There is a moment in every stay in Douarnenez that I love most. It usually comes in the second week. Someone stands at the fish stall at the Rosmeur, asks the price of la lotte, does not understand the answer, asks again, understands it the second time, and buys the fish. In French. Without me.
That is what we do this for.
Why Douarnenez
Because nobody here switches to English. Douarnenez is an old sardine port at the end of the world, with busy quays, lanes full of small shops and fishermen's houses. Because the sea is there, the weather provides conversation and the food takes long. And because Finistère is reachable by train: Quimper has a TGV station, four and a half hours from Paris.
What a week looks like
In the mornings we sit together, three hours, Monday to Friday, alone or as a pair. That is the part that feels most like lessons, and it matters: here we sort out what stuck the day before and prepare what is coming up in the afternoon. Whoever knows how to ask where a cheese comes from asks at the market too.
In the afternoons the town is yours. If you like we go out together, hire bikes and ride to Pont-Croix, or walk a stretch of the GR 34. After the first week there is a break to explore, with a pack of podcasts and exercises so the French does not take a break.
Who the stay is for
For anyone who wants to turn a holiday in France into a language trip. Alone, with a friend, with a partner or as mother and daughter. You do not have to be at the same level, I put the morning course together for you. If you travel alone, I recommend staying with local hosts: then the lesson continues over dinner.
What you take home
No certificate. But something better: proof that it works. Most people tell me afterwards that their French has not changed, but their relationship to it has. They dare. That is the point from which it carries on by itself.
The next dates are on the Brittany page. If you are not sure whether the stay suits you: let us talk briefly.