UK Tel: 01209 211 800
Intl Tel: +44 1209 211 800
CESA House
Pennance Road
Lanner
Cornwall
TR16 5TQ
Great Britain
t: 01209 211 800
Intl t: +44 1209 211 800
f: 01209 211 830
Founder member of the Year Out Group and the International Association of Language Travel Agents.
Learn French in Tours
Accommodation in Tours
Tours is a large city and students should allow for a commute of approx. 20 to 30 mins+ to college each morning.
> French hosts/private households
> Chateau Hotel
> Studios/Apartments
> Hotels
French hosts / Private households:
Can be booked on a single or shared room basis (shared room only available if staying as a couple) on a half-board basis (breakfast and evening meal) with local hosts. Hosts live in apartments, some are quite central but most are in the residential suburbs of Tours. Accommodation payment is made in Euros, once in France, not via CESA Languages Abroad.
Living with local French people is the ideal way to discover France and its people and to share its way of life. Even if your French is limited, chatting at the family dinner table remains one of the best ways of improving your comprehension and vocabulary. Also, you will discover the French mentality and of course French cuisine. The French school staff know that a host family plays a very important role in making your stay a success. Consequently, they very carefully select families to ensure that you have a warm welcome. They regularly visit the host families and it is their warm and caring nature which helps to contribute to the good reputation of the language school in Tours.
What do you call a family?
It could be a couple with teenagers, a couple with young children, a couple where the children are no longer living at home, or perhaps a lady in her late fifties or sixties, living on her own. If you choose to stay with local hosts, we would love you to tell us which type of host family you would prefer. The school will do everything possible to find a family that matches your requirements, so that your stay will be comfortable. The school host families typically live in a residential area only a short distance from the school, some also live in central Tours but placement in the centre is not always possible. Families generally accept one or two students, but always with different mother tongues. You will be provided with your own bedroom and a shared bathroom (en suite bathrooms can be arranged at additional cost, when available).
Staying with a family starts on the Sunday before your course begins and finishes on the Saturday after the course has finished. Before you come to Tours, you will be sent the address, telephone number and e-mail address of the family you are staying with by CESA. Your hosts will meet you when you arrive at Tours railway station if coming by train, or at Tours airport if you are coming from London or Dublin by plane.
They will then show you the way to school on Monday morning, so you can familiarise yourself with the route, or alternatively show you the route on Sunday evening (if they are working on Monday and can't take you to the school in person).
Chateau Hotel:
To make your stay more memorable, we can reserve you a room in a small private chateau. You will be treated as a house guest, in the intimacy and elegance of an exquisite residence. An 18-metre outdoor swimming pool is heated for use in good weather. Undoutedly it is very pleasant to go swimming after a hard day in the classroom! For this type of accommodation, which is situated on the outskirts of Tours, it is essential to have a car and to reserve a long time ahead (no good bus routes either, sorry!).
Studio apartments:
Self contained modern studios are available for short or long term lets, fully furnished throughout the year. Prices alter depending on dates required, so please contact the CESA office with your dates, for further information.
This accommodation option is ideal if you prefer to be independent. We can book a studio apartment or an apartment in a residential block for you and they are situated in the center of Tours. They are comfortable and fully-equipped with kitchen equipment and television . All of them have Internet access. Each residence has a washing machine and dryer available to you.
For a stay of 2 weeks or more, we recommend this type of accommodation rather than a hotel because you can prepare your own meals.
Hotels in Tours:
There are a wide range of 2*, 3* and 4* Hotels available in Tours, please specify style of room required. Hotels are a great solution for adults on short courses, who prefer not to stay with hosts in private households (but of course they aren't so good a solution for getting you to practise your French out of class, whilst living in Tours!).
Travel
Arrive: Sunday PM
Depart: Saturday PM
Travel direct to Tours from London's Stansted airport (RyanAir) or by Eurostar via Lille, and on to Tours/St Pierre de Corps or fly to Paris and then take the TGV to Tours/St Pierre de Corps. Your hosts will then collect you (if you have booked private household accommodation) or alternatively take a taxi to reach your accommodation.
Easily accessible by T.G.V. (high speed train), Tours is:
1 hour from Paris
1 hour 40 minutes from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport
3hours 30 minutes from Brussels
RyanAir flies to Tours in about 1 hour 30 minutes from London Stansted Airport.