamp etc.
- Countless castles and fortifications to dive into the region’s history from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution: Brest, Fougères, Josselin, Fort de Saint Malo etc.
- An icon between Brittany and Normandy: Mont Saint-Michel.
A French language stay in Normandy: landmarks and culture
Normandy looks out to the English Channel from the north-west coast of France and has always been a haven of peace. It goes with the flow and plays host to a wide variety of seaside and countryside landscapes. Not only is Normandy bursting at the seams with history and tradition, it’s also a popular leisure destination with famous sea resorts, wonderful nature sites and local specialities.
Find out more about Normandy
Normandy is home to endless landscapes with its seafront and 600km coastline, sweeping cliffs, sprawling sandy beaches and famous sea resorts including Deauville, Dieppe, Cabourg, Le Touquet, Etretat, Fécamp, Trouville and Honfleur.
But it’s also a leafy region with lots of countryside, thriving forests, apple orchards, never-ending meadows, countless parks and gardens (including 4 Regional Nature Parks) and the Bessin Marshes. The Normandy countryside is a real treat for nature lovers and has an exciting network of trails and paths to explore on foot, by bike or on horseback.
What not to miss in Normandy:
- Breathtaking coastal scenery, such as the cliffs of Etretat
- Fortified castles, like Falaise
- Colourful harbours like Honfleur
- Seaside resorts like Deauville
- Cathedrals like Rouen
- Charming villages like Veules-Les-Roses
- Places of remembrance like the D-Day landing beaches
- A jewel in the crown between Brittany and Normandy: Le Mont Saint Michel
A French language stay in Vendée: landmarks and culture
The Vendée département lies in the south of the Loire region on the Atlantic coast and is a prime destination among anyone who loves the sea, sunshine, unique scenery and history.
Find out more about the Vendée
Go island hopping (Ile d’Aix, Ile d’Oléron, Ile de Ré, Ile de Noirmoutier, Ile d’Yeu) and get up close with Fort Boyard, a former prison that now sets the scene for a French game show. Take time out to soak up the leisurely lifestyle at sea resorts including Royan.
Explore outstanding nature sites such as Estuaire du Payré estuary or get a change of scene in “Green Venice” on a boat trip through the Poitevin Marsh.
Calling all history buffs: travel back in time through the history of France with village reconstructions and show-stopping performances at Le Puy du Fou theme park. Make a beeline for La Rochelle and visit medieval landmarks and towers.
What not to miss in Vendée:
- Le Puy du Fou theme park
- Poitevin Marsh
- Estuaire du Payré
- Islands e.g. Ile de Noirmoutier on the Passage de Gois causeway
- Beaches e.g. Les Sables d’Olonne
French schools and courses
Our French teachers in Brittany and Normandy
Vacances Actives Linguistiques works with loyal and experienced partners at French schools renowned for their high standard teaching. They provide a comfortable and modern set-up in major town centres near cultural activities and public transport.
We choose our teachers for their energy and people skills with foreign students. All our guides and chauffeurs are certified to teach French as a foreign language and adapt their speech to suit all abilities.
French class in our Brittany and Normandy schools
Get the best of both worlds with our experienced teachers: soak up the culture and improve your French. We provide a French level test at the start of the stay to put students in the right class for their ability. The weekly timetable is up to the students.
French lessons are optional and tend to be in the morning. Outings and activities take place in the afternoons.
Students receive their own course certificate stating their class attendance and the level they’ve achieved at the end of their course.
Discover or combine different destinations:
