Summer study French, French courses, French Lesson, French Riviera, French language course in France, teaching French as a foreign language, study French in Nice Côte d’Azur.
FRENCH LANGUAGE SCHOOL ALPHA.B
Situated in the heart of Nice, the capital of the French Riviera, alpha.b French language school has chosen a lovely mansion from the early beginning of the century. This privileged site is the right place for your French language course.
Surrounded by its own garden, where you will be able to relax at break times, the modern, well-equipped Centre (10 computers with flat screens for free Internet access, e-mail, fax, free of charge wireless access, library, amenities for handicapped…) is right next to local shops, the beaches and the Nice old town. You can buy cold and hot drinks in our school and have lunch in one of the small restaurants or snack bars near the school for less than 10 €.
During high season, July and August, our second summer centre is situated in the Nice Cimiez district with proximity to the Roman Arenas and the Matisse and Chagall museums. A charming, colourful place with similar facilities in the premises of a French art school.
The story of Alpha.b. Language School began when it opened its doors in 1993, the project of its directors Anja and Pascal. From its early beginnings as a small academy, they have known how to give an energy and style to Alpha.b. which has seen it become one of the best schools for French as a foreign language around today.
Since its foundation and now with an even greater dimension of importance, the same values spur on the administrative and teaching teams: the quality of the school’s services and french language lessons , the success achieved in teaching French and the satisfaction of every student.
LEARNING ABOUT FRENCH, FRANCE AND NICE CÔTE D'AZUR : A SHORT HISTORY
Why learning French in Nice ? Prehistoric man already had the right idea ! He found the perfect place to set up camp: the site known as Terra Amata, at the foot of Mont Boron.
400.000 years later, it’s still attracting visitors!
Towards at the 4th century B.C., the Greeks arrived by sea and settled on the « Colline du château », intending to make Nikaïa a strategic trading centre…
Twenty-four centuries later, trading is still topical!
Then, just 100 years B.C., the Romans brought their stones here – not just any old stones, either: they build a complete town on the hill of Cimiez (Cemenelum) with all they needed for the baths and entertainment (arenas, spas, shops…).
The town’s expansion roused a lot of envy : over the next six centuries, Barbarian and Saracen invasions reduced this fine community to almost nothing.
The Counts of Provence then took over the site first created by the Greeks. In the 14th century, the people of Nice grew tired of continual political squabbling, and asked to be placed under the sovereignty of the House of Savoy. That situation continued until 1860, with two interruptions: from 1691 to 1731, when the County of Nice belonged to Luis XIV, and from 1792 to 1874, when it became part of the French Republic, then of the Empire, becoming for the very first time the « Département des Alpes-Maritimes ». In 1860, the city’s population enthusiastically welcomed the Treaty of Turin, signed by Napoleon III and King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia, which stipulated that Nice would again become part of France.
From then the little township was launched on the road to rapid development. It become a fashionable holiday centre, admirable served by the brand new railway. Today, Nice is the fifth largest town in France with a population of 400.000 ; the commune has opened wide its doors, not only to art and culture, but also to industry , science and high technology.
Thanks to ambitious projects such as Acropolis, « Palais des Congrès et des Expositions », an international airport ranking second after Paris, and an unequalled hotel structure, the city of Nice now enjoys the enviable reputation of being the international capital of tourism.
NICE : GATEWAY TO SOUTHERN EUROPE, BEST PLACE TO LEARN AND SPEAK FRENCH
Nice has changed more in fifty years than it did over the past two centuries: its history advances, but its past remains.
On arriving by plane at the legendary airport of Nice-Côte d’Azur, built on land reclaimed from the sea, where the world’s greatest stars have sparked thousands of flash-bulbs from pressmen’s cameras, you have a clearer view of the town’s unique position, nestling amidst its hills, tucked into the unrivalled setting of the « Baie des Anges » (Bay of Angels).
