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French & Cooking in Montpellier

Experience
Study
Destination
France
Duration
1 to 12 weeks
Ages
18 to 70

10 others looking at this too. Next opening is Jan 2024, with limited spots.

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Trip overview

Learn to speak French – as you become a master of cooking French cuisine  – while living in the heart of Montpellier for up to 12 weeks on this unforgettable trip. 

What better way to learn a language than to jump right into the deep end? Learning the intricacies of the delicate French cuisine as you live like a local in one of the most sophisticated countries in the world. 

On this done-for-you trip, you’ll get everything you need to live in Montpellier while learning to speak French and cook French cuisine, including: 

  • Small group classes. You’ll get plenty of personal attention from your tutor in your relaxed, but structured, small-group classes. This is divided into 20 language lessons a week and 8 cooking lessons a week including plenty of tastings! 
  • Homestay accommodation. Take that cultural immersion up a notch by staying with a local host family. You’ll have your own room and shared amenities with some meals included (breakfast and dinner). Or, you can upgrade to a private studio flat for an additional weekly fee.
  • Local cultural experiences. To help you get stuck into French life, this trip includes a bunch of activities and tours, which may include guided tours, weekly excursions, team sports and games, and 1 half-day excursion. 

France is well-known for its sophisticated taste for the finer things in life – particularly food, art, and wine. 

On this trip you’ll be surrounded by all this French beauty while learning to live exactly like a local. Which means learning to speak French and cook the most amazing French cuisine. 

AND, thanks to your fun lessons with your supportive tutor, you’ll be able to order your food and wine (and understand the menu) in French – surprising all the locals and securing lifelong friendships with interesting people from all over the world. 

Just imagine it. You’re part of the community, practising your French with the familiar faces around your neighbourhood – the guy serving croissants at your local bakery, the little old lady at the shop, the neighbour you walk past on your way to class each morning.

Living in a French community like this means your French skills are coming along FAST. Especially because you’re getting to know French culture through the cuisine during your daily cooking classes. 

Not to mention – your French speaking skills open up a whole new world of travel experiences. Locals LOVE when foreigners have a go at speaking the language. So if you’re putting whole sentences together – complete with regional colloquialisms and slang – you’ll be the most popular traveller in France. 

Not to mention, your new cooking skills are a souvenir that just gets better. Impress that special someone back home with an authentic French meal, cooked just the way the locals showed you. While wooing them with your stories of an adventure abroad…. 

This trip is perfect for you if you’d like to scratch beneath the surface on your trip to France. You’ll be fully immersed in the community while learning the language and the cuisine so you can experience the real France. 

When you go with Global, you get the full experience for a fraction of the hassle. We offer the complete package for learning French and how to cook French cuisine in Montpellier. 

Our team will help you with the essentials you need to start your new journey with a bang! Including helping you with visas, enrolling you in classes, securing your accommodation and a whole lot more.

Inclusions

Tap to expand

Small group French classes
Small group cooking classes
Dedicated Trip Coordinator
Personal Travel Concierge
Trip visa guidance
Pre-Departure Guide
Private return transfers
Choice of accommodation
Local cultural experiences
Ongoing local team support
Certificate of completion
24/7 Global Emergency Line
gWorld access
SocialNEW
Global AcademyNEW
Marketplace dealsNEW
$250 off your next trip

Just in case it’s not clear already, we’re not an employment or recruitment agency. Read more

Qualification

To qualify for this trip you must meet the following requirements:

  • Be between 18-70 years of age
  • Be a citizen of an eligible country
  • Have no criminal convictions in the past 5 years

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Trip details

The best (and most enjoyable) way to learn a new language and master a cuisine is to jump right into a foreign culture. Even so, we're all human here, and we understand how overwhelming it can be to just dive in. This trip has been meticulously planned to ensure that you are as comfortable as possible before departing on your way to France.

Rest assured, you'll have our full support! Before you leave, you will have the assistance of your Trip Coordinator. There will be a committed staff on the ground to ensure that all works well and that you never feel awkward or out of place in your new French home. Montpellier has one international airport, and should you choose to lodge with one of the warm-hearted host families, you will be collected by the same host at the airport and taken to your accommodation in Montpellier.

Throughout your time in Montpellier, you will have the opportunity to choose between two different types of accommodation. 

OPTION 1: Host family in a single room (breakfast & dinner included)

OPTION 2: Upgrade to a furnished studio, ideal for those seeking both independence and conviviality. This option does come at an additional cost of approximately €80-€220/wk extra.

Arrive in France knowing that you will be well ahead of any other visitor seeking a foreign European experience. With everything else planned out, you can just unwind and get straight into the experience. Your courses are held in Montpellier, a vibrant university town in southern France and located about a dozen kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea. Boasting an average of around 300 days of sunlight each year, Montpellier is one of the warmest cities in France and ideal for those who would like to show off their new language skills by ordering some crisp drinks beachside to the Mediterranean. You can see it right?!

The course is comprised of 20 French language lessons and 8 cooking lessons (from 6-9pm) spread out across two days per week, with a duration that ranges from 1-12 weeks. Each class will be made up of a small group to ensure individual attention and an opportunity for everyone to integrate and share this once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience. In the class, you will encounter real-life scenarios with locals who will assist you with the more conversational aspect of French. Most lessons will focus on how to prepare a fine 3-course meal, mastering delicious dishes like pumpkin Velouté with truffle, stuffed southern vegetables and sweet, delicate macarons. And when your classes have finished for the day, give the books a break and immerse yourself in the vibrant, exciting city right on your doorstep! 

For your convenience, all teaching materials have been included as well as a complimentary activity program (free guided tour and half-day excursion at no extra cost), and an official TCF certification upon completion of the exam (optional). Take the step to learn French in Montpellier and reap the immediate benefits. Your new language and cooking skills will look fantastic to future employers but also progress your personal development and show you a new and exciting part of the world - not to mention the incredible lifelong friends, scenery and food you’ll encounter along the way too!

Requirements 

Be aged between 18-70 years old.

What extra costs will I have? 

Flights, travel insurance, souvenirs, daily subsistence & spending money.

Accommodation

To take that cultural immersion to the next level, you’ll stay with a local host family – kinda like a secret weapon to learn the French language and culture in a heartbeat. You’ll have your own private room and share amenities.  

Alternatively, for a bit more privacy, you can upgrade to a private studio flat for an additional weekly fee.

Trip itinerary

Before your trip

You'll undergo a short writing test before embarking on your trip. This will indicate your French level so that the institution could place you within a suitable class.

Arrival

Your homestay host will pick you up from the airport/bus station.

Day 1 (Monday)

You'll go over your orientation on your first day. This will contain details about the school, classes, study techniques, French culture, and daily living in the city. After that, you will take an oral test to kick off the course.

Ongoing

After breakfast with your host family, you’ll be heading off to class each day. On Mondays, lessons start at 10.00 am and finish at 1.15 pm. This changes slightly on the other days of the week, where lessons go from 9.00 am to 12.15 pm. Enjoy lunch with your new schoolmates near the school. Cooking classes will be held in the afternoons, and you’ll be notified by the school staff regarding the exact dates. The rest of the day is yours to explore the city, interact with your classmates, and indulge as much as possible in the beautiful French culture. During peak periods, standard courses can take place from 4:15 pm to 7:30 pm. Rest assured that we'll constantly be keeping in touch with you along your stay. If you need support or advice at any point during your trip, our team will be on hand to answer all your questions. Don't forget you can jump on our social media pages too or buzz our 24/7 emergency support line for urgent matters.

Why choose us

Our Study trips are designed to get you set up in your new life overseas – learning new skills from the locals – as smoothly as possible. Our goal is to save you time, money, and stress while eliminating the risk of returning home early. Here’s how we do it: 

We’re with you from the moment you get started. You’ll be assigned a dedicated Trip Coordinator. They’ll guide you through the next steps and answer all your questions. They’ll also help you with the pesky visa. No guesswork – only the right paperwork, approved the first time, in your hands before you leave. 

Your Personal Travel Concierge will help with flights, insurance, visas, and any add-ons you’d like for your trip. These are real humans too – no robots here. 

Once you land in France our local team will be waiting for you at the airport. You’ll be taken straight to your initial accommodation in Montpellier. 

But our support doesn’t end there. We’ll be in touch during your trip to make sure everything is going smoothly. If you have any questions or concerns we’re one quick message, DM, email, or carrier pigeon away. 

Our team is well travelled so you can rely on our experience. We’re with you every step of the way. 

Join 80,000+ travellers – giving us 10,000+ 4 & 5 star reviews – by choosing Global to make your travel dreams come true. 

Most travellers book their trip 6-12 months in advance. Dates are flexible, but spaces are limited. So if you’re serious about studying in France, don’t delay. 

With our Book Now, Decide Later feature, you can get started with a small deposit today, and take a full year to choose your dates. 

We’ll take over from there, helping you with visas, flights, accommodation, and setting you up with our partner in France. 

This is the trip for you if you’re after the ultimate experience in France, complete with everything you need and 24/7 support.

Click the red button to check dates & prices.

Why Study

The main purpose of this trip is to get you speaking French and cooking French cuisine like a local while you live like a local. Which makes this trip perfect for those who want to connect more with the country, instead of simply stopping in for a visit. 

Our in-country partner’s teaching style is about learning French for real situations, not a load of useless phrases and big words. It’s conversational French – the same way normal people speak in France. 

It’s all about being able to communicate with French people in French, so you can let the French culture become part of you as you get to know it more intimately. 

Which is why this trip is so life-changing. You can learn a lot about a culture through its food. So combining French language lessons with French cooking lessons will have you feeling like a local in no time! 

One of the many reasons you have cultural immersion and local experiences built-in to your course – so you can practise your French on real-life French people in real-life situations. 

Living amongst the community while you’re learning the language and the cuisine will fast track your path to success. It will also help you integrate into the community so you’ll get to know France much better than most tourists.

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Frequently asked questions

Why go with Global Work & Travel?

As the world’s leading gap-year and "work & travel" company, we provide a premium service for Global Travellers. Choose from a variety of awesome experiences worldwide. We assist with visas, pre-departure, flights, insurance, and tours. Our cool tech features support you throughout the journey. As a Global Traveller, access gWorld, our personalized app. Keep important documents and trip details handy. Enjoy exclusive Marketplace deals, a social network, language learning, side trips, meet-ups, and more. It's like all your favorite apps merged into one, but better! Our support doesn't stop there. With a 24/7 emergency team, 90+ staff, and ongoing assistance, we ensure you feel like a local. Join the 80,000+ Global Travellers who have turned their travel dreams into reality with us. We proudly boast the most & best reviews in the biz!

Are flights & insurance included?

While we would love to include flights and insurance in our trip packages, it is not feasible to have a fixed price due to the diverse destinations, trip durations, and individual coverage needs of our travellers from around the globe. However, once you register for the trip, we will assign you a dedicated Travel Concierge. They will work closely with you to arrange the ideal flights and insurance tailored to your specific adventure. Rest assured, our team is here to ensure you have a smooth and hassle-free travel experience from start to finish!

How do I choose the right study trip?

With so many incredible options, we understand that selecting the perfect study trip can be tricky. That's why we recommend booking your favourite one, and your dedicated Trip Coordinator will guide you through the project details. They will consider your interests, goals, and desired outcome for the trip. If we find another trip that better suits your preferences, we can easily swap you over to ensure you have the ideal study experience. Rest assured, we're here to help you find the right fit!

How does accommodation work?

You will be provided clean, comfortable, and safe accommodation for the entire duration of your study experience! Depending on the specific trip, the accommodation will either be on-site or conveniently located near the course location for your ease and convenience. You can focus on your studies and enjoy a worry-free and fun stay during your exciting journey with us.

Do I need any prior experience for a study trip?

Most of our study trips are designed to cater to participants of all abilities and levels of experience. You can confidently join our program without any previous background or expertise. Our courses are structured to provide a valuable and enriching learning experience for everyone, ensuring you can make the most out of your study trip adventure, and go home with a new or developed skill!

What is the typical group size I'll be studying with?

The group sizes for our study trips typically range from 4 to 12 people, with variations depending on the specific trip. Most of our participants are travelling solo and share a common enthusiasm for learning and making new connections. And as our travellers come from various countries worldwide, joining a study trip offers an exceptional opportunity to build a diverse network of friends from all corners of the globe!

Do I get a certificate upon completing the study course?

Absolutely! Upon successfully completing the study course, you will be awarded a certificate to acknowledge your hard work and dedication. This valuable certificate serves as a notable achievement and an impressive addition to your resume. Future employers will recognise your commitment to personal and professional growth, reinforcing your qualifications and enhancing your career prospects. Or, frame it on your wall to show off to family and friends of the epic skill you picked up abroad!

Why should I book now?

Covid-19 threw us a curve ball and pretty much halted all travel. This means that we have a backlog of travellers, just like you, who are desperate to get out and explore the world! Global Work & Travel works on a first-in-best-dressed basis. Booking earlier ensures that you don’t miss out on the best intake, season, placements and more! We recommend our travellers take 6-12 months to plan their trip for a reason - to make sure you’ve got everything organised perfectly, stress-free. As a Global Traveller you’ll get exclusive access to gWorld, our personalised app where you can keep all of your important documents and trip details in one spot and gain insider access to everything Global. This is where you will find exclusive Marketplace Deals, a unique social network to connect you with other like-minded Global Travellers, access to our Academy with an ever-growing range of skills & languages, and so much more. Think all of your favourite apps merged into one, but like, better? Why not give yourself something to look forward to by booking that trip!

Can I travel with a friend?

Yes you can! Simply tell your Trip Coordinator after booking that your friend is also going and they can link your profiles. For most of our trips we should be able to have you and your friends placed together or nearby. Meaning that you can live, work, play & travel together! But wait there's more! Not only can you travel the world with your besties at your side, you can also earn some extra cash towards your own trip just by referring your friends to Global Work & Travel. You can learn more about the great referral rewards program inside your gWorld account once you join. And for those who decide to go-it-solo, we’ve made it easier to meet other Global Travellers in the same region as you. Just like any other social platform, you’ll be able to interact, share, chat and meet with some really cool people who are doing trips just like you!

Can I bring my pet along?

At Global Work & Travel, we share a deep love for animals and fully understand the special bond you have with your pet. We recognise the challenges of embarking on a trip without them. Due to travel restrictions, requirements, and limited pet-friendly accommodations among our host organisations, we regretfully cannot facilitate their inclusion in the journey. However, many of our customers choose to entrust their pets to a family member or friend, embark on their adventure, and return home to wagging tails and furry cuddles.

What happens if I want to cancel my trip?

We know that life can get in the way of travel, so all our trips come with a great deal of flexibility. In most cases, if you cannot travel on your selected date, you can place your trip on hold to deal with whatever is holding you back, and continue in the future without incurring any penalty. You may also have the option of transferring to an entirely different trip and destination as well, or even transferring your trip to a friend or family member. In the event that you need to outright cancel your trip, if you give us 84* days notice you can do so with only a 50% cancellation fee. Your refund of the balance will come in the form of a Store Credit which you can put toward any other trip that we offer, including tours through third-party providers, as well as holidays through DealsAway.com, and is valid for 2 years from date of issue. As international travel can be complex, your options are based on the progress of your trip organisation and our support team can assist you in finding the best solution for your needs.

How it works

1. Choose a trip style

Find your dream experience & destination, then secure your spot with a flexible & low deposit. Activate your gWorld to unlock some cool perks. Well done! The hardest part’s over!

2. We become friends

Book a time to meet your dedicated Trip Coordinator who knows all the ins & outs of your trip. They’ll be by your side and working behind-the-scenes to pull everything together.

3. Time to go!

We’ll get your tickets, accommodation & transfers ready. Our in-country team or partner will have everything prepared & waiting for your arrival. Get on the plane with no worries!

4. 24/7 support

Never stress, knowing we’re there with you when you need us with ongoing & unlimited local team support and check-ins. And just in case, we’ve got an emergency team on stand-by, 24/7.

Still have questions?

Why go Global

Flexible trips

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Worldwide support

Know that someone is always ready to assist throughout the journey & they’re only a call, tweet, comment, text or double tap away, 24/7.

We're the experts

With over 10 years in the industry and a team of over 90 passionate pros, you can bet we know our stuff better than anyone else.

Partner network

We have over 1,200 partners around the globe, so we have access to plenty of exclusive opportunities to make your trip the best it can be.

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