Voyager en France

Traveling in France is easy with trains going through almost every city, which can be taken by the Rennes train station! Plus, Rennes has a little airport that can quickly take you to other destinations like Nice or Marseilles, which may be a little far by train. 

During my two long weekends, I went to Tours, France by two trains and Marseille, France by plane. For Tours, I traveled solo through time to witness the majestic architectural wonders of the castles of past kings. For Marseille, I marveled at the Calanques of Marseilles with family friends on a 3-hour boat ride. It was nice to practice my French with them!

Traveling Solo can feel a bit nerve racking, but the most important thing is to be aware of your surroundings and keep your phone, money and bag(s) right next to you always. Don’t be afraid to practice your French and ask where a train’s location is, if you’re lost. I had multiple come up to me to ask for directions (all in French) and it was nice to help! 

For activities to do in a France city, you can search “things to do in ____” and fill in the blank city. But I would suggest going to the tourist office’s website to see what tours they offer, discounts and any suggestions of places to visit they have on their website. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call them to find out more (or on your arrival, go to the tourist office to pick up a map – this will save you time!). For super specific items, talk with your host family! I spoke with my host mother, and she said that she loves the Chateau de Chenonceau. Then, I made sure that was top of my priorities to see (now it is one of my favorites too 🙂 ) For booking any group visits or other tickets, it’s important to order at least a couple days ahead of time as the activity could be sold out otherwise. 

In Tours, I visited about 7 castles (Azay-Le Rideau, Chambord, Chenonceau, Clos-Luce,  Amboise, Ville-Savin, and Villandry gardens) over four days and even kayaked on the Loire Valley solo for 3 hours! I discovered the peaceful world of birds and met a couple fisherman which made it feel a little less scary to be alone on the water. After being in a bunch of cities and walking everywhere, it was an incredible feeling to be one with wildlife. I stepped through history while visiting all the castles, perfect companion for the week of history we were learning in class.

The views of the Mediterranean Sea from the top of Marseilles’ Notre Dame Cathedral were exquisite along with the city portraying a glimmering array of art. This was also a perfect companion to the week of art I learned in class as I saw an enormous amount of street art throughout Marseilles. Most of the time I spent communicating with the family and relaxing, which was nice after a long week of courses. 

If there’s somewhere you want to travel to, go. Reach out to some of the members in the program and maybe they would like to come with you. The other members of the program went to Paris and Vannes for the two long weekends, and they had a lot of fun! If you cannot do longer stays, the France train system makes it easy to travel for just a day. There is a lot to see in France, and I would suggest exploring it while you are here as every city has its unique charms ready for you to discover!

Melanie Couillard

Rochester Institute of Technology

CIEE-Rennes Summer Intensive French Language