An Unforgettable Experience Awaits
Travelbound has a strong presence in the local French community, and we’ve built up extensive knowledge for an authentic, immersive trip away.
We work closely with local attractions to maintain quality, and they always look forward to welcoming our groups and helping young learners practice their French. Book French language school trips to Normandy now.
We can also help with any other language you are interested in teaching, including German, Spanish and Mandarin.
The Château du Molay for your French Language school trips to Normandy
Owned and operated by Travelbound, the 18th-century Château du Molay provides everything you need to relax after a day of exciting excursions.
Set on 38 acres of parkland, it’s an ideal space for students to burn off energy or join in on a variety of organised activities both indoors and outdoors.
Plus, a 24/7 helpline connects you directly to support, ensuring you have assistance whenever needed and giving you complete peace of mind during your stay.
Trip Highlights
Take part in an interactive assignment at a French market
Meet the goats at a traditional cheese farm
Explore medieval Bayeux
Embark on an adventure with the Battle of the Bistros Trail
Recommended excursions
Bayeux Tapestry
This long embroidered scroll is the most important relic to have survived from the 11th century. Students can see the epic story of William of Normandy’s conquest of England in 1066, and consider the French and British interpretations of events.
Please note: The Bayeux Tapestry Museum is currently closed for a complete renovation and is due to re-open in Autumn 2027.
Bayeux Aventure
This outdoor adventure park, located in Cussy, close to Bayeux offers a wide range of activities for students. The Activity Pass includes high ropes courses, mini-golf, tubing, permanent wooden maze and maize maze (seasonal), fixed track zorbing (over 12’s), peddle karting, bubble football and more! There is an on-site café and picnic area. Open April to Sep/October (on request for school groups outside of public opening times).
Battle of the Bistros
This French Language challenge, designed by specialist company E3 Trails, is a team activity based on a virtual game show. The aim of the activity is to have fun and reinforce students’ vocabulary on the subject of ‘Food and Drink’.
During the ‘The Battle of the Bistros’, teams must earn food stars for their bistro by undertaking various food and drink-themed activities in the town of Bayeux. The four activities are: uncovering the name of the bistro from a word search (about shopping), designing the bistro logo and tagline, ‘shopping’ for ingredients and answering true or false questions about food and drink in France.
French market assignment
Students visit a local French market, bursting with delicious produce. Teams complete an assignment to buy a variety of food items using their French language skills. The items will be used for a food-based activity on their return to the Château.
French language lessons
The best place to learn French is in France and we can arrange language lessons at a local language school with a native speaker. The lessons give students a chance to work on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Afterwards, students can use what they have learnt in a real context.
Normandy Caramels Factory
Tour the newly refurbished traditional Normandy Caramels factory in Isigny. A guide will take you on a tour of the room overlooking the factory floor displaying the process of soft toffee making. There will also be the chance to buy the caramel products from the souvenir shop next door. This is a good opportunity to see how the tourist industry supports the existence of local production businesses.
Chèvrerie du Mesnil (Goat’s cheese farm)
This working goat farm allows students to see how dairy products such as milk and cheese are produced. Students can play with the goats and learn about the cheese-making process. It’s a great way to find out more about the traditional produce of the area and also presents a good chance to practice language skills and develop vocabulary. The visit includes a short educational film, a talk and a cheese tasting. Visit can be conducted in French or English.
Les Sablés d’Asnelles Biscuit Factory
Asnelles is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it village with a shop called Les Sablés d’Asnelles that specialises in butter biscuits. A tour of its factory will teach students the process of making these traditional biscuits and show how they are packaged and sold. The tour includes taste tests to enjoy their melt-in-the-mouth texture and buttery taste.
Bread-Making in Normandy
Learn the art of bread-making from scratch at a farm in Normandy in this interactive activity. Students will create their own bread roll using local ingredients and traditional methods under guidance from a boulanger. While the bread is baking in the traditional wood-fired ovens, your group can explore the farm and meet its animals, and even enjoy a game of farmyard golf or taste some local produce. Students will be able to take away their freshly baked bread at the end of the session.
Château snails and mussels tasting
On the list of things to do in France, trying new foods is near the top. After a long day, the students and staff can opt for a tasting session of snails (escargots) and mussels (moules) before the evening meal. This gives the adventurous students a chance to taste traditional French delicacies.
Château activities
You can choose from a range of fun and educational activities, and experienced chateau staff are on hand to ensure that the students are having fun all day and night. Available activities include: a blind trail walk, survival skills, initiative exercises, using various sports facilities for sporting games (such as the seasonal outdoor swimming pool), planting a tree and circus frenzy to name a few.
Mont Saint-Michel
Mont Saint-Michel, a gothic Benedictine abbey, is perched on a rocky islet amid vast sandbanks exposed to powerful tides. Over the years the island’s abbey has served as a prison, a fortress against the English and a monastery. As well as the abbey, your group can explore the medieval buildings of the village that grew up beneath its walls, along with stunning views.
La Cité de la Mer, Cherbourg
This must-see sight in Normandy in the former transatlantic liner art deco terminal is devoted to the adventure of man and the sea. Come aboard the nuclear ballistic missile submarine ‘Le Redoutable’, jewel of the French navy, re-live the only crossing of the Titanic and follow the route of 50 million emigrants to the New World, and explore three floors of spectacular multimedia displays and stunning aquariums full of life and colour.
Cookery Demonstration
Students enjoy a demonstration of the preparation of local specialities given by a French chef. This can take place in French or English. This is a great way to engage with the language, culture and local food.
Graindorge Cheese Factory Visit
This factory, located in Livarot, has been run by the same family since 1910 and produces three of Normandy’s best loved cheeses: Livarot, Pont l’Eveque and Normandy Camembert. Visitors can discover the different stages of cheese-making with a view of the casting process, the maturing cellar and packaging.
Arromanches 360 degree cinema
The 19 minute film ‘100 days of the Battle of Normandy’ is projected in High Definition on 9 screens. The film tells the story of the military planning, preparation and execution of the Battle of Normandy thanks to archive images gathered from English, Canadian, German, American and French archives. The Battle started with the landing of the paratroopers the night of the 5th to the 6th of June 1944, followed by the landings of troops on the Normandy beaches and lasted for three months. The end came with the liberation of Paris and the bombing of Le Havre.
American Cemetery and Memorial, Omaha Beach
The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. The memorial, set around a bronze statue, shows maps and narratives of the military operations. Visitors’ centre staff are available to answer students’ questions.
La Cambe, German Cemetery
This is the largest of the German cemeteries in Normandy, commemorating 21,222 German soldiers. Students can reflect on the casualties of war on both sides, and consider the German footsoldiers’ perspective. Students can also contrast the cemetery to those of the allied forces. Photo © Jennie Rainsford.
British Military Cemetery, Bayeux
This is the largest of the 18 Commonwealth military cemeteries in Normandy. It contains 4,868 graves of soldiers from the UK and 10 other countries, including Germany. Many of the soldiers buried here were never identified, and the headstones are simply marked ‘A Soldier Known Unto God’. Students can reflect on the sadness, sacrifice and honour of war.
Forest Discovery Walk
Visit the Cerisy Forest close to Le Molay Littry and introduce students to the fauna and flora of this local nature reserve. The students will be led to discover forest life in a fun and educational way by completing a treasure hunt-type activity based on the trees and animals found in this wide space spreading over 2000 hectares. The activity can be led in either French or English.
Calvados Experience
Learn the secrets of production in the Apple-press and Fermentation room and the Art of Distillation. This multi-sensory visit is designed to promote the product and the history of the region and is suitable for all ages. The visit concludes at the Taste Bar where an expert will explain the art of tasting using the eye, the nose and the palate.
Odon Snail Farm
A must-do for any visitor to Normandy with a sense of adventure and appetite for local delicacies, a trip to the Odon Snail Farm offers an opportunity to discover the uniquely French tradition of snail farming from field to fork. A guide will walk you through each area of the farm, from the workshop and parks to the laboratory, before offering your group a chance to taste the escargots for yourselves.
The British Normandy Memorial
The British Normandy Memorial officially opened on 6th June 2021 as a place for remembrance and reflection. Overlooking Gold Beach, just outside Ver-sur-Mer, the memorial records the names of 22,442 servicemen and women, under British command, who fell on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy. There is an option to add on a short introduction talk from staff at the memorial and an educational booklet to complete during your visit.
Typical accommodation
Château du Molay, Normandy
Our exclusive 18th century Château du Molay can accommodate 195 guests in 42 en-suite bedrooms and is set amongst 38 acres of beautiful private parkland.
Located only 14kms from Bayeux, within easy reach of the world famous Calvados coast and just a 45 minute journey from Caen, the Château is in an ideal location for easy school trips from the UK.
See more about our exclusive Château du Molay
Itinerary suggestion
1 Depart school in your coach
2 Channel crossing to Calais – journey time from Calais about 5 hours without excursion stop
3 Optional short stop in Honfleur en route to the Château du Molay
4 Château entertainment and evening meal
1 Breakfast and packed lunch
2 French Market Assignment
3 Visit Bayeux and complete the Bayeux town trail walk
4 Château entertainment and evening meal included, with snails and mussels
1 Breakfast and packed lunch
2 Visit a working goats’ cheese farm and a sweet factory
3 Afternoon at Cité de la Mer, Cherbourg, with work material
4 Evening meal with optional crepes and cider, and or apple juice, plus farewell disco
1 Breakfast and packed lunch
2 Return to Calais with a stop at a French hypermarket en route
3 Channel crossing – arrive home
Learning outcomes
Subject focus
Students can:
- Learn and practice listening and responding
- Learn how to follow instructions
- Learn how to read for information
- Practice to gain fluency and conversation skills
- Practice through structured role-play
- Develop their interest and enthusiasm for the country and its language
Student outcomes
Students will have had an opportunity to:
- Understand the value of learning another language
- Test and challenge their own abilities
- Discover more about the French people and culture
- Gain practical skills that can be transferred to the classroom
“
Very helpful Tour Co-ordinator. Nothing was too much trouble when organising the tour which was essential for me to get it off the ground.
Archbishop Holgate’s School
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