Paris

Paris is at once the center of and the exception to France; it sets itself apart from les provinces while embodying much of what is so attractive and exasperating about French society.

High-strung and fast-paced, Paris is a one-of-a-kind theater of the individual and the collective. History is on display as is France’s diverse identity and a passion for innovation and change. The city fascinates observers and confounds pundits; even its critics are not united!

Paris lies at the center of Europe’s most dynamic region. "Ile-de-France" is home to Europe’s biggest economy by region, the largest number of researchers, biggest expenditure on R&D, and largest number of university students including international students. World-class research parks vie with sprawling royal forests. Medieval walled towns and high-rise banlieues complete the regional panorama, which tells the story of France, past, present and future.

IFE students in a Paris Metro station

My advice: be uncomfortable! Go to a cafe, make friends with the owners, and get invited to an Algerian wedding! You will be amazed at the friendliness and the openness to others that exists in non-American cultures.

Isabelle. Theatre, French

HOUSING

IFE finds affordable French-speaking housing for students, either with homestay families or residences for students and young professional called foyers. Housing options are available with or without meals, and are priced accordingly.

PRACTICAL INFO

IFE 's Paris Center

Located on a quiet stone-paved passageway in the midst of the Bastille district. (Passage Cheval Blanc, 2 rue de la Roquette, Paris 75011)

Cell Phones

It is a requirement for all students to have a local cell phone with a local number, or an international phone plan that allows for uninterrupted communication at all times, independent of WiFi connectivity.

Getting around Paris

Subway, RER and bus network: RATP / Bikeshare system ("Vélib") / Trains in the Paris region (Link) 

Money and Banking

Students should arrive with a credit card for payment and for withdrawing cash. It is difficult for a student coming to France for several months to open a bank account.

Health and Wellbeing

IFE Paris maintains a full set of reliable references among health care professionals. Students who are on a regular program of medication should plan to arrive with sufficient supply for the semester or, alternatively, ask their doctor for the scientific name of the molecule, not the proprietary name, for prescription by a doctor in France.

IFE on Social Media

IFE Facebook Paris / IFE Youtube channel  / IFE Instagram

Before Arrival 

Students enrolled in IFE Paris participate in an interactive online pre-departure readiness exercise. In addition they receive detailed practical information for their semester abroad.