Choose your French city, live your French dream! Study abroad, perfect your French accent, and experience daily life like a local. With Nacel, you’ll live with a welcoming French host family and attend a local high school - now in the city of your choice!
Explore French life, your way. Choose your city, your experience, your future in France with Nacel!
Next available start dates: August 2027 and January 2028. Applications are now open.
Last minute for the Spring Semester 2027 starting in January 2027? Contact us now.
Choose your city area in France with Nacel!
Live your French dream with Nacel! Choose your preferred city in France, live with a welcoming French host family, and attend a local high school. This unique exchange experience lets you study, live, and grow like a true French student, all while becoming fluent in French and deeply connected to French culture.
This cultural exchange program is specially designed for international exchange students who study French at school and want to take their language skills to the next level. Now, with Nacel’s city choice option, you can decide where you’d like to experience French life: select three city areas in order of preference, and you will be placed within 30km of the city of your choice!
You’ll live with a volunteer host family and attend a local lycée (high school), just like French teens do. It’s the most authentic and effective way to become bilingual and bicultural.
Destination Highlights - Select City Placements
Angers Area
Angers is a lively university city in the Loire Valley, known for its historic castle and relaxed pace of life. Students here enjoy a manageable mid-sized city with easy access to the surrounding countryside.
Toulouse City
Nicknamed "La Ville Rose" for its pink-brick architecture, Toulouse is one of France's largest and most dynamic student cities. Students benefit from a rich cultural scene, a strong tram network, and a true taste of urban French life.
Toulouse Area
Just outside the city center, the Toulouse area offers a quieter, more residential setting while staying close to all the energy of the region's capital. It's a great fit for students who want easy city access without full city-center pace.
Auch Area
Auch is a charming Gascon town known for its cathedral and warm, small-town atmosphere. Students here experience an authentic slice of rural southwestern France.
Tarbes Area
Located near the Pyrenees, Tarbes offers stunning mountain views and easy access to outdoor activities. It's an ideal destination for students who enjoy nature and a slower, more traditional lifestyle.
Pau Area
Pau combines a pleasant, walkable city center with dramatic views of the Pyrenees mountains. Students enjoy a good balance between city amenities and proximity to nature.
La Roche sur Yon Area
This peaceful town in the Vendée region offers a genuine immersion into everyday French provincial life. It's well-suited for students seeking a calm, family-oriented environment.
Geneva Area (French part)
Located on the French side of the Geneva region, this area combines small-town charm with proximity to a major international hub. Students benefit from a unique blend of French culture and cross-border European life.
Paris Area - only open to English native speakers
For students dreaming of the French capital, this placement offers access to world-famous museums, landmarks, and city life. It's the perfect choice for those wanting maximum cultural exposure alongside their studies.
Cholet Area
Cholet is a welcoming town in the Pays de la Loire region, known for its textile heritage and community spirit. Students enjoy a comfortable, mid-sized town setting ideal for full immersion into local family life.
Your life as an exchange student in France
International students take part in regular school life, following classes alongside local students.
Most participants stay for a semester or a full academic year, and many may receive a transcript with their subjects and grades.
Students who stay for two academic years (Grades 11 and 12) can even graduate from a French lycée.
Academic credits & Grade recognition
As with all our French exchange programs, grade recognition depends on your home school and your French level.
See our full guidance on transcripts, grading, and academic credit before you apply.
Your host family and your school options
Volunteer host families across France welcome exchange students to share language and culture.
Students typically attend semi-private day schools, but private boarding school options (5-day or full-time) are also available.
Students starting in late August will first enjoy a 3-day cultural and language orientation camp in Paris, meeting other exchange students from around the world.
Throughout your stay, you’ll have the support of a local coordinator and access to a 24/7 emergency hotline.
Who is this program for?
This program is perfect for students who:
- Want to choose their city or region in France
- Value family life and local immersion
- Are curious, adaptable, and open to cultural differences
- Want an affordable yet deeply immersive French experience
If you’d rather study in English, consider Notre-Dame International High School near Paris, where you can study American subjects while living with a French host family.
Looking for a shorter immersion? Try our 2–10 week French school immersion program, a perfect taste of student life in France!
Wherever your chosen city area is, school life follows the same rhythm as any French teenager's: classes Monday to Friday, often until 5 or 6 p.m., with many schools free on Wednesday afternoons. What changes from one placement to another are the extracurriculars on offer : a rugby club in the Toulouse area, sailing near La Roche-sur-Yon, or museums and city clubs if you choose Paris.
Your French host family experience
Whichever city area you choose, you'll live with a carefully screened volunteer host family: genuinely curious about welcoming an international student into their home.
Learn more about how we select and match host families.
Select City Placements for your school year in France 2027
Our Select program in France provides international students with the opportunity to start a full school year, a term (3 months), or a semester (5 months) in September (or in January).
Prices are valid for September 2027 and January 2028 intakes. Please inquire about January 2027 prices.
* Price in Euros per participant.
Not included: Application Fees (65 EUR)
On offer:
- Term Abroad France
- Semester Abroad France
- School Year Abroad France
- High School Summer Abroad France
School Year Abroad in France 2026/2027
School Trimester :
- August 25th 2026 to December 19th 2026 (with orientation/ soft landing camp)
- February 27th 2027 to June 12th 2027 (no orientation)
School semester :
- August 25th 2026 to January 16th 2027 (with orientation/ soft landingcamp)
- January 17th 2027 to June 12th 2027 (no orientation)
School academic year:
- August 25th 2026 to June 12th 2027 (with orientation/ soft landing camp)
- January 17th 2027 to December 18th 2027 (no orientation and no accommodation during the summer break)
Optional School start French prep course:August 16th to 28th 2026
Orientation/Soft Landing camp :August 25th to 28th 2026
💰 What's Included in the Price?
- Administration fees
- School registration and tuition fees
- Host family accommodation with all meals (including school lunches)
- Pre-departure advice and support
- Support from in-country staff upon arrival in France.
- Access to a 24/7 emergency assistance line
- Visa assistance: guidance and paperwork support for your visa application before arrival
🚫 What's Not Included?
- Round-trip international airfare
- Travel insurance (luggage loss, flight delay etc.)
- Visa, passport and medical exam fees
- Extra activities such as sports, excursions, etc., organized by the school or others, extra language courses
- Personal expenses and spending money
- Domestic transfer on departure day
Mandatory fees to be added
- Meet&Greet at the arrival airport/train station in Paris + Orientation Camp: 500 EUR (300 EUR for January arrivals)
- Supervised transfer by our partner HOPWAYS to the pre-paid domestic train/flight connection (unsupervised domestic transfer), after Orientation Camp: 300 EUR
- Medical and Emergency Repatriation Insurance*: 450 EUR
- School books (sometimes tablet computer): 120 EUR (Geneva area: 550 EUR; Auch area: 250 EUR; 215 EUR for Cholet; 0 EUR for Angers, La Roche sur Yon, Toulouse, Pau areas)
- School transportation: Term 150 EUR, Semester 200 EUR - Year 250 EUR (Paris area Term 320 EUR - Semester 460 EUR - Year 460 EUR, Toulouse area Term 310 EUR - Semester 385 EUR - Year 770 EUR)
A minimum of two years of French language study (A2 level) is required to attend a Select school year exchange program in France.
Participants must show that they are mature enough to participate in the student exchange in France that requires:
- Interest in learning about the French language and culture: this is a cultural exchange in France.
- Deep desire to integrate into a different family and actively share their everyday life
- Enthusiasm for improving French language communication skills
- Willingness to make new friends among their local French community
- An open and flexible attitude towards a school year in France
If you speak no or very little French, we advise you to consider a French international school in Paris area: Notre-Dame International High School.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Both programs offer the same core experience - living with a host family and attending a local French high school - but Select City Placements lets you choose up to 3 preferred city areas, with a placement guaranteed within 30km of your chosen location, while the Classic program places students anywhere in France.
Yes. You select up to 3 city areas in order of preference when you apply, and Nacel guarantees your host family placement will be within 30km of your top choice, subject to availability.
No. This program requires a minimum of two years of French study (A2 level). If your French level is lower, consider our English-Speaking High School Exchange, which teaches coursework in English while you build your French.
Since you rank up to 3 city areas by preference, Nacel will do its best to place you in your top choice; if it's unavailable, you'll be placed in your next preferred area, still within the guaranteed 30km radius.
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