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Tours Loire Valley France

The sound of footsteps on cobblestone and the waft of a freshly baked breads rising on the breeze while the sun rises over the rooftops is enough to make anyone fall in love with France.

Travel to France will ultimately enchant, whether by the Celtic inspired culture and peoples of Brittany, the countryside of Normandy filled with its apple and pear orchards and annual cider festivals, or the legendary bustle and lights of Paris. France is a country with something to offer every traveler in every season. Beaches, mountains, urban life, countryside, and unarguably some of the best food on the planet. The atmosphere is full of a culture that comprehends what it means to enjoy life, and is a ideal destination for a vacation or honeymoon.

Travel to France

When is the best time to visit France? That all depends on the interests of the traveler. The beaches of the Breton coast are beautiful and pristine, their smooth sands speckled with blue and white-striped changing tents. Rent a holiday cottage in the quaint town of Dinard, in the Ille-et-Vilaine department. Most of the village is within a short walk to the beach. Dinard is situated across the Bassin de la Rance from St-Malo, a fortified town of the corsairs. It is an ideal summer getaway.

May through September is an excellent time to take a wine-tasting tour through the Loire Valley, close enough to Paris to make it an day or two add-on. The Loire Valley is a romantic place that boasts a large variety of fine wines. Accommodations include the magnificent 4-star Chateau d'Artigny, or the country manor elegance of the 15th century Chateau de Noirieux.

Summer and Autumn are beautiful seasons to visit Normandy. The cider festivals happen in October throughout the region, particularly Vimoutiers, Le Sap & Ecomuseum Le Perche. Honfleur in Calvados celebrates its heritage every year with its shrimp festival. La Fête du Ventre et de la Gastronomie Normande (the Belly Festival) is an annual event in Rouen since 2000, but dates back to the 1930's.

I am a French native currently residing in San Francisco, CA. I grew up in the Loire Valley and lived for many years in Paris before relocating to beautiful California.
I studied at Universtity of Tours for my undergraduate degree and got my postgraduate degree in French as a Foreign Language at the Sorbonne.
I am trilingual (French, English, Spanish) and speak a little bit of a bunch of other languages.
I have been teaching French for 16 years to foreigners, in France and in the US.
I worked for 8 years at one of the most acclaimed language schools in Paris (well, it was, at the time...)
I teach every level, from advanced University French to introductory French.
Apart from being a teacher, I am also a professional translator (books, subtitles, websites, publications...), an editor (theses, novels, articles...), and a singer!
I teach privately or in small groups, face to face or on Skype.

As a teacher, my emphasis is on communication, and I always use grammar in context.

I am patient, gentle, efficient, enthusiastic, and dedicated to teaching my native language in a way that will help my students build their confidence.

I like to consider my approach as that of a personal trainer, encouraging my students to improve and build up strength and skills through a personalized, progressive –and pleasant- approach.

My students are diverse: adults of all ages who are planning on interacting with the locals on their next trip to France, francophiles, wine and culture lovers, parents of French-speaking children, and students/professors with specific academic needs.

If you want to inquire about my lessons, you can email me: sandrinedeparis [at] rocketmail [dot] com. 

What students say about me:
"Sandrine isn’t my first tutor, but she is the best. Her assistance was invaluable and aided me tremendously during my last vacation to France and Paris this September.  She is great for beginners, like me, and for those who are very advanced. / Sandrine n'est pas mon premier précepteur, mais, elle est la meilleure.  Son assistance a été inestimable et m’a aidé immensément pendant mes vacances en septembre dernier en France et à Paris.  Elle est fabuleuse pour les débutants, comme moi, et pour les très avancés."
Peter B.

"I was referred to Sandrine by a French tutor on Craigslist who was a bit too far away from my neighborhood. I'm so grateful she passed on Sandrine's information because I have no doubt she sent me the best in the business. Weekly for a year and a half, Sandrine met a friend and me in cafés around the city and taught us French lessons from square one. I knew nothing at the onset, and today, I've just returned from a 3-week stay in Paris where I was able to get around, ask questions, make restaurant reservations over the phone and have polite conversation with ease. At one point my husband even said with surprise, "I'm really impressed with your French."
Sandrine's teaching style is conversational, practical, engaging and interesting. We covered the basics like time, place, season and day-to-day items, but we also let the conversation veer into personal updates and plans and ideas, which really expanded our vocabulary and exemplified the sort of speaking we'd be wanting to practice in "real" life. Besides being a fantastic tutor, Sandrine is charming, funny, patient and brilliant. I think she's teaching herself Hebrew now--the fifth of her spoken tongues. This woman has a gift for language and makes learning a new one fun. I can't recommend her highly enough."
Jamie Shaw, Mill Valley, CA

"Sandrine is absolutely the best French teacher I’ve ever had in all the years that I’ve studied French, and our lessons were always the highlight of my week. With Sandrine, my French speaking abilities and confidence improved dramatically, and she personalized my lessons to fix the specific mistakes I made. She also helped me speak more like a native speaker, versus teaching me “classroom French”. Her custom homework assignments were truly helpful, and I recommend Sandrine to anyone at any level, whether to learn French for the first time or to advance to fluency with confidence. Merci, Sandrine!"
Larissa M.

"Sandrine is a wonderful, experienced, flexible and creative French teacher with an immense background and knowledge in the language.  She is also a lovely human being which makes taking lessons from her a joy.  She kindly and patiently assesses skill levels and creatively personalizes lessons that best facilitate learning.  In the past year, for one hour a week, we have learned and advanced our French tremendously with Sandrine's expert help.  We would highly recommend anyone, at any skill level, and any age, interested in learning French, give Sandrine a call.  Elle est merveilleuse!"
Marcus and Anne Marie B.

"I've been going to France for visits regularly since the 70s, so I speak some French and have a number of French friends. But I hadn't visited for a while, and I needed help getting my tongue and mind working again before going back, so I called Sandrine. She was the perfect teacher. She tailored her lessons to my needs and to my level, she gave me challenging and entertaining assignments, and she made detailed notes of all the phrases I had trouble with so I could review them later. After a few lessons, I noticed I was speaking with more fluency and more confidence. Sandrine is an exceptional guide to the French language. I have had several tutors over the years, and Sandrine is by far the most rigorous instructor and her sessions the most engaging. I recommend her whole-heartedly. I look forward to my next lesson!"
Jeffrey F.

"What can I say, Sandrine is fabulous!
Punctual, professional, cheerful, patient, my overall experience with her is positive.
When I first began working with Sandrine I was lost in a French 1B class. Sandrine began by working with my text book and homework assignments.
Soon, by using own words and expressions she turned my thoughts into French. French is a marvelously nuanced language, Sandrine provides insight and awareness of this. In addition, she writes down the relevant issues for study and rewriting practice later. Overall, Sandrine provides a very workable, comprehensive and organized approach to studying the French language. "
Paula K.

"Sandrine works at your level and engages you with interesting conversations that makes the learning rewarding and enjoyable. She is very professional and provides a learning style that makes French easy at the level that is meaningful for her new students."
Leo V. Ph.D.

"Sandrine makes learning French fun. She is patient and can customize the lesson to suit your travel needs and lifestyle. We go over reading, writing, grammar, as well as conversation. I look forward to my lesson each week!"
Rykarda P.

"Sandrine worked with my schedule to provide me convenient private French lessons in the comfort of my home. She paid attention to my language goals and tailored the lessons to my specific needs (a visit of Foreign relatives who do not speak English). Her friendly, encouraging teaching style put me at ease to improve my conversational French. She also taught me Spanish, in preparation for a trip to Argentina."
Nikki G.

"I am a busy practicing doctor and recently decided to learn French at the age of 55. I work and vacation in Paris 4-5 times a year and it is essential that I not only speak French, but do so with correct grammar, words, grace, and elegance. I also importantly need a teacher that is accommodating, flexible, kind, experienced, able to work with my schedule, and fully customize our lessons. Sandrine is the best teacher I have ever had as she provides all these and more. In addition, with all my questions about words, grammar, usage, context, and definitions, she has always had the correct and proper answer for me. She also knows well the fine balance between how much to push a student, and how much to let them do what they can. I am now a beginner conversationalist starting from nothing in a language that used to be overwhelming. I am learning French one word at a time and one lesson at a time and am thankful for all of Sandrine's great skills. I look forward to our every class"
Dr. James Romano, MD

"Sandrine was the first and best teacher I had since going to Paris to study French as a beginner in 1999. She always made the learning fun for me and under her guidance my French improved dramatically. She is patient and fun, and knows her business. Now that she lives in San Francisco, she tutors my 15 year-old granddaughter."
Anne M.