Bordeaux on the bend of the Garonne
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Rating  4.2/5

Study French in Bordeaux (Place Gambetta)

Study French in Bordeaux, a beautiful city that sits on the banks of the Garonne River, surrounded by stunning landscapes such as traditional fishing villages, scenic beaches, the majestic Pyrenees Mountains, and historic chateaux, all of which are within easy reach of Bordeaux via public transport. A wonderful location for those eager to learn about French culture, nearly half of historic Bordeaux has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

This is thanks to its magnificent architecture, most of which has remained relatively unchanged for over 200 years! Bordeaux is also famous for its wine and antiques, as well as being a shopper’s paradise and home to what is said to be the longest shopping street in Europe! The local cuisine is also fantastic and includes plenty of delicious seafood, game, pastries and macaroons!

Our school in Bordeaux (Place Gambetta)

9 classrooms
Private garden
Computer lab
Certified Label Qualité FLE centre
Member of IALC and Campus France
Wi-Fi throughout the building
Some course materials included, others available to purchase
Student lounge with television and comfortable seating
Approved for CSN and Bildungsurlaub programmes (various states)

Photos

Learning French
Big, bright classrooms
Student lounge
Relaxing in the school garden

Housed in a beautiful 19th Century building in the heart of the city and just off Place Gambetta, our French language school in Bordeaux offers excellent facilities for students, including 9 bright, air-conditioned classrooms, a self-study room and a lounge area that opens out onto a pretty garden. Our school also offers wireless Internet throughout.

Location: central Bordeaux
Nearest convenience store: 300 m
Nearest café: 250 m
Nearest metro stop: N/A
Nearest bus stop: 280 m (Cours Georges Clemenceau)
Distance from train station: 3.3 km
Distance from airport: 12.8 km (Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport)

Courses in Bordeaux (Place Gambetta)

Available courses

    You are sure to find the perfect French language course for you in Bordeaux, thanks to the wide range offered by our school! Intensive or Super-Intensive group courses of 20, 26 or 30 French language lessons per week are perfect if you would like to improve your overall level of French, whereas private courses offer you the chance to tailor the lessons to meet your own specific requirements. Alternatively, you may like to consider one of our combined courses of group and one-to-one tuition.

    Bordeaux is famous for its gastronomy, and so our school offers a fantastic French and Culture + Cookery course combining language lessons with four practical cookery lessons each week. Two cookery lessons will focus on French baking skills and in the other two lessons, you will learn to prepare traditional French meals!

    Our school in Bordeaux also offers courses designed specifically for students who require French for their work, including Business French courses; as well as exam preparation courses for students preparing to take their DELF examination!

    Course materials aren't included in the fees in Bordeaux but can be bought directly at the school on arrival.

    Accommodation

    Available accommodation

    • Host Family
    • Studio Apartment
    • Summer Residence

    Our school in Bordeaux offers host family accommodation, which is the perfect option if you wish to learn French at a fast pace, in an authentic and unique environment. Staying with a local family will ensure that you have plenty of opportunities to practice what you have learnt in class with your native French-speaking hosts! This accommodation type is offered on a bed and breakfast or half board basis.

    Activities

    Cultural activities are regularly arranged by our school in Bordeaux and include guided tours of Bordeaux and its historical monuments, wine and cheese tasting, guided museum tours and cookery lessons. Regular excursions to local places of interest are also organised, such as St Emilion and its vineyards, the Arcachon Basin and the Dune of Pilat.

    Getting involved with the school’s activity programme will undoubtedly give you endless opportunities to enhance your language immersion programme!

        Sample activity programme

    How to get there

    The nearest airport to our school in Bordeaux is Bordeaux Merignac. From there, we can arrange private airport transfers which will take you directly to your accommodation. Alternatively, if you are travelling by train, transfers from Bordeaux Saint Jean train station can also be arranged. If you prefer, you can take a taxi or a bus to reach your accommodation. Please note that private transfers are not included in the cost of the programme and will incur an additional fee. Please contact us for more information.


    Location of our school in Bordeaux (Place Gambetta)

    Course

    4.2 / 5
    Accommodation

    4.1 / 5
    School Staff

    4.4 / 5
    Average score for our school in Bordeaux (Place Gambetta) based on 71 previous client reviews.

    Student reviews & feedback

    Carole Deborde was an excellent teacher. Very engaging, great interaction with the class. I would highly recommend this school to anyone.

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    The course was excellent. The tutor Laure Vignier was excellent also. The course was intensive as descibed on the details but I found them so interesting and informative and thoroughly enjoyed all of them.

    The accommodation was fine, very convenient to the school only 15 minutes walk. We had the 2nd floor to my friend and myself including our ensuite bathroom ,so we were very comfortable. Our host Mrs Zabel was very friendly and helpful and when my friend had a problem Mrs Zabel went out of her way to help us.

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    Excellent teaching; range of media, well paced and light-hearted so very encouraging. My host was delightful. I felt I was having an extra two hour French lesson every evening as we conversed over supper.

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    I felt I was in the right group for my level. The teaching was primarily through talking either as a large group or smaller groups. There were lots of different teaching styles to keep attention - video clips, work books, handouts etc. Covered grammar, vocabulary and conversation. My family were lovely. Very helpful, very good food, made me feel very welcome.

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    Mmd. Soizic was a very excellent teacher. She made us work hard but also enjoy ourselves and learn a lot about different cultures. All the material covered during my very short stay of 1 week was extremely helpful for my upcoming Alevel exams as a form of revision.

    My accommodation was fabulous. Marianne took extremely good care of me and her company was just superb. I will for sure keep in contact with her and her lovely family.

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    The course I took was very well structured, with students of different nationalities and this' allowed to use the language also in our free time . I was very interesting because this included a theoretical part and a practical conversation and listening to the current language all that in a serene and professional atmosphere.

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    The course was thoroughly enjoyable. Instruction was first-rate and good humoured throughout, class size was small and there was a friendly, helpful demeanour to all that went on. I wish I could have stayed for longer.

    My accommodation was absolutely fine. I was well looked after by a sympathetic (to my educational needs) family who treated me very well.

    A good course in an excellent venue. I would (in fact, have already) recommend it to my friends.

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    I found the course interesting. The school staff were extremly helpful and listened to concerns students had about their courses and the make up of these courses. Our host was extremly good. She was our defacto teacher, and helped a lot in this area as well as helping us develope our oral language skills. She was an extremly good cook and hostess. Thanks to the school for being able to accomodate both my wife and I as a couple, which added to the experience.

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    The school has a well organised course for beginners like myself. I learnt enough french in the three weeks I was there to give me the confidence to continue learning the language. I stayed in a hotel near the Bordeaux St Jean railway station. It was very pleasant and comfortable hotel

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    Although I only stayed for one week, I felt that the topic covered was a bit one dimensional - I realise that many people would stay for more than one week, however, it would have been useful to cover multiple topics so that a wider range of vocab and expressions could be learnt.

    Accommodation
    Excellent accommodation and very friendly family - five star!

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    The course was great, there were only 7 students in our class and we were all on the same level of French. The teacher was very friendly and motivating and used topics from popular culture. It was a typical French family, with a house (with pool) 20 min outside of Bordeaux. I'm thankful they shared their daily life with me, it's a very interesting way to travel and they gave me even more opportunity to practice my French during dinner.

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    E. Baxter

    I enjoyed my course and found it both challenging and rewarding. My accommodation was excellent. The woman was lovely and made me feel really at home.

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    Very good teachers and a good programme in all. Couldn't have been luckier with my host family - superb!

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    P. Hollywood

    The course was excellent.

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    I was really happy with my language course. The teachers were very competent and friendly and taught interesting and relevant lessons. The group sizes were nice and small and there was a good, relaxed atmosphere in the school. My host family completly integrated me into their life and I felt like a part of the family rather than a guest. We shared dinners every evening and went on trips together on the weekend. The family had three lovely and talkative teenage daughters - which was great to practice my French. I am sure I will stay in contact with my host family!

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    F. van Assem

    My French course was very well organised. Every student had the opportunity to learn French in their own way and everyone got the chance to develop themselves at their own speed. I stayed with a nice family. My room was nice, I had much space, even my own shower and microwave. I could come into the house whenever I wanted to, talk to them about school and such.

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    I've never studied French before this language course and it was very helpful for me.

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    R. Daniels

    The teacher was very nice and the school very well equipped etc. My accomodation was amazing. The house was large and modern. It was in the suburbs but well connected by tram. My host mother was incredible. The meals were fantastic, she did the washing every night, she cleaned everyday and had a whole food of fridge just for the students. There were also three other girls staying there which was very nice. She was very happy for us to use the wifi and helped us out whenever we needed it. There was also a swimming pool and a separate bathroom for the students. My time in Bordeaux was fantastic! The accomodation was excellent and the town and way of life there was very relaxing and enjoyable.

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    I enjoyed the course as we discussed French culture topics a lot and then how things worked in our own countries. There was a lot of opportunity for conversation and the tutor was also happy to give us additional exercises for further practice of grammar points.

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    It was really helpful for my spoken french especially. The house was lovely and the family were particularly accomodating.

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    I found the course useful. Excellent accommodation with a very friendly and helpful family. They made a big effort to show me the French way of life and I would highly recommend to another student.

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    L. Toscano

    The course has been really useful and nice, and the accommodation has been great!

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    The course was great fun. The teacher was an encouraging, committed and diligent tutor, who delivered to clear and attainable learning outcomes through oral, aural and written work, and added local and national cultural interest and nuance. There was a happy atmosphere in the school with engaging, diverse class colleagues and I made significant progress!

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    I really enjoyed the course and would definitely recommend the school to friends.

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    The teachers at the school are really great!

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    The teachers were wonderful, the atmosphere within the class was great. Everyone accepted everyone else. It was fun even so very tiring in the first week. The trips on Friday afternoon were very good and gave one an enjoyment of the surroundings of the beautiful city of Bordeaux. I absolutely enjoyed my stay there and I had the feeling that the other students were as happy as I was. The accomodation was very good and the services as well.

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    K. Brumpton

    Good experience to kick start the process for learning French. I found Apple Languages to be very good to work with and they responded promptly to my inquiries. This made me feel confident. The course and the town of Bordeaux are fantastic. My accommodation had an excellent pool. I had really great meals and there was lots of space in the house which was quiet and peaceful. This assisted with my french in conversation.

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    Highly recommended, although a very basic knowledge of french would be helpful for the absolute beginner. Ideally at least 3 weeks would be sufficient to gain a good understanding and the ability to converse in french. Staying with a host family is a superb way of improving your french. I was totally delighted with the host family I stayed with - the hospitality, the cuisine and the conversations were fantastic. I was glad I chose this option. Overall a great experience, highly recommended.

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    It was a enjayable course. My family were lovely and friendly and settled in right away.My French has improved. My accomadation was excellent I coulndnt have had a nicer or more comfortable house.

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    It was a fabulous experience that I will never forget. I now have friends from all over the world.

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    I enjoyed the overall experience of being taught entirely in French. My host family made me feel extremely welcome; accommodation was spotless, easy to find from the City centre adn the hosts spoke very clearly to me - great fun!

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    T. Phillips

    The course was intensive as expected but the 1:1 was excellent - it went at a pace dependent on progress and also allowed for all sorts of developments along lines which emerged from our work - we spoke a lot about the election and used all sorts of materials to develop an understanding of French and help apply it to all situations. The lesson and the administration was all conducted in french and even the explanations of grammar and of the exercises was always in French - this was excellent and accustomed the ear to the language. I was met at the airport late on a Sunday and accompanied to the school on the first morning - at all times 'La dame d'accueil' was extremely helpful - food excellent and company superb - there was one other foreign student staying in the house and we were encouraged to speak French all the time during the stay. Having another student to talk to by being accommodated "en famille" was useful when there by oneself and also following an individual course. The school was excellent - very welcoming - the walking tour of Bordeaux on the first afternoon was very helpful and the commentary such that it was in French but understandable - one soon got into the understanding even if not all the words and every word was heard. The staff were keen to encourage French speaking all the time. A student lunch was arranged at a local restaurant.

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    The staff at the school were excellent for the whole week. The group exercises in the morning were very useful for the whole group to improve by working with each other and the 1:1's had a real value as they were specifically tailored by the school staff to meet my needs and as a result very rewarding.

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    The course was well taught, I had an excellent teacher. The accomodation was good, it's exactly what you expect for student accommodation.

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    The 1 to 1 sessions were particularly good. My host family were friendly people and very welcoming.

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    P. Thorne

    It was really good and despite the big differences in ability in the class the teacher made it relevant to all. My host was very friendly and welcoming.

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    School statistics

    Nationality (%)


    American (7)
    Brasilian (5)
    Colombian (2)
    German (17)
    Italian (4)
    Japanese (5)
    Mexican (3)
    Spanish (8)
    Swiss (19)
    Uk (7)

    Average Student Numbers

    * Statistics considered correct at the time of publishing

    Student stories on our blog

    Bordeaux – one of my favourite cities in Europe!

    Hello everyone! Having Bordelais (Bordeaux) blood and having lived there for quite some time, I thought it is time write a blog post about things to do in Bordeaux. You might not know what to do with a day or two in one of my favourite cities in Europe. Or, you may be lucky enough to attend a French language course for one week or more. We have previously written about insider tips, but I want to give you suggestions about my favourite places in Bordeaux to eat and fun things to do. So without further ado, let’s start! Read more...

    Prices for Bordeaux (Place Gambetta)

    Choose your course below to view our prices in pounds sterling (GBP), US dollars (USD) or euros (EUR).

    NOTE: The start dates marked (b) are suitable for all levels, including complete beginners.

    (b) = start dates suitable for complete beginners and all other levels