France offers the perfect backdrop for an educational and fun summer camp experience. Whether the goal is total language immersion or the chance to develop their creativity, art skills, or ecological understanding, French summer camps are quite the learning opportunity.
In addition to activities and skills taught, all of these programs can let your children meet and befriend peers from around the world. Throughout the country — from the beaches to the mountains and the cities, you’ll find worthwhile camps for kids.
Rustic Pathways
The Rustic Pathways “France: City of Light To Coast Delight” program is a 15-day travel experience for kids aged 14 to 18. The camp begins and ends in Paris but provides an opportunity for students to explore the different corners of France.
Over the course of the two weeks, students will tour Paris, explore the historic streets of Bordeaux, discover the beautiful beaches of France’s coast near Arcachon, and skirt the border of Spain in Basque country.
Accommodation is in a combination of hotels, always with private bathrooms and bedrooms shared only by campers on the program. Some days also offer the chance for glamping in Paris.
Students will have experiences such as a French cooking class, visits to the most famous French landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, and a chance to engage in eco-conscious projects throughout the country.
American School of Paris
The summer camp run by the American School of Paris is located on the outskirts of the city, about halfway between Paris and Versailles. The campus expands over 12 acres with an amazing list of facilities. Students will have access to libraries, sports facilities, a performing arts center, and music rooms.
This camp runs for about one month and is divided into one-week sessions. The sessions are open to both French and international students. All students will have the opportunity for language immersion in French and English.
The camp is open to students from 3 to 18 years old. Parents just need to pay a little extra if they want lunch and transportation covered.
Vivre Sans Frontieres
The VSF camps are open to students ages 6 to 17. They are divided into three groupings with camps for 6-12, junior camps for 8-13, and teen camps for 12-17 year-olds. All of them combine international and French children for a chance at cultural and language immersion. VSF maintains a ratio of 20 French students for every three foreign students, so you can rest assured your kids will meet plenty of French peers. But this does mean sessions fill up very quickly for international students!
Camp sessions are offered for 10 or 20 days. All standard accommodations are included as well as transport from Paris to all camp locations in the south of France. VSF is also able to accommodate students arriving in Paris unaccompanied.
Throughout their stay, campers will have a whole host of activities available. They can go rock climbing, snorkeling, sailing, and even build a treehouse. There is also the opportunity to go river rafting, horseback riding, and much more.
École des Roches
École des Roches is located about 90 minutes to the west of Paris on a nearly 150-acre campus. They are open to students 7-17 and offer an unbeatable opportunity to be immersed in the French language.
Sessions run from 2 to 6 weeks in length. Every two-week session can be booked as either a French Classic or French + Activity. The French Classic choice includes 32 hours of French lessons.
If students enroll in French + Activity they will have the choice of tennis, dance, arts, cooking, or horseback riding. Campers get to enjoy the activity they choose for 12 hours over the course of the two weeks.
All language classes are divided by level and have on average 12 students in each. Each session also includes four excursions to places like Disneyland.
International Language Camps
International Language Camps offers an amazing location at the foot of Mont Blanc in southeastern France. The program for children ages 6-17 has them divided into groups along with others around the same age.
Campers can come for one week or stay for up to five with residential and nonresidential options available.
Each session includes 15 hours of language learning in a class of up to 8 students. All classes are taught by native-speaking teachers. There are language lessons in both English and French, so there is a mix of French and international children.
Outside of language lessons, students can participate in a number of different activities. There is swimming, art workshops, canyoning, scrapbooking, electric mountain biking, and drawing. No trip to France would be complete without visiting the French Alps, and students can visit them on a weekend.
Ecole Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The Ecole Jean-Jacques Rousseau hosts summer camp in July for three weeks. They’re located in Cevennes in Southern France on a property of about 67 acres, around 60 miles from Montpellier.
The camps are open to kids 8 years and older and each summer up to 120 students attend. Your kids will sleep in bedrooms shared with 2 or up to 6 campers. They’ll get to enjoy a game room, swimming pool, sports fields, and more.
Only French is spoken at the camp, making it a great opportunity for full language immersion. In addition, campers will get to explore caves, canoeing, rock climbing, and much more.
Eva Soleil
The Eva Soleil summer camp receives students from around the world and lets them craft their own summer experiences. Upon arrival, campers talk about what they want to learn and what experiences they look forward to, and from there, the schedule is customized.
While activities can vary, some of them include horseback riding, sailing, surfing, and traditional sports. While French is the dominant language, Eva Soleil is not strictly focused on language learning yet it can still help improve it.
Campers who are not native will have ample opportunity to improve their French through interactions with other campers and camp counselors. The camp is located in Montalivet in southwest France near the coast.
Les Tapies
The Les Tapies summer art & architecture program is open to high school students. The intensive program occurs in the south of France and offers serious students a chance to develop their portfolio as they work on art and design projects throughout the summer.
Les Tapies runs it for three weeks and includes several full-day excursions including to Aix-en-Provence and the medieval village of Beauchastel. Throughout the sessions, students work on their drawing, photography, and painting skills and can learn more about art history and architecture.
Classes run from Monday to Friday with Saturdays designated for excursions and Sundays a free day for campers to explore the area independently. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served daily and accommodation is provided in a residential building with up to 35 students in total.
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