Gap Year Programs in France

If we could have the time to tell you about ALL the amazing locations for gap year programs in France, we’d be here for hours. So let’s just keep it simple—here are some of the most popular locations that past gappers have fallen in love with.

Paris. A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life. -Thomas Jefferson

Adventurers of all shapes and sizes have loved Paris for centuries. When you’re not in class studying or working for gap year jobs in France, you’re most definitely spending your time climbing the Arc de Triomphe, falling head over heels with the Louvre museum, visiting one of the very first Gothic cathedrals, The Notre Dame, and its gargoyles, taking a scenic boat tour down the Seine, getting spooked at the Catacombs, or just relaxing with the most velvety hot chocolate and coffee at Angelina. There’s a lot to do, so it’s a good thing you will be spending a year in France!

Lyon. One of the largest renaissance quarters of Europe, Lyon offers endless opportunities for your gap year in France. You can find jobs as an English teacher, internships to help you gain professional skills, gap year volunteer projects, and courses très immersif to improve your gap year French! Much like the rest of France, there’s tons of history, culture, and food to discover here. Your gap year is all about learning stuff, right?—well, that includes learning you like to eat frog legs and snails! You’ll be a fin gourmet (foodie) in this gastronomic capital before you know it.

France offers a range of opportunities for gappers to spend a whole year abroad. It’s just a matter of deciding if you want to be an au pair and live with a local family (get a real authentic feel of the French people), or give a helping hand to the older French population on a volunteer gap year. Or maybe go for one of these popular locations:

Work abroad. Gap year jobs in France span the spectrum—you can au pair, work as an English teacher, or work in hospitality. This can be the right choice for you if you’re ballin’ on a budget, or don’t want to empty your bank account while romping about on your gap year. What’s more, you can practice French, make new amis with your coworkers, and perhaps test a career path. Yup, gap year in France jobs do it all!

Language Immersion. You need to speak English or French—Frenglish is not a language. If you’re anywhere between a beginner and Frenglish level, then finding gap year language courses in France is the perfect opportunity to improve your French. We can assure you that if you’re going to spend your time practicing your conversational skills in cafés, shops, and museums all day, you will become fluent in the language of love before you know it. Three cheers for gap year French!

Internships. If you can speak a little French, want to challenge yourself, boost up your professional skills and gain professional experience, then an internship might be the right answer for you—not to mention how impressive it’s going to look on your resume! Internships are a great way to improve your French skills, most importantly at a business level, so that if you fall in love with France and ever plan to move there, you will have pas de problème finding a job.

Costs. Depending on how you plan on doing your gap year in France, be it on your own or with a formal program, the costs are going to differ. With gap year programs in France, you need to budget for the program fee (check what else is included in the price!) and personal expenses while you’re there. Whether you go alone or on a program, budget for transportation costs (flights ain’t cheap) and incidentals (like a second helping of ratatouille). Stick to the local markets to strike more bargains. For only $20, you can take a break from the baguette and enjoy a three course meal of the best cuisine in the world. 

The key to an affordable gap year in France? Budget early, and save a ton. Consider collecting donations from friends and family with FundMyTravel to help offset your costs.

Accommodation. If you’ve made the decision of going on formal gap year programs in France, and save yourself the headache of thinking about accommodation, lucky you! It’s very likely that accommodation is included in your program fee. For others, consider living outside of the capital to lower costs. You can rent apartments/flats, book long-term stays in guest homes or hostels, or find work exchanges.

Visas. If you are not a EU citizen, then you most likely will need a visa for a gap year in France. Formal gap year programs in France will help you with all the processes and documentation, but you can always check out our Embassy directory beforehand to ensure you’re on the right path. In general, you should only need a tourist visa, but if you plan to find gap year jobs in France, you’ll likely want/need to coordinate a work visa. 

Safety. France is a relatively safe country, despise the incidents from the past few years. Now, more than ever, you should extra vigilant and aware of your surroundings, but this is a general rule no matter where you travel to. Use good judgement and trust your instincts. Don’t walk on that dark road in the middle of the night by yourself or leave belongings unattended, as petty theft is as common in France as anywhere else in the world. And most importantly, have fun, but don’t get too carried away in a foreign country, lest you become an imbécile.

It’s expected to experience culture shock when you get to France, but we are here to give you some real life French insight so you won’t be so taken toooo far aback.

The first and hardest thing to get used to, especially if you’re a person who loves their own personal space, is the way the French people greet. It is natural and appropriate to kiss someone that you just met on the cheek. Twice. It will be awkward at first, and you will always be stressed out about putting on perfume and having fresh breath. But, fear not—it normalizes quickly and honestly, you should probably carry mints and deodorant anyway. ;-)

The French love their bread. We repeat: The French love their bread. The breadbasket is an essential item on the dinner table and will be refilled with fresh bread at every meal. Cheese is also very sacred here, and can even be served as a dessert option. No, France isn’t heaven on earth. But it’s pretty darn close.

If you’re coming from the States, or a country where some stores are open 24/7 or until midnight, you will be surprised to see that business hours in France are very different, with a two-hour lunch break in between. Here’s to planning ahead!

If there’s a country out there that can turn any bright-eyed young person into a travel addict and lifelong global citizen, that is without a doubt France. After a gap year in this remarkable country, your return home will be bittersweet, but you will be a different, better and more experienced person. Make a change in your life and future and take a gap year in France today!

Keep reading! Take a year off after high school! But seriously.