Field Trips
Poitiers, a Medieval City (May 6-13)
Sites:
The romanesque Notre-Dame-la-Grande church, the gothic Saint-Pierre Cathedral, the Merovingian Baptistère Saint-Jean, the medieval churches of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand and Sainte-Radegonde, the palace of the Counts of Poitiers, the Sainte-Croix Museum, the University of Poitiers.
Also planned:
Official receptions at the University of Poitiers, Poitiers City Hall and the Vienne regional government, and regional gastronomical meals.
Day Trips (provisional program)
Excursion #1: The village of Archigny, the Acadian Line, the Acadian museum, the castle of Touffou
Excursion #2: The castle of La Roche-Courbon, the city of Rochefort : the Pierre Loti museum, the Corderie Royale, the shipyard of the Hermione (Lafayette’s ship)
Excursion #3: The medieval city of Chauvigny (the five castles and the Gouzon Dungeon), the abbey of Saint-Savin, the village of Angles-sur-l’Anglin (voted one of the most beautiful villages of France)
Excursion #4: The Courvoisier Cognac museum in Jarnac, the abbey of Bassac
Excursion #5: The Futuroscope, the city of the future, or a day of shopping in Poitiers
Excursion #6: The Renaissance castles of Azay-le-Rideau and Chenonceau on the Loire river or a return trip on the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, meaning high-speed train), one of the fastest trains in the world.
Paris, the City of Light (May 13-25)
Specific to UNB Spring in France
(Provisional Program)
Participation in the May 8 celebrations (end of World War II) and the feast of Joan of Arc in Poitiers, concerts in Poitiers and in Paris, the Nuit des musées (all museums are open until midnight) in Paris.
Private visits to
- the Sorbonne University,
- the Salon Goncourt of the Drouant restaurant,
- the Garnier Opera,
- the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève,
- the Assemblée nationale (France's Parliament),
- the Senate,
- the Bank of France,
- the Canadian embassy,
- the Centre culturel canadien,
- UNESCO,
- the Louvre at night,
- a fashion show at the Galeries Lafayette,
- the Fragonard perfume museum,
- the Moulin Rouge,
- a night cruise on the river Seine,
- a full day in Versailles, and much more
N.B. Many of these visits are exceptional and require special permissions that are only granted to the UNB France program.
Visit Poitiers and Paris with expert guides, discover sites many tourists never see and receive university credits (or audit courses for special interest).
Sites worth seeing:
From Astérix to Quasimodo: Arènes de Lutèce, Cluny Museum, Notre-Dame Cathedral (Quasimodo and Esmeralda), l'Ile de la Cité, l'Ile Saint-Louis, Sainte-Chapelle, Saint-Germain, Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, Saint-Séverin.
From Louis XIV to Robespierre: Louvre (Mona Lisa), Place des Vosges, Carnavalet Museum, Hôtel de Rohan, Hôtel de Soubise, Palais Royal, Saint-Etienne-du-Mont (the tomb of Sainte Geneviève), Saint-Sulpice, Panthéon, Conciergerie (waiting for the guillotine!).
From Napoléon to Picasso: Arc de Triomphe, Invalides (Napoléon’s tomb), Champs-Elysées (the shopper’s paradise), Opera Garnier (the Phantom of the Opera), Eiffel Tower, Montmartre (Bohemian life), Montparnasse, Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Jean-Paul Sartre), Orsay Museum (Van Gogh), Marmottan Museum (Claude Monet), Picasso museum, Pompidou Centre.
Not forgetting the literary highlights: Académie française, Quartier latin (students everywhere), Maison de Balzac, Maison de Victor Hugo, Museum of Romantic Life, Café de Flore, Café des Deux Magots, the Lapin Agile in Montmartre, the Coupole restaurant in Montparnasse.
And the political and economic highlights: The Paris Mint, the National Library, avenue des Champs-Élysées, Place de la Concorde, Élysée Palace (the residence of the President of France), rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré (the millionaire’s street), the Paris Stock Exchange, brand name boutiques, the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps (shopping galore).
