The huge influx of French population into Central London speaks volumes about the long and flourishing business relationship the French and the English community had shared for long.

French activities in London

Art and Culture

Do you have an eternal passion for French art and culture? Look no further!

Institut Français is the place to realize your dreams. Well-resourced with all the necessary paraphernalia for a cultural tour, it includes a Cinema, a Video Conference room, a French Music Bureau and a French Brasserie

Language Studies

One of the premier language schools in London, the Cactus Language Training offers courses galore that perfect your language and pronunciation skills. With centres at all the prime locations in the UK and London, Cactus’ language training systems are a class apart from the rest.

Guided Tours

For all the expatriates looking for a refreshing trip through London and its alleys, Cercle Français d’Ealing offers you a guided tour in and around London and much more! Cercle Français d’Ealing also conducts presentations on French art and culture by eminent speakers, aimed at the local people.

Sports

Sports buffs can rejoice as the Association Sportive de l’Ambassade de France promotes sports and related activities to the French community in London. The association is instrumental in organising diverse activities like football, squash, golf, karting, ten-pin bowling and various other competitions.

Restaurants and Food Joints

The rich cuisine of France is something to be savoured and enjoyed in all its glory! London, being a city of culinary pleasures, does not disappoint us in this arena too. The capital is sprinkled with a number of Michelin starred restaurants like:

• Aubergine in Knightsbridge
• L’ Escargot in Soho
• Mirabelle in Green Park

Traditional French food markets and specialized shops selling French food are a unique treat to your taste buds!

Places of Worship

The devout few can find that elusive peace of mind inside the silent walls of cathedrals and other houses of worship, that soothe your mind off all trials and tribulations of earthly life. Places that you can visit include:

• Synagogue Française de Londres in North London
• Eglise Protestante Française in Soho
• Eglise Notre Dame de France

Social Groups

A social group that thinks like you is all you need in a foreign land! London French Rendezvous Meet up is one such group who encourages people who have an affinity for the French language and culture.

With the capital abounding in French events that keep you on your toes, London can very well be considered your ‘home away from home’.

This post is written by Jancy James, who is passionate about learning foreign languages.

As we planned the trip at a very short notice, it was initially very difficult to find an accommodation within our budget. Luckily after two evenings of research, we found Clare Ellen Guest House where we booked double room for £70/night which included breakfast. Our host gave us a very warm welcome and served excellent breakfast in the morning. The room was a bit small but very clean and we were comfortable. The guest house is just 5 minutes away from the Canterbury East railway station and 25 minutes walk from the Canterbury West station. Our host provided us with the city map, which made easy for us to go around. If I ever go back to Canterbury again, I would definitely consider staying in the same guest house.

On Saturday, we visited the Cathedral, it was lovely to walk around and sit there for sometime. Later we went to watch Canterbury tales which wasn’t bad but I think it’s more for kids than adults. Luckily my friend Amy asked to search online vouchers and we saved £7.75 for tickets. I had to register at Visit South East England website to get the 2-for-1 voucher, they sent me email which I had to print and show in the counter while buying tickets. In the afternoon we ate at Green Curry Thai restaurant near Odeon theatre, my food was yummy but my other half had to eat stretchy tofu in Veg sweet and sour curry. Later we went for a guided boat tour and our guide John explained the history of the buildings we passed through, he was very entertaining. The tour lasted for 45 minutes which wasn’t enough for me but I should say this was the best experience of the day.

After spending busy Saturday, we preferred having a quite and relaxing Sunday. After checking-out, we went for the river side walk and later sat on the bench in front of the river for hours reading books, which was fantastic.

At first I was disappointed as I was expecting Canterbury to be very green because it is in Kent,I didn’t find many trees except at the riverside park, but overall our weekend break was excellent.

E-Spanish – This website is good for beginners to intermediate students. They have grammar, basic vocabulary and useful expressions which you can read as well listen to understand the pronunciation, which is quite cool. They also have hangman and word search games and also have links to several external resources.

Cactus Spanish Podcasts – These podcast are free to use and they are excellent to understand spoken Spanish. I am listening to the beginner’s plus Spanish podcasts and practicing the grammar using the downloadable workbooks.

Digital Dialects – It has interactive games in several languages and needs Macromedia Flash player. I think the website is aimed at beginner to intermediate levels. I love this website and I am using it to learn Spanish through the games.

Spanish Language tests– These are very useful to test the level of the language. I keep testing my language every month and I am glad with the progress I am making.

The Spanish Blog– I found this recently. This blog has lot of Spanish video lessons. You can also practice the pronunciation by recording the answers and emailing them to the Trainer for a small fee. She would record the corrections and email them back.

I found the following restaurants to be good so far:

Eastern Eye: It is in London road and they have authentic south Indian cuisine. Chicken chettinad and dosa are my favourite there, the food is definitely different from other Indian takeaways. The only downside is the service, I wish they give more attention to the customers, but this doesn’t stop me from going there as I love their food.

Rasa: I went to Rasa with my colleagues yesterday. It is also a south Indian restaurant, to be specific a Keralan restaurant. I had dosa for the main course and payasam for desert, which is similar to rice pudding and they were both good. All my colleagues were happy with what they ordered. I would definitely go again as it is near to my office.

Bombay mix – If you are looking a cheap option then I would recommend Bombay mix. They have buffet, which includes lot of items, for a very reasonable price. It is in the St James street.

Ashoka – It is a very old Indian restaurant in Hove. They have the usual balti, madras and Jalfrezi dishes which you find in other restaurants but the food is delicious and and the service is excellent, so I prefer going here for special occasions. My favourite is garlic chilli chicken, which has lots of chillies, if you don’t like spicy hot food then avoid this.

I heard Planet India and chilli pickle are very good, they have Indian street food in the menu. I hope to visit them soon.

I also ate in Bombay lounge and Bombay Aloo, but I wasn’t happy as the currys were very watery.

I hope you find this helpful. Please do add any other restaurants that I may have missed here.

She advised watching Spanish movies with the subtitles to improve our language. I will be signing up for movie rental, which would be cheaper than buying DVDs. I stumbled across a website where they provide online rentals, but I am not sure how good they are.

Also found free Spanish podcasts in the independent website, need to find some time to listen to them. The free practice workbooks for the podcasts are available at Cactus Language website.

Do you know any other good resources to learn? Any help would very much be appreciated.

A week ago we went to Arundel for a day out. Even though the weather forecast was disappointing we decide to take the day as it comes and luckily there was no rain that day wohoo, it was worth taking the risk. As we had invitation book’s 2 for 1 voucher for the wetlands entry tickets, we decided to go to the wetlands this time. It was really very tempting to visit the Castle as it looked amazing from outside, but we wanted an excuse to go to Arundel again, so saved the trip to the Castle for some other day.

The wetlands are not too far from the city centre making it easy for the people coming on the public transport. There were several ducks, ducklings and swans roaming freely in the wetlands. It was lovely to go away from the hustle and bustle of the city to a quite place. We sat hours listening to the humming birds, noises of the insects and watching the scenic view in front of us.

Arundel is a lovely place perfect for a dayout. I would definitely go again to Arundel to see the Castle:)

Click here for more information about Arundel wetland centre.