Learn French with David, a 34-year-old musician from South Sudan. David enjoys music played during religious services, but would like to know whether concerts are held in churches.        Saint Eustache Church and famous French people   Baptêmes et première communion : Richelieu et Molière sont baptisés à Saint-Eustache. En 1649, le jeune Louis XIV fait sa première communion. Le 30 décembre 1721 est baptisée une enfant nommée Jeanne Poisson, qui sera connue sous le nom de Mme de...

Learn French with David, an English teacher from South Sudan. David is also a musician but is keen on architecture in Paris, and particularly on church architecture. We are taking him on a tour of Saint Eustache, a church in the centre of Paris.         Saint Eustache Church   Histoire de sa construction   1213 : une petite chapelle est construite sur le chemin qui va de l'île de la Cité à Montmartre. 1532 : La population du quartier des Halles augmente. Sous François 1er, la première pierre...

Learn French with Francisca, a Romanian high school student who has lived in France for one year. She doesn't know how to talk about her health problems to a French doctor who might not understand her. Professor Bouchaud, head of the infectious diseases department at Avicenne hospital in northern Paris, has this advice for her.           Avicenne hospital A sa création en 1935, l'Hôpital franco-musulman de Bobigny était entièrement dédié aux 50.000 travailleurs nord-africains...

Learn French with Francisca, a 15-year-old Romanian high school student. She wants to know what to do if a foreigner in Paris falls ill. We go to the Avicenne hospital, north of Paris.     Paris hospitals L’Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), est le Centre hospitalo-universitaire (CHU) publique d’Île-de-France. Il a trois missions : le soin, l’enseignement et la recherche.   Les chiffres -          37 hôpitaux -          + de 7 millions de patients -          5 millions de...

Learn French with Luis, a young student from Chile. He adores Paris, but finds it hard to feel part of the Paris scene. We are in the Odeon district of Paris with Claude Tharreau, who lives in the 6th arrondissement and is taking us round his home patch.       Some historical places in the Odeon district Le quartier de l’Odéon se situe entre le quartier mythique de Saint-Germain-des-Prés et le quartier latin. L’ambiance est traditionnellement étudiante avec librairies, cinémas et bars. On...

Learn French with Luis, a student from Chile who is to spend two years in Paris. Luis thinks that Parisians are not particularly friendly. He would like to get to know them better. We are in the 6th arrondissement where we will meet someone who lives there.       Parisians: a few figures 11.9 millions d’habitants dans la région Ile-de-France 2.27 millions d’habitants à Paris 251 habitants par hectare   Plus de la moitié des Parisiens vivent seuls, plutôt dans les quartiers du centre. La...

Learn French with Parimal, a Nepalese student who is keen to learn about French cheeses. He would like to find out more about how to eat cheese – how to cut it, in what order to sample different types of cheese… We are at Bertrand’s cheese shop in Rue Mouffetard for a master class. How to cut cheese La règle : découper le fromage de façon à ce qu’on puisse goûter la croûte et le centre dans chaque part. Attention : On peut manger la croûte de tous les fromages sauf celle des fromages à pâte...

Learn French with Parimal, a communications student at Sciences Po from Nepal. He would like to know more about the different types of French cheeses. We are now going to a cheese shop in rue Mouffetard in the capital’s fifth arrondissement.     Le général de Gaulle aurait dit : « Comment voulez-vous gouverner un pays où il existe 365 variétés de fromages ? ». La France produit, en effet, au début du XXIème siècle plus de 350 types de fromages. How cheese is made Le fromage est fabriqué à...

Learn French with Roja, a 16-year-old high school student from Iran who has lived in Paris for 18 months now. She would like to know more about taxi drivers and their work. We are in Marc Rouquet’s cab on our way to Place Charles-de-Gaulle.        Giving instructions to the taxi driver   Les règles : L’itinéraire choisi par le chauffeur doit être le plus direct, mais si le client a un trajet préféré, il peut l’indiquer au chauffeur. Dans Paris, en général, on ne roule pas très vite (30...

Learn French with Roja, a 16-year-old high school student from Iran. Roja lives in the suburbs and when she spends an evening in Paris she finds getting back home difficult. She wonders why Parisian taxis are so expensive and why no taxi seems to be available in the evenings. We are taking her on a taxi ride round Paris with driver Marc Rouquet.       Parisian taxis: some facts and figures   17 357 : nombre de taxis à Paris 116 : nombre des stations principales de taxis à Paris 4,70 km :...

Learn French with Kevin, a 17-year-old high-school student from Colombia. He is interested in the capital’s underground quarries. He would like to know why some areas are open to the public while others are not. Let’s meet Gaspard Duval, a “cataphile” who knows all underground passages in Paris like the back of his hand.         The Quarries of Paris La Pierre de Paris 45 millions d’années avant notre ère, Paris était une mer tropicale. Les dizaines de mètres de sédiments du fond marin...

Learn French with Kevin, a 17-year-old Colombian who has lived in Paris for six months. He would like to know how long the Catacombs have existed and how bones were taken there. We will go underground and take a tour of this unusual site with curator Rose-Marie Mousseaux.       Practical information Profondeur des Catacombes : 20 mètres (équivalent à un immeuble de 5 étages) Nombre de marches : 213 (130 à descendre et 83 à remonter) Longueur du parcours de visite : 2 km Température...

Learn French with Sarah, a young American mum. Sarah is forever looking for places to visit with Oscar, her two-year-old son. We are now with Caroline Panot, who works at Kids City. She is taking us round the various areas of the museum devised for toddlers.        Hands-on learning   Les 2-7 ans : L’éveil L’approche : L’enfant aime agir et découvrir : « ça existe », « ça marche », le captive plus que les explications « comment ça marche ». Ce qu’on fait : manipuler, construire, tester ses...