This program offers a full immersion in the French language and culture to students who wish to gain a real boost and confidence in speaking and understanding French while enjoying themselves in a beautiful setting during 7 nights/8 days. Classes will take place in Bagnères-de-Bigorre in the Hautes-Pyrénées, with a friendly French native teacher.
All French levels are welcome!
French Language Immersion
in the Heart of the French Pyrenees
Your French teacher
My name is Prisca and I am a passionate French native teacher. I have been lucky as I have been able to teach all over the world to many different kinds of people for the past ten years.
I like to teach in a kind and playful atmosphere as I am convinced that the process of learning is more efficient through games, role playing, or everyday life situations! As an addition I believe that a confident, trustworthy relationship between teachers and students is very important to make the learning efficient. Moreover, I also create teaching materials to teach French, I specialize in French spelling and vocabulary.
A bit more about me now 😊: I am a travel lover, just as much as my children and husband. Through a four years sailing trip I have been able to live in many different countries such as Australia, Martinica, Spain (…) with my family and that opportunity to meet people from different cultures, backgrounds, is something I am passionate about! I love discovering the differences between my culture and the other ones and learning from the diversity. Therefore, I also speak English and Spanish.
Let’s add that I am a sporty person; going out for a hiking session or a run in my beautiful Pyrenees, or having a yoga session in front of the mountains is something re-energizing and truly inspiring!
I hope to see you soon here to share a good glass of wine and make you discover my everyday life in French Pyrenees!
À bientôt!
Improve your French in a beautiful Region of France
About Bagneres-de-Bigorre
Bagneres-de-Bigorre is located in the heart of the Hautes-Pyrenees, 550m above sea level at the foot of the Pic du Midi, as well as the legendary Cols d’Aspin, and Tourmalet (Tour de France). Grand Tourmalet offers over 100km of slopes, which is the largest ski area in the French Pyrenees.
Discovering the warm waters of the hot springs, the Romans built the first spa surrounded by a city, “Vicus Aquensis” (the city of springs), which extends over at least half the current city of Bagneres-de-Bigorre.
Bagneres and its characteristic architecture of thermal cities, is surrounded by an unspoiled, and lush environment. It remains the first thermal city of the department and hosts more than 8,000 visitors each year.
The activities are various and numerous, among a large range you will find:
Mountain activities: via ferrata, mountain biking, hiking, trail, ski, photography…- Water activities: kayak, paddle, fishing…
- Winter activities: Skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing…
- Air activities: paragliding, tree climbing…
- Underground activities: canyoning, speleology…
- Cultural activities: marble museum, abbey de l’Escaladieu, the road to Santiago de Compostela …
To know more about the activities, click here
Bagnères-de-Bigorre is 20 minutes away from Lourdes, 1h30 from Toulouse, 2h from Biarritz and 2h15 from the Spanish border.
ACTIVITIES OPTION
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“Here is an example of what you are going to experience in immersion in Bagnères-de-Bigorre !!”
During the stay, and depending on his/her choice of formula, the student will be able to choose different kind of activities (mornings or afternoons depending on the activities) during which he can put into practice what he has learned during his classes, and he will be able to confront other francophones and contexts, in addition to discovering his own activity.
With the immersion program, the student can pick up activities offered by our partners
(To see directly with Prisca)
ACCOMMODATION – 2 options:
1) You can do your own research, there are plenty of accommodations in the city and around:
- Check out the tourism office of Bagnères-de-Bigorre (“Accommodation” tag)
- Check out Airbnb in Bagnères-de-Bigorre
2) You can ask Prisca for a homestay (see below)
Why a homestay? The homestay is a perfect opportunity to continue to practice French and to put into practice the topics, grammar and vocabulary studied during your lessons. In addition, I strongly encourage my students to practice the language with different people in order to improve their oral comprehension. It is also a great opportunity to discover French habits and customs while being in a caring atmosphere.
Here are two examples of homestay but we have more to offer:
At Michèle and Gilles’s :
Gilles & Michèle are a lovely couple originally from Bagnères-de-Bigorre. They know the region very well and they will be able to make the students feel at home but also to advise them about all kinds of activities.
An accommodation for one to four people:
☼ The accommodation is located in the city center, 5mn away from your school.
☼ Breakfasts are included,
☼ Dinner is included on the day of your arrival, it will be an opportunity to share special moments with travelers in order to promote exchanges in French.
☼ An activity, according to what the student likes, will be suggested by Michèle & Gilles, another opportunity to practice!
Apartment configuration:
– two bedrooms with a queen size bed,
– sheets and towels provided,
– private toilet and shower room,
– shared living areas,
– it is an entire floor for yourself so you will have your privacy while sharing special moments with your hosts,
– a breathtaking view of the Pyrenees!
***If the accommodation is not available the day of the booking your teacher will find another accommodation of the same type.
At Fanny and Julien’s :
Fanny & Julien are a lovely couple originally from Bagnères-de-Bigorre. They know the region very well and they will be able to make the students feel like at home and also to advise them for all kinds of activities.
An accommodation for one to two people:
☼ The accommodation is located in the city center, 5mn away from your school.
☼ Breakfasts are included
☼ Dinners included two times a week (for 6 nights), it will be an opportunity to share special moments with travellers in order to promote exchanges in French.
☼ An activity, according to what the student likes, will be suggested by Fanny & Julien, another opportunity to practice!
Apartment configuration:
- two bedrooms with a queen size bed
- sheets and towels provided
- private toilet and shower room
- shared living areas
- it is a duplex so you will have your privacy while sharing special moments with your hosts.
***If the accommodation is not available at the moment of the booking your teacher will find another accommodation of the same type
According to the wish of the student, there are all kinds of possible unique and types of housing such as: unusual housing (Pic du Midi, huts, yurts, bubbles …)
Rates on request
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
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TRANSPORTATION
How to get to Bagnères-de-Bigorre?
– By train (from Paris): to Tarbes (then the city is 20 minutes by car)
– By plane: to Lourdes / Pau airport from Paris Orly (20min away from the school) or to Toulouse Blagnac airport from Paris Charles de Gaule or Orly airport (1h30 away from the school ).
– By bus: from Tarbes or Lourdes (45 minutes from station to station) > schedules
How do I get around Bagnères-de-Bigorre?
To better discover the region and all that it has to offer you, we encourage you to rent a car to get around.
If this is not possible:
– You have a bus service with different routes (Tarbes, La Mongie…)
“Among the different activities and accommodations options, you can also choose to come with one or two friends/family members – the “group option” is perfect to share a great adventure that you will remember for a long time 🙂
Check out the details below:
Student reviews
Nancy
«Wow what an excellent and action-packed week of french immersion with Prisca! We had lessons each morning, where Prisca extremely patiently worked through my areas of greatest weakness (which are many). The 3 hour lesson flew by in no time – which I attribute to Prisca’s engaging manner as well as her magical ability to speak french in a way that I can understand her every word.
In addition to the classes, I had so many activities to further challenge my French comprehension: A visit to Le Pic Du Midi (spectacular!), a delightful pottery class, a day at the spa (Aquensis), hikes up to glorious viewpoints, a spirited viewing of the France v New Zealand World Cup (attended by it seemed the entire town), learning the fascinating history of Bagnères-de-Bigorre, exploring the fabulous Saturday market, and more. It is astounding how much action is packed into this small town. I was lucky enough to be there for the 2023 ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour. I could not believe it! World class tennis, just a 5 minute walk from my homestay. Admission was free and all of the seats were front row seats.
My homestay was with Gilles and Michèle who could not have been more welcoming and generous. The only thing I will do differently next time is to stay longer! One week was definitely not enough time:).»
Helen Carson
«Prisca is an amazing teacher, she could see what I needed to do to improve my French, for example, trying to avoid thinking in English and translating all the time. She also made me learn the basics which made an enormous improvement. This is my second immersion trip and I feel I’ve definitely improved, it’s really motivated me and I can’t wait to go back! Also my stay with Gilles & Michele was excellent, they were superb hosts and really made me feel welcome!
J’ai passé un bon moment à Bagnères de Bigorre, il y avait plein choses à faire, par example, voir le Pic du Midi, faire de la poterie, rencontrer un berger et ses brebis, visiter le célèbres spa, faire du vèlo ou de la randonnée. Une semaine ne suffit pas!»
Victoria Smith
«Cette semaine-là était absolument parfaite! Je ne savais pas à l’avance tout ce que je faisait mais j’ai passé une super semaine avec de belles surprises!Grace à Prisca, chaque jour j’apprenais quelque chose dont j’avais besoin à ce moment-là. Elle a repoussé mes limites mais elle m’a quand meme mis à l’aise. L’environnent d’apprentissage semblait très détendu. Les activités étaient à la hauteur de mon niveau et quand elles ne l’étaient pas, Prisca était très flexible et adaptée. Elle a changé les plans lorsque cela était nécessaire. J’ai passée beaucoup de bons moments avec Prisca et sa famille. Mes enfants et ses enfants s’entendaient bien. La famille qui nous a reçu était très gentille! Ils ressemblaient à ma famille avant notre départ! J’aimerais bien refaire cette expérience !»
Frances Gallop et Kathy Deyo
«Merci Prisca, pour un immersion très pratique et agréable !» 
Tracey Rogers
«This is the place to go if you want to improve your French and really enjoy France, the course is personalised for you, Prisca is an excellent coach identifying strengths and weaknesses and the location is so special, the people of Bagnères De Bigorre are the friendliest and helpful when you speak with them.»
Peyton Moore
«Prisca’s program is a great way to advance your French skills and enjoy a beautiful lesser known part of France. Bagnères-de-Bigorre is a charming little town and it was a pleasure to spend a week there with Prisca.»
Colin Cornwall
«C’était une merveilleuse expérience à Bagnère-de-Bigorre ! Prisca est une bonne prof et passionnée de son travail. J’ai vu et fait des chose que je n’ai jamais fait. C’était un séjour que je me souviendrais à toujours.»
Steven Sorenson
« If you are looking for a true French language immersive experience with an amazing teacher, you have found the right program. My time with Prisca was very educational and having one to one instruction dramatically improved the rate of my progress with the French language. In addition, the school is located in a beautiful part of France. The town is charming with amazing views of the mountains.Prisca created a highly curated experience for me with a home stay experience, visits with friends and family, as well as effective lessons in French. I was very impressed with the experience and as well with her devotion to making my stay enjoyable and productive. »
John Grinager
«The strength of the program with Prisca is that she herself is a highly motivated person and infuses students with the strength needed to overcome jet lag and improve one’s French. Over the week she was able to analyze my grammar needs and to focus on improving that but at the same time put me out into the community to interact with people in the community who were super-friendly and who were patient and tried to help me improve as well. I liked the community and the chance to do hiking and yoga and spend time in a spa. It was an extremely stimulating week.»
José Medina
«J’y suis allé pour un programme d’immersion en français mais j’ai trouvé beaucoup plus. Prisca Reeman est la conceptrice et l’âme du programme. Pleine d’énergie et de passion pour l’enseignement de cette belle langue, elle a transformé mon séjour en une extravagance inoubliable de huit jours.
Son premier tour de magie a transformé mon laconisme habituel en un don du bavardage pour tous les sujets. Mais attention, Prisca détectera chaque erreur que vous ferez et la corrigera en un instant…» Read the full testimonial here
Son premier tour de magie a transformé mon laconisme habituel en un don du bavardage pour tous les sujets. Mais attention, Prisca détectera chaque erreur que vous ferez et la corrigera en un instant…» Read the full testimonial here
Helen Carson
«This was a fabulous week with Prisca in the Pyrenees. She was very patient and was able to find out what I needed to improve my french. I enjoyed her company very much and she was very keen to make sure I enjoyed all the activities. I can’t fault the experience and I’m definitely coming back next year! Bagnères de Bigorre is a lovely friendly place where I met and talked to loads of people… In French! Allons-y!»
Matthew Dillon
«This was an absolutely wonderful experience. Prisca helped to design a program tailored to my level which helped me increase my overall comprehension, as well as my ability to speak every day French. The activities were incredibly fun, the town was lovely, and the surrounding countryside was amazing. I cannot recommend this program enough for those who wish to immerse themselves in French. It was exceptional.»
Lynn Keller
«I spent a week as a student at Prisca’s French Immersion Program. I enjoyed every minute! Prisca is a great teacher with a lot of patience and understanding for students still learning the language. She goes above to make sure the student has not only classroom time but more importantly, an immersion experience deep in the French culture by being a part of the community. There was amble time to speak French in the classroom as a well as out in the community. I really enjoyed the activities Prisca helped choose for me. I recommend Prisca’s French Immersion Program.»
Georgina Nolan & Bronia Hartley
«C’etait très bien!»
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