Learn French in Nice
On the shores of the French Riviera, on the Côte d'Azur, the Maritime Alps, just a few kilometers from the Italian border, lies the picturesque city of Nice. Painters and artists have always felt at home and inspired here. The mild temperatures in Nice are also ideal for a language study trip in the winter months. The city attracts a large number of language students every year, as it has so much to offer its guests. In this guide, we would like to provide you with the most important facts about the city so that you can plan your language study trip to Nice.
Which language school in Nice is right for me?
Choosing the right language school is usually not an easy task The range of courses offered by language schools in Nice is varied and large and the conditions are usually very good. To find the right language school in Nice, you should consider a few points in advance.
Only if you book the right French course can you maximize your French language skills during your language study trip to Nice. You will only achieve the desired learning success if you book the right course level. This is where our free onlineLanguage placement teststo help you assess your level of French so that you can look for suitable courses. The language courses at the individual French schools in Nice are highly individualized. In addition to half-day courses, intensive courses of up to 35 lessons per week are also offered. Some schools are explicitly aimed at beginners, while others specialize in advanced courses or primarily offer courses in preparation for diploma examinations such as the DELF (Diplôme d'Etudes de langue française) or the DALF (Diplôme approfondi de langue française). Many language schools in Nice also offer their students private courses on request or individual supplementary private lessons in the form of remedial or support lessons after the group courses. Some courses are aimed at business people who want to learn industry-specific French, such as professionals from the tourism or business sectors. Some language schools also organize a voluntary leisure programme for participants in half-day courses. Think in advance about which of the above types of course would suit you best.
The next consideration is the location of the language school in Nice. If your language study trip only lasts a few days or one to two weeks, you should choose a school in a central location. If you then plan to go sightseeing, shopping and going out, this will involve much less effort and you can see much more of Nice in a few days and even get around mainly on foot. This not only saves you time but also transportation costs. If you're planning a longer language study trip to Nice, it's a good idea to look for language schools that are away from the hustle and bustle of the city center. The districts on the outskirts of the city are also very attractive - here the day passes at a more leisurely pace and people greet each other in the café. You'll also make contact with locals more quickly here. Everyday encounters and conversations with native speakers are what make a language study trip so valuable. You can find precise information about the location of the language schools on Google Maps, for example.
When choosing a language school for your language study trip to Nice, the timetables of the schools also play an important role. When do lessons start in the morning, how many lessons can be booked per day and how long do they last? How many language students are there in each class and what is the nationality mix? What infrastructure does the language school offer? What are the costs? You should definitely compare these important factors before you definitely register with a language school.
We at Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch haveTestimonialscollected first-hand from language travelers. The testimonials from language travelers in France will provide you with important information and tips that will certainly help you find the right language school in Nice. You should also read the online reviews of language schools in Nice. You can find these via Google if you search for language schools in Nice using Google Maps. The Facebook reviews of the language schools are also very informative.
You can also find more good information, tips and ideas for a language study trip to Nice in ourLanguage travel guide.
Which accommodation in Nice?
Most language schools in Nice also offer accommodation of various kinds on request.
For an authentic language study trip to Nice, many language students choose to stay with a local host family. Thanks to the family connection, they experience the culture and language of France much more intensively and impressively. Staying with a local family increases the learning success and value of the language study trip to Nice enormously. In addition, the family can give the language students valuable insider tips and information about the city and possible activities. The families offer both single and double rooms and, for a small surcharge, breakfast or half or full board is included.
Student halls of residence or shared student flats in Nice also offer accommodation in the form of single or shared rooms. Such residences are usually equipped with shared bathrooms and kitchens. Research on the internet has shown that private halls of residence are more recommendable than public halls of residence, as these are often in a poor state of repair. If privacy is very important to you, you can also consider a small furnished apartment or studio during your language study trip. A nice furnished room near the city center of Nice can easily cost between 300 and 500 francs. There are no upper limits. In most cases, such furnished apartments are only rented out for a minimum booking of several weeks or months and are more suitable for longer language stays in Nice. If you rent an apartment in Nice for a longer period of time and are also registered in Nice, you can apply for state housing benefit from the CAF and be reimbursed up to 30% of the rent. The application for housing benefit can be made online atwww.caf.frand submitted to the CAF offices in Nice together with a document from the landlord, a confirmation from the school and an international birth certificate. The effort is only worthwhile for a language stay of several months.
The location of your accommodation in Nice also plays an important role. If you wish to stay with a host family, the language school will allocate you and will only give you the exact address when you arrive. However, the language schools guarantee short walking times between the school and your accommodation (usually between 20 and 45 minutes - which does make a difference - so ask about this in advance). Nice is not very big, but commuting is time-consuming and expensive. If you find your own accommodation, it should ideally be close to your language school. Think in advance about what you would like to do in Nice in your free time and what you need in your surroundings to feel comfortable. Find out about the public transport connections from your home to the school, excursion destinations, shopping facilities, the beach and the city center and calculate the travel costs for public transport. During a short language study trip in Nice, it is an advantage if you can avoid long commutes. Otherwise you will spend much more time on public transport than elsewhere. A higher rent and therefore a better location should therefore possibly be accepted, especially for a short language study trip.
The local language schools are happy to give their students further tips and information.
Where to party in Nice?
Nice offers night owls a wide range of options. The rich and famous go out here, but you can also party on a smaller budget - as long as you know where. It's cheaper to party during the week than at the weekend, but on Fridays and Saturdays you can also enjoy yourself in many places during happy hour at 7pm.
From student bars to chic upscale nightclubs - everyone will find something to their liking here. Most of the bars, pubs and nightclubs are located on Rue Droite, Promenade des Anglais and Place Masséna. Especially during the hot summer nights, carnival time or during the jazz festival, but also throughout the year, the city pulsates in the dark hours. This is also when the market on the Cours Saleya transforms and opens its numerous bars and cafés.
Here we would like to list the most famous addresses that you absolutely must see during your language study trip to Nice:
Bars:
- La Suite: a chic bar on Rue Brea
- Thor: something is going on here, because the folk and rock bar at 32 Cours Saleya is a popular meeting place for international students
- Bulldog Pub: The Bulldog on Rue de l'Abbaye serves a wide selection of cocktails and the happy hour is particularly generous.
Clubs:
- Chez Wayne's at the Palais de Justice in Old Nice combines what hardly seems possible in Nice: coolness and low prices... The club is a hip meeting place for young people in Nice, not least because of its daily live music.
- The VOX Club near the beach is a casual club where clubhouse rhythms and country sounds resound until the early hours of the morning.
- The B52 on Rue Central often offers free admission and is open very late.
If you want to party with the rich and famous and possibly even meet a starlet, you must visit the VIP Room, les Caves du Roy, Nikki Beach, La Bodega de Papagayo or Le Club 55'.
If you like live music, Blue Whales offers a colorful selection of different musical styles from all over the world. The Dutch pub De Klomp on Rue Mascoinat also plays live music.
What to experience in Nice
Nice was a magnet for numerous famous painters. This is not only due to the mild climate, but also to the special silky light of the Côte d'Azur, which inspired world-famous artists such as Renoir, Picasso, Chagall and Matisse to produce their best work. Breathtaking paintings can still be admired today in the Marc Chagall and Matisse museums.
Archaeology, sport, art or history - Nice also offers a varied and exciting range of museums for those interested in culture during their language study trip. Numerous monuments and churches are also part of a sightseeing tour through Nice. We would particularly like to mention the Monument du Centenaire, which commemorates the end of the county of Nice in 1893. The Promenade des Anglais with its magnificent flowers on the beach of Nice also attracts many visitors every day. Various palaces and stately buildings in Nice, such as the Ancien Hôtel Regina, the Palais Lascaris or the Palais de la Préfecture, invite you to visit and bear witness to the breathtaking glamor of times long past.
If you are going on a longer language study trip to Nice, you should definitely plan excursions in the region along the Côte d'Azur. Tourist transport companies offer guided tours, but of course you can also rent a car to be more independent. A boat trip in the Mediterranean is also an exciting diversion during your language study trip in Nice.
Beach days, long walks by the sea, sporting activities, good food and top-quality wine round off a language study trip to Nice and will make it an unforgettable experience.
Transportation options in Nice
The well-developed transport network in Nice not only covers the city, but also the surrounding region. Other major cities can also be easily reached from Nice via the SNCF train station. The operator of the more than 100 bus routes and streetcars is Lignes d'Azur. The buses serve numerous municipalities around Nice.
The streetcar runs daily between 4.00 a.m. and 1.00 a.m. at night. Depending on the route, buses also run from 4.00 am until around 9.00 pm. Five night buses operate from 9.00 pm to 1.00 am.
Tickets can be purchased from ticket machines at bus stops or in the Lignes d'Azur customer centers. If you want to buy tickets on the bus, it is essential that you have sufficient change with you and you can only buy single journeys or day tickets. 10-trip tickets can be purchased at all Lignes d'Azur ticket machines and customer counters and must be validated for each journey and each change. A ticket is valid for 1 hour and 14 minutes in one direction. A single journey costs around 2 francs, a 10-trip ticket costs 12 francs, a day ticket 6 francs and a weekly ticket 18 francs.
You can explore much of the city center on foot and are not dependent on public transport. There is a VéloBleu bike rental station every 300 meters. This alternative means of transportation is often used by locals and tourists alike. Good to know: The bikes can also be returned in one of the partner municipalities of Cagnes or Saint Laurent du Var. 1 day rental costs 1.20 francs, a week 6 francs.
What you can afford in Nice
It is clear that Nice is a meeting place for the stars and the rich... Accordingly, the cost of living is relatively high. Especially if you choose a central residential area, you will have to dig deep into your pockets and expect rental costs similar to those in a large Swiss city. You will also have to spend a lot on food and restaurants in Nice. But if you know where, you can enjoy good food at fair prices. So it's also a question of preparation and organization how expensive a language study trip to Nice turns out to be.
The average cost of a two-week language study trip to Nice, including 20 hours of French lessons and accommodation in a single room with a host family with breakfast, is usually between 900 and 1000 francs. For accommodation in a student residence, a two-week language course without meals costs between 1200 and 1400 francs. Prices vary depending on the language school, language course and accommodation.
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