Top 5 Reasons to Study in Paris

1. It’s Paris. If you’re going to study abroad, why not do it in the crème de la crème of European cities? Art, fashion, food, culture and attitude combine to make Paris one of the most exotic cities in the world.
2. Learn to enjoy. While studying abroad, why not learn the fine art of sitting in a café and savoring your food, drink and company? You’ll appreciate having that skill under your belt after you enter the professional world and start saying things like, “I need to find some work/life balance.”
3. You can be an unabashed tourist. The city is brimming with the heavy-hitting cultural attractions: The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, Versailles.
4. Pick up some Parisian attitude. Visitors to Paris who learn the tiniest bit of language and social protocols beforehand report that Parisians are, in fact, quite friendly. See if you can glom some bits of that Paris savior faire before you return home. 
5. There’s more to Paris than cultural attractions. Paris has the highest concentration of higher education students in all of Europe. The city is also widely considered to be a center for innovation, research and development.

Studying Abroad in Paris

So you’re thinking about studying abroad in France’s romantic, elusive capital city? Whether you’re looking into study abroad programs for high school or college students, Paris has much to offer. So much, in fact, you may not have time to do it all.

The city has been consistently rated one of Europe’s most livable cities, despite the high cost of living. Paris has an abundance of green spaces within the city and is very pedestrian friendly, as long as you stay out of traffic and don’t mind dodging the omnipresent piles of dog poo. Yes, Parisians adore their dogs but they don’t adore cleaning up after them. (Don’t say we didn’t warn you.)

Paris is broken into 20 arrondissements, or districts, that are laid out in a spiral pattern like a conch shell starting at the Louvre and spreading out clockwise to the Seine River. The city is easily navigable by the Métro rapid transit system.

Sure, Paris is a powerhouse of cultural attractions, with the region containing 3,800 historical monuments and some of the most-visited tourist destinations on the planet. However, the city is also a world center for business, education, science and the arts. While citizens do love café culture and don’t mind spending hours drinking and chatting, the metro area is fast-paced and the slow-moving tourist is going to find Parisians jetting past them.

Life in Paris 

While most Parisians speak English, they take it as a sign of respect if you make an effort to learn some of their language – and visitors who do so are much less likely to rack up stories about so-called rude French people. A few things to keep in mind:

• Many French people will not acknowledge you unless you begin a conversation with, “Bonjour,” which they see as a cultural nicety.
• Be sure to greet shopkeepers when you enter a store, otherwise you are likely to be ignored. 
• “Merci” (which means “thank you”) after everything goes a long way.
• Male waiters don’t like to be called “Garcon” as it means “boy” and is somewhat derogatory.  Go with “Monsieur” instead.

Café culture is arguably the highlight of the city. Most people do not own large homes so cafés are the preferred meeting spot for the city’s very social citizens. Parisians bundle up and opt for the ubiquitous outdoor tables at all times of year. Expect service to be slow, as people are accustomed to lingering over a small meal and a few glasses of wine or coffee for hours.

If you’re looking for something less subdued, there are clubs and discotheques. The city is typically bustling all nights of the week but more on the weekends. Public transportation is the mode of choice for many Parisians. The city’s Metro service moves about 4.5 million people throughout the city every day.

Paris has similar latitude to Vancouver but the Gulf Stream makes the city much warmer than its Canadian counterpart. Expect hot summers (with very little air conditioning) and mild winters, with only slight and infrequent snow showers. Rain is prevalent throughout the year, but may last – literally – only a minute or two before returning to sunshine.