Literature School Trip to France

After breakfast this morning, we’re taking students to get a feel for the beating literary heart of Paris on a walking tour that follows in the footstephs of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein. We’ll also pay a special visit to the last place Oscar Wilde ever visited before his death.

This afternoon, it’s time for a truly incredible experience for any future literature graduates – a visit to the Sorbonne University. Here, we’ll take a tour of the grounds, before sitting in on an extra-special lecture delivered by a resident literature professor.

This evening, students can relax with a trip to a comedy show, where they’ll see stand-up performed by French comedians (delivered in English).

Any literature savant knows that literature is shaped and informed by the socio-political context in which it exists, so today we’ll take students to learn more about the current political climate of modern France. We’ll take you to speak with a member of the Gilet Jaune (‘Yellow Vest Movement’) or an En Marche member, to hear their take on contemporary French life and politics.

This afternoon, we’ll take students to the city’s most renowned haven for book-lovers – the Shakespeare & Co. bookshop, located in a former medieval monastery. You’ll also get the opportunity to speak with a contemporary author this afternoon, allowing students the chance to develop critical thinking and discussion skills around literature.

Dinner tonight is in style, as we head to the Montparnasse area. After this, you’ll head up Montparnasse Tower to watch the sunset over one of the most famous skylines in the world.

It’s time for the second stop on your literature school trip to France, as we venture out into the countryside in search of the verdant Loire Valley. An area filled with historical significance, we’ll start by visiting a local cave system to see some ancient cave dwellings. Here, students will also learn about the inhabitants’ lifestyle – and how they came to be.

This afternoon, we’ll skip forwards a few hundred years as we explore the Valley’s famous castles. Often the source of inspiration for many a French writer, students will get the chance to explore these stunning architectural examples and learn more about the Renaissance Period in France along the way.

In the evening, you’ll enjoy a local dinner in the Valley before turning in for the night.

This morning, it’s time for us to head back to Paris for a final day of literary exploration.

Once we’re back in the city, we’ll take to the streets on the Philosopher’s Tour, where students venture from the bohemian left bank neighbourhoods of Saint-Germain-des-Prés to the Latin Quarter, learning more about the country’s most thought-provoking poets and philosophers who called Paris home.

Finally, this evening it’s time for one final delicious French dinner with your group, before we head over the Montmartre area of the city. Students can watch the sun set from the Sacré Coeur Basilica and reflect on what they’ve learned about their subject – and themselves – during their time in France.

Sadly, today marks the end of your literature school trip to France! You’ll depart your accommodation and transfer back to Gard du Nord/Charles de Gaulle, ready to head home.