KEI and ABS organize weekend and day trips during the program.
Transportation, lodging and group activities are included.
Students must budget for meals and personal expenses.
Typical excursions include:
Paris
Versailles
Two of the following during the semester;
One of the following during the summer:
- Lyon
- Marseilles
- Strasbourg
- Brussels (Belgium)
KEI reserves the right to change planned excursions for destinations of equal value and interest.
Excursions may change based on availability, local festivals and interest.
Academic year and multiple term students participate on planned excursions during one of their terms.PARIS
During your orientation, you will discover Paris from a few different perspectives.
KEI's favorite things to do in Paris:
View the city from the top on down, literally, as you ascend the Eiffel Tower.
Contemplate the mystery of the "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestry in the Musée Cluny (Musée National du Moyen-Age).
Ride around Paris on la petite reine with Vélib', a short-term bicycle rental service. Bike racks are scattered around the city, easy to find.
Musée Jacquemart-André. This accessible museum started out as the personal collection of Nélie Jacquemart and Edouard André, an art-loving couple. It is displayed in their mansion, just as they arranged it in the last century.
Have a tea and a Turkish bath at the Mosquée de Paris (in French only). You must remove your shoes at the entrance to the prayer hall and be modestly dressed.
Loll in the Parc Monceau, an achingly picturesque walking park with miniature Dutch windmills, Roman temples and Chinese pagodas. Bring your camera!
The official city website can be found at www.parisinfo.com.
VERSAILLES
Although the Louvre had been used as the royal residence for centuries, Louis XIV decided that it wasn't fancy enough for him.
He transformed his father's hunting lodge in the country town of Versailles into a palace fit for a Sun King and officially moved there in 1682.
From here he was able to oversee--and control--his courtiers and nobles.
Now you can tour the chapel, the king's and queen's apartments, the newly-restored Hall of Mirrors, and the sumptuous gathering rooms.
After you visit the château, wander through the formal gardens and hunting grounds, and visit the Grand and Petit Trianons.
For an even more surreal experience, visit Marie Antoinette's hamlet, a tiny replica village where she pretended to be a shepherdess with her maids when château life got too hard.
To see a preview of Versailles' wonders, visit the official website.
LEON & MARSEILLES
Lyon and Marseilles offer a differing picture of French life than what you can find in the capital.
These two cities both have about 1 million people, both have nationally-ranked soccer teams, and both lie on the celebrated Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée high-speed train line, but that’s where the similarity ends.
Lyon is known for its haute cuisine, giving internationally-known chefs such as Paul Bocuse or Eugénie Brazier to the world.
Stereotyped as a “bourgeois” city by the rest of France, it is nevertheless a center of culture and art.
Climb the Fourvière hill to discover ancient Roman ruins and a wonderful view over the Rhône and Saône rivers.
Wind your way among the narrow streets of the old city, and meet up with your friends in the 18th-century place Bellecour, traditional meeting spot of the Lyonnais.
KEI's favorite things to do in Lyon:
See the very first motion picture ever made at the Institut Lumière.
Explore history at the Museum of the French Resistance. Lyon was a major center of the Resistance during WWII. This well-laid out museum (in French only) will amaze you with stories of bravery and daring.
Wander in the Musée des Beaux-Arts. The fine arts museum is the perfect size: enough to keep you occupied but not overwhelm you. The courtyard in the center is a lovely spot to have a coffee, sketch, or meditate. Even better, it's free for students under 26.
The official city website can be found at www.en.lyon-france.com.
Marseilles (pronounced without the final s in French) is defined by its port.
Ships docking in the harbor here brought the first case of the plague to Europe in the 13th century.
It has always been a destination for immigrants, and now has a lively and colorful ethnic mix.
Currently Marseilles is known for its rock and rap music groups, a product of the mixing of cultures.
KEI's favorite things to do in Marseilles:
Listen to the fishmongers selling their daily catch at the Vieux Port.
Go swimming at the Prado Beach
Take the ferry to the Château d'If, a 16th-century fortress-turned-prison. It was featured in Alexandre Dumas' novel Count of Monte-Cristo
The official city website can be found at www.marseille-tourisme.com.
STRASBOURG
Strasbourg is the capital of the Alsace région in northeastern France, bordering with Germany.
The city is fused into the Franco-German culture, and has been a bridge of unity between France and Germany for centuries, especially because of its University and the co-existence of Catholic and Protestant culture.
Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, including the European Court of Human Rights and European Parliament.
The historic city centre, the Grande Île ("Grand Island"), was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988.
The official city website can be found at www.brusselsinternational.be.
BRUSSELS (BELGIUM)
Brussels is the capital of Belgium and one of the main capital cities of the European Union.
Originally a Flemish town, French has crept up and overtaken the city to create a multicultural capital.
Now Brussels is actually a French-speaking enclave in the Flemish portion of Belgium.
Due to the influence of NATO and several of the major EU institutions, Brussels has a very international character.
About one-quarter of Bruxellois are diplomats.
KEI's favorite things to do in Brussels:
