One month in one town in France
 

Hello,

For a while now I have been wanting to experience slow travel and base myself in France in one location for a month. My work structure, like many jobs in the USA, was not very keen on the idea. So after eleven years of working overtime, I solved the problem by suggesting I go part-time. While my big corporation decide what they would like to do with me, I started to look at pictures of my favorite places in France and places I have never been. Everything looks amazing.

I would like to have my two daughters (age 3 and 6) be in a French school during that month. The idea came while reading several blogs of Americans doing just that. One woman had her boys enrolled during the month of September in Lyon. I thought "Darn, we don't even have the language barrier since my daughters' first language is French, it would be a pretty neat experience." Yesterday, while I was waiting for my eldest daughter to finish her ballet class, a retired japanese ballerina told me how she enrolls her daughter for 2 months in a Japanese school after she is done with her American school year. My daughter finishes school at the end of May. The end of the school year in France is (depending on the regions) early July. We could enroll her during the month of June with the first goal being that she has fun, the second that she consolidates reading in French.

I have contacts in Paris, that would get her in one school in the 12 arrondissement. But I just can't decide if we should be in Paris for a month or somewhere smaller. My short list (let's call it the long list because I don't know where to go because I want to go everywhere) includes:

-Strasbourg because of the pedestrian city center and the emphasis on the bicycle. But I have never been.
-Sarlat-la-Cadéna. I visited in 2017 and promised I would return. It is such a beautiful area of France.
-Bonnieux. There is a poster named Kathy, who enrolled her 11 years old daughter for 6 months there. I very munch enjoy the Luberon, but I wonder if a village would be too small. Maybe not.
-Antibes. I have never been but I do love the ocean.
-Annecy for the access to the French Alps.

The biggest draw for Paris is the overflowing cultural opportunities. My sister tells me Paris is the center of the Universe, and she might be right. But I feel like my family would be more comfortable in a smaller town, closer to the countryside.

Where would you go if you could live in France for a month?

Sometimes just reading answers clarifies your thoughts.

Cost might be an issue. I would imagine that Paris is more expensive, although that would be offset by the fact that you would not need to rent a car. For a big city, Lyon or Toulouse might be better or Montpellier. If it's late spring or early summer, a gîte might be more comfortable, but it implies a car and more driving.

Thank you Michael. Yes, cost is an issue especially with my recent ultimatum. Paris would more expensive. I have never been to Lyon, Toulouse or Montpellier but I can read up on them. I like very beautiful pedestrian towns.

Looking forward to suggestions by StCirq.
My experience is very limited by comparison with others, but I would love to spend a month in Aix en Provence. It is so pretty with great food and lovely markets, and weekend trips are easy, even without a car. The surrounding area and towns, the Camarque, Marseilles, Arles, Avignon, Les Baux, etc. etc. are all wonderful to explore. Close by you have history, art, old Roman architecture, gorgeous landscape, flowers and beaches.

Thank you Sassafrass. I have never been to Aix en Provence but the pictures are gorgeous and it might just be the right size!

What a wonderful idea!

If I were you, I would want to make sure that the area I chose had easy access to public transportation, so one would not need to rent a car and could, instead, rely on public transportation when necessary in your chosen location and to get around to take advantage of nearby opportunities. Unfortunately, I think that would rule the Dordogne out.

Beyond that, I don't know enough to answer -- but I would definitely be looking at some decent guidebooks to get a sense of ease of public transportation, typical climate, and likely costs for basics.

Good luck!

I like the idea of strasbourg, all pretty flat and not too big with plenty of cycle paths.

I can tell you from experience that a month will fly by. Before I moved to Paris, I used to come here for the month of December. It was amazing how quickly it passes! Also, it doesn't necessarily have to be terribly expensive. You'll surely eat at home a lot and that is (in my opinion) cheaper than in the US (I shouldn't assume you're in the US... sorry!)

I recently visited Saint Malo and have been intrigued by spending a more extended time there. Weather might be an issue. But July should be nice.

I have known a few people who have attempted something like this, and based on their experiences and my own knowledge of the practicalities of daily French living, I think the first thing you should do is lower any expectations you may have for what your daughters will get out of a single month's schooling in France. To be honest, I would expect very little (except for maybe the fun part). All of the folks I've known who've done something like this have noted that short-term students get very short shrift from teachers and administrators. Do I understand that French is your daughters' first language is French? That would certainly be a big plus.

I agree that unless you have a car you'll want to be somewhere with decent public transportation, so that does rule out Sarlat. Personally, I wouldn't want to take on the challenges of a huge city like Paris for just a month. By the time you get it all figured out it will be time to leave. And yes, it's expensive.

If you love the ocean, and love beautiful pedestrian towns, and given that it will be summer, I would probably pick an affordable (not Antibes) town in the Languedoc-Roussillon, on or near the Med. A place like Narbonne, where you won't be dealing with hordes of visitors, where the pace of life is fairly relaxed, where you're close to the beach, which is a "normal" French town and not a "name", and where you have great train connections to all over the south of France and even into Spain. I could be off base, but I think that easing young children into a totally new school routine in a foreign country would be far easier in a place like Narbonne (doesn't have to be Narbonne, but someplace like it near the water in that area) than in a big city.

certainly not a big city

well you couldn't pay me to spend a month in Bonnieux, but I like what is available in a city. None of the places you dream of are appealing to me at all for a month. ALthough I only spent one day in Antibes so maybe didn't appreciate what it would be like to live there. Strasbourg is a bigger city, of course, but I just am not crazy about the Alsatien influence (don't like that cuisine), at least not if I wanted to experience France.

I agree with St Cirq, the whole schooling thing sounds questionable just something to do, but not really education. Of course for the 3 yr old, you don't care about that issue like you would for an older child. I am astonished that any public school would allow a tourist to put their kid in their local schools for a month, which are paid for by taxes from residents. Unless you are talking about private schools, and maybe they'll do anything for money. I'm surprised any school would allow a tourist to do that, actually.

It doesn't really matter what I'd do as your interests are different, and I wouldn't do that with children (expecting them to go to a local school for a month). Personally, I'd probably pick Paris because of the cultural opportunities which are important to me, and the good public transportation.

I'm not a fan of expat blogs, especially people who think they are so special because they are in France (or Paris usually) and yet they've never even bothered to learn the language before going even though they are supposedly so crazy about France. Not crazy enough to actually learn the language or know much about its politics and local life, as they can't even read the newspaper, either.

What about Aix? Beautiful place, rich cultural life, good connections to various places around France, access to more rural areas like the Luberon, the Var, and Les Alpilles as well as the coast--or are my biases showing again? Best of all possible worlds--

Oops--sorry Sassafras, I overlooked your post. Great minds think alike.

Somewhere like Aix would be good, but I think it is daft, and a little unfair on your 6 year old to want them to go to a French school for a month. The school system is so different, and it will be really tough on her trying to fit in to a new school for just a month, especially after having had a year at school already - she will be in need of a break too. I'm not sure any school, except possibly a private one, would accept her for just a month anyway. If she goes to school then so must the three year old - it is compulsory in France that all children from the age of three attend some sort of kindergarten.

I think you're right, heti. I just did some very basic research and you can't just toss your kids into a French public school for a month except under very strict circumstances (and of course it's France and will involve preparing and delivering insane amounts of paperwork beginning in June a year before you're hoping for enrollment, which is only possible if there are "openings." )

I agree it's a bad idea, anyway. And I've no idea what the OP meant by "consolidates her reading in French," but that's not going to happen.

Thanks for all the response. As I thought, answers on a forum such as this one puts in focus what is important to you and raise questions that you did not foresee.

@kja: I agree that public transportation would be best and it is time to go to the library and borrow a few good guidebooks.

@bilboburgler: Strasbourg is a city that I can see ourselves pedaling in the evening. It has the #4 ranking of bicycle friendly European city. And it has good public transportation.

@Belinda: Let me know if you decide to spend a month on St Malo... I agree a month probably will go fast. The way I am restructuring my work life, I could probably do this every year.

@frenchaucoeur: A second vote for Aix-en-Provence! I definitively need to spend some time studying that city.

@Christina: What I always liked about your posts on Fodor, is your frankness and your strong point of view. I agree that Bonnieux just might be too small for us. As for expats not learning the language or reading the local news, that is a sad reality. I have met many who have a fairy tale image of France, almost disneyesque, when it is a real country. My household is French, it's own island in the USA. I went to school in Paris until 12, when my parents moved to Montreal. But I was still in the French system and graduated with the French Baccalaureate (Terminal D) because my school in Montreal was under the direct supervision of l'Academie de Caen. World news in my house are from Le Monde and the ARTE Journal. I did not lean proper English until 18 years old, finally by going to an Anglophone university. You can say that I often feel between two cultures, the American one and the French one.

@StCirq: Regarding the six years old being in school for a month, you did echo some of my concerns since what is the most important for me is her happiness. There are two questions: 1) can it be done 2) should it be done. Can it be done? Probably, after all "Impossible n'est pas francais (I can't put the cedille or accents on this keyboard :( )Most of the time, I think it is done via close contacts/friendship with the Principal, Quebecker friends of mine did just that in Tailloires last year, again just for a month. Should it be done? I am not sure and I appreciate all the feedback regarding that issue. One one hand, my children have been very vocal (especially the five years old -she will be six soon) about having friends that can speak "their language". It was not until this year that my eldest finally became bilingual and felt comfortable in English. She is in first grade in an american school. I supplement in French by following the Grande Maternelle program and a bit of the CP. When we are in France for a month, I thought that instead of me homeschooling for an hour or two in the morning, she would enjoy being with in a French classroom, with other kids to play with during la recreation etc... But she is a more timid than my 3 years old, who is able to make friends anywhere she goes. A lot think about.

@hetishmij2: I agree that summers are for playing. Last year when my daughter got a summer packet from her school, I just ignored it and put it on a shelve and she traveled to France, Bali and Spain with us. Two weeks before school was starting in August, we get a message from the Principal reminding us to turn in the summer packet! We worked on it for two hours a day and got it done. But I actually do not believe in homework until the age 12. Multiple studies have shown that there is no real benefit. And last thing a child wants to do after school is more work! We take her out of school quite a bit during the school year. This year we are going to the Amalfi coast in October, there is a week of skiing in February, and during three weeks in March, she will be traveling in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. So adding an extra month at the end of the school year, does not sound excessive to in light of all the vacation days she has during the normal school year. You are the third person that suggests Aix-en -Provence. I really need to start looking at this town.

My own feeling is that with children to be put in school (and school has now become obligatory in France starting at age 3), the smaller the town, the better, because the children would get a sort of VIP treatment as an unusual attraction, from both the other children and the teachers. In bigger cities, there are too many social cases, recent immigrants, temporary gypsy children, to make your children anything else than a possible supplementary complication to the educators.

Then again, Paris is never a bad idea, except for the expense of staying here.

Thank you kerouac. I can get her into a school in the 12th arrondissement in Paris, but I don't think it is the right fit, being such a big city. We can come back to Paris later when school is not a consideration.

OK, so your daughter doesn't get a full year's schooling anyway? Wow. That is illegal here in the Netherlands, and in many other European countries. You would face hefty fines here.

I still don't think it is fair on her to put her into a school for a month, even if you can organise it (which seems unlikely to me but still..) All the children will have been there for a year, and be friends with one another and it would be really tough on your daughter, no matter how good her French, to cope with that, especially at that age. An then if she does make friends she loses them again at the end of the month. CHildren don't start formal learning in France (or much of Europe) until they are six, even if they have to start school at three, so she may well be ahead of them in things like reading anyway, and could just end up bored.
Maybe when you have decided where you will stay you can search for a tutor for her for a couple of hours a week if you are determined she should receive some education.

A month in France? That is tough. Of your listed places, I've only been to Sarlat, and Annecy. Liked them both. Loved Sarlat, to which I also vow to return, although it's been many years since I've been there. I won't get into the fray about the school for your kids; I have no clue about this whole situation. But since you've gotten many replies about Aix, it seems that when I was in the area long ago it was known as a college and party town. It's also heavily touristed. That may be fine with you and things could be different now, but just thought I'd toss that out. I'd love to spend a month (or more!) in France. It would probably be somewhere in the Dordogne; I just love that part of the country. Good luck with your planning!

Thank you for your input Rocket79

I live 20 kms from Sarlat. There's no question it is an absolutely beautiful town, but there is virtually NO public transportation, and having a car is a huge PITA (if you live there, maybe not as a brief tourist). It's also getting to the shoulder-to-shoulder nonsense, at least on market days, in June, and by July is almost unbearable. I think it would be a terrible choice for this poster's stated purposes. And I, obviously, "love that part of the country" too, or I wouldn't live here.

Aix seems a good choice. Lively city, small, full of students. I was unaware that my taxes could be used to teach one month a foreigner, but good if it works for you (no sarcasm here).
Weather will be better in Aix (not always so sure in Paris or the north or Brittany). Aix has good train connections. I could live there - more than a month.

Thank you thibaut for replying

@thibaut: votre perspective en tant que Français(e) est importante, surtout sur un site comme celui-ci.

Ah, StCirq, that makes me sad, but not surprised. Seems like everyplace is overloaded with tourists and I fully recognize that I am one of them. Lucky you to live in such a beautiful place.

It's inevitable, Rocket79. Fortunately, we know where to hide when summer comes around. And yes, lucky we are!

I can't speak to the French side--but as to the child development, it doesn't feel like your older child has the right temperment for an immersion into a full school.

But are there any other opportunities to interact with French students? Aren't French students also on vacation at some point, and could you travel at that time instead? What do their kids do for fun? Are there summer day-camps, sports, crafts or music/art classes?

Finally, I do think you should look at expat chat boards for ideas. You might find some ideas there.

Yes, 5alive we did consider putting her in a day camp instead during the summer. Everyone is new and it might be more fun for her. Your suggestion is very helpful.

It’s strange how people come away with different impressions.

We did indeed love the most of the small towns of the Dordogne but found Sarlat to be fairly diabolical. Just a total tourist trap with below average shopping and below average food offerings.

My suggestion for a month long stay would be Bordeaux which admittedly is busy but had a vibrant feel, world class wine, world class food but with the snotty attitude of Paris.

Tell us more about the snotty attitude of Paris and Bordeaux.

Well, that may be the case today, or just your experience, I don't know. I explored Sarlat in the late 1990s, on market day, and found it utterly enchanting. I bought the most delicious sugared walnuts there, and wanted to stay and cook everything I found in the market. But that was then.

Sorry, OP - threads have a tendency to go off topic...

I'd love to know more about the snotty attitudes of Paris and Bordeaux, too. Bordeaux could arguably be called the snottiest food/wine town in all of France. How much time do you actually spend in France, dude, that you have these all-encompassing attitudes toward places? I absolutely love Bordeaux - it has become one of France's most fabulous cisites over the past 7 years or so, but it is hardly lacking a snotty attitude. In fact it probably has the snottiest attitude in all of France with regard to food and
wine.
You can disdain the food offerings in Sarlat, and I'll give you that, but is it not the slightest bit apparent that André Malraux turned an absolute ruin into a gorgeous town replete with the ancient gas lamps and salamander plaques and a gorgeous interior pedestrian area?

No matter what time of year, Sarlat has a gorgeousness that is unparalled except by the superbly jaded.

Congrats on pursuing this life and career change and seeking this special experience for you and your children.

I'm the Kathy you referred to, who lived in Bonnieux for 6-1/2 months and put our daughter in school there. We now have a second home in Bonnieux and continue to spend a few months there every year. Bonnieux and the Luberon are very special to us, but a small village in the countryside isn't for everyone. We like to hike, enjoy exploring smaller villages, and shopping at the weekly markets, and the Luberon was perfect for us. And the social life is surprisingly active with many ways to connect with locals and expats. Now, 14 years later, we have so many good friends there... it's home. It seems you do need to decide what size place you want to target for your month (big city, small city, town, village) and what area most draws you in terms of your interests and what you'd like to see and do during your free time.

Beyond the question of whether this would be right for the child, I think it would be difficult to enroll a non-resident child in a public school for just one month, especially at the very end of the school year. It might be at the discretion of the director of the school, I don't know. Maybe a private school... don't know about that either. I really liked the idea of a summer camp suggested by one of the other posters, though this would shift your stay into the warmer summer months. That should influence where you'd decide to base to avoid summer crowds.

One last thought... I enjoy Strasbourg, but it's also a big city and distinctly different in terms of its culture. Again, I'd think about what part of France really draws you in terms of natural surroundings, architecture, history, cuisine... your young children will likely adapt wherever you base, but think about what would be right to you.

Kathy

Could be my limited purview on these things, but I've never noticed that "summer camp" was even a remotely popular idea in France. Maybe now with more women working, but seems to me I would have heard of at least a few kids who were "going to camp" but no, never once heard of such a thing.

Les colonies de vacances are a major French classic and have in fact an entire movie genre to themselves. All major French corporations have summer camps for the children of the employees, as do most municipalities of any size. However, it's true that they are slightly less popular than 20 years ago, since more and more families are flying off to Vietnam, Canada, Brazil, Cuba or whatever these days during the summer holiday season..

Well, I guess I don't know any families who work for major French corporations. And yes, what families with kids do here when it's holiday season is tear off to Ibiza or Sicily or Sardegne or Greece or Bali or Vietnam...

Well I work in a major french corporation and I don't know of any colleague (or relative) who sends their kids to summer camps. Yet I suppose they do still exist. The camps I hear aout are scout camps or language immersion camps. I guess I meet with rich people.
I also would like to know more about the snotty attitude of the French, be it in Paris, Bordeaux or why not Lille. My personal experience are encounters with arrogant or fearing US tourists who would run away from me, but I don't see the snotty attitude in Paris, I guess I must be either blind, immune to this attitude or so snotty myself that I am merging into it. Or maybe it is the same as the rude waiters : a difference of culture. And thus of appreciation of one's behavior ?
Anyway, there was a kid not so long ago at school who spent some time at school. She was Vietnamese and the star of the school whilst she was there, and the teachers intelligently incoroportaed her in the lessons (geography about Vietnam, histroy etc) so that everybody benefited from her stay. I found it smart.

@KathyWood: Wow! I am so happy to hear from you! I followed your adventures on slow travel and you were a great source of inspiration! I probably won't, in the end, enroll my daughters for a month. But I was curious if your daughter had a good time during her 6 months in a French school, if making friends was easy, and if her perspective as an adult is different than when she was a child.

would there not be local groups for kids that age- after school places where she could mix with French kids but it seems you want also the school experience - IME with a son growing up in France there were many such groups - for kids of all ages. Or just be in a warm-weather place where there are lots of kids games like parks - I took my then young son during summer school vacation to many and it wa great - for him (a French native and me too - where I learned some of my rudimentary French talking with other parents and kids - weekends would be great for that - activities where parents have to pay outside of school and maybe would take a short-termer. Good luck for what seems a quixotic search at times!

Hi ToujoursVoyager... I'm glad you enjoyed my blog from way-back-when. It's been 14 years ago now, but a life-changing experience for all three of us.

Our daughter-- then 11-- had a very positive experience at the Bonnieux school. She knew just a little French going in and was terrified at first, but she was a bit of a novelty as a tall, blonde, American girl with braces. The other children were very welcoming. Soon she knew enough French to converse, though it took quite a while for her to become an active participant in her classroom. A big turning point was a week-long "classe de neige" (a skiing field-trip), the ultimate immersion experience. I wish she had carried forward a French friend through the years, but I think since she was a bit older than any other girls, that didn't happen.

At one time we had planned to home-school, which would have meant 24/7 together. Having her in school was good for all three of us. It brought my husband and me into the village on a regular basis, and we made friends too. We would have been much more isolated at our farmhouse if we had homeschooled.

You asked about our daughter as an adult. These early experiences definitely influenced the course of her life and her interests. She continued to study French back home in the USA, all though middle school and high school... and our family continued to spend summers in France and other parts of Europe. She received a BA in International Studies from a top university, two masters degrees in International History in a dual program with a British university, and is now a PhD student in History and French Studies. She continues to spend a lot of time in France-- mostly Paris but also Bonnieux.

By the way, I like PalenQ's ideas for other ways to connect your children with French kids.