Course Information

Course: French IB v.3
Unit: 1. EN VILLE
Assignment: 2. Visitons la ville
VISITONS LA VILLE
As Isabelle and Aurélie stroll around Paris, Aurélie points out numerous businesses and public buildings.
Watch the slide show to discover the businesses and places that they visit.

Take a moment to listen to the dialogue again and pay attention to what buildings they saw in Paris. Now
think about whether or not you would see the same type of buildings in the United States (U.S.).

In this lesson, you're going to study the French names for several buildings and businesses, so if you're ever
in France, you'll be able to ask where the bank is or where the department store is. You'll also read about
some of the differences and similarities between a French city and an American city. Let's get started!

OBJECTIVES
 Identify and analyze key vocabulary words.
 Identify the main idea when listening to a dialogue or when reading a paragraph about cities and
their public buildings.

Now that you're familiar with some of the buildings and businesses mentioned in the dialogue, click on
different buildings below to hear how they're pronounced, and then practice saying the pronunciations
aloud.

Notice that a lot of the words are mots apparentés, "cognates," which means they look alike in both English
and French and have the same meaning. For example, un hôpital looks like the English word "hospital." Let's
take a look at some other cognates.

Le saviez-vous ?
While you're walking through town with friends, you may want to point out a church building. 

Voici une église. → Here is a church. 

Some Christians consider people, not an edifice, to be "the church." In this case, you may prefer to use the
term un lieu de culte, which means "a place of worship." 

Aurélie pointed out a lot of places in Paris to Isabelle as they were walking around. Let's take a closer look at
a few of these places and some of the markets, so you'll know what to expect if you travel there.

One of the historic places Isabelle and Aurélie saw was the Café Procope. This famous café was started over
300 years ago, making it one of the oldest cafés in Paris. In fact, Voltaire and Rousseau, two famous French
philosophers from the eighteenth century, often visited there.

In France, cafés are a large part of their culture. In some neighborhoods, there are numerous cafés on the
same block. In fact, cafés are a popular hangout for teens, unlike the U.S. where cafés aren't as common.
While strolling around, Isabelle and Aurélie saw le musée d'Orsay, "The Orsay Musuem," which is another
popular tourist destination in Paris. Le musée d'Orsay, which was once a train station, has a great collection
of impressionist art.

In the dialogue, Isabelle and Aurélie also saw le stade de Roland Garros, the "Roland Garros Stadium" which
is named after Roland Garros, a French aviator who was the first man to fly over the Mediterranean Sea. Le
stade de Roland Garros is where the famous French Open, a prestigious tennis tournament, takes place every
year. Inside the stadium, there is a tenniseum, "a tennis museum."

Aurélie also pointed out Le Grand Rex, a historic cinéma, "movie theatre" in Paris. Le Grand Rex is one of the
oldest and biggest movie theatres in Paris and, besides showing movies, holds numerous concerts and
festivals throughout the year.

During their stroll, Aurélie pointed out the following stores and markets to Isabelle.
le marché → market
l'épicerie → grocery store
le supermarché → supermarket

Although groceries can be bought at all three stores, they are all different stores. Most cities have at least
one marché if not more. In Paris alone, there are 78 food markets. One of the oldest markets takes place in
the quartier latin, "the student quarter," on the picturesque rue Mouffetard, "Mouffetard Street."
There are generally two types of markets: closed and open-air. "Closed markets" are called les halles. Many
people prefer markets to supermarkets because the produce and meat is generally produced locally, which
makes it fresher.

But, the markets aren't just about buying groceries, they are about the atmosphere and experience. If you go
to a market in France, you'll notice that it's kind of like a social gathering and a treasure hunt all in one. As
you stroll down the street looking for good deals, you can chat with the locals or the merchants. Many
people meet up with their friends while they shop.

Although there are several farmers' markets across the U.S., they're not as common or social as they are in
France.

Une épicerie, which literally means a "spice shop," is like a mini grocery store that has a little bit of
everything, including fruits and vegetables. Les épiceries are typically open more, even on days when other
stores are closed, and generally have later hours.

Un supermarché is a lot bigger than une épicerie and sells everything from groceries to household items.
Carrefour, Monoprix, and Intermarchés are popular chains of grocery stores in France and are similar to
grocery stores in the U.S.

Aurélie also points out la pharmacie, "the pharmacy," where her parents buy medicine. Well, unlike the U.S.,
it's very rare in France to find a supermarket that sells over-the-counter medicine. Instead, you would need
to look for a store that has a sign with a green first aid cross. This sign instantly lets you know that the store
is une pharmacie, "a pharmacy." Apart from les médicaments, "medicine," you can also find beauty products
and lotions to buy in les pharmacies.
In the dialogue, Aurélie also shows Isabelle le bureau de poste, "the post office" where her family buys les
timbres,"stamps," and mails letters. In France, it's really easy to point out les bureaux de postes because each
building has a bright yellow sign with the word la poste on it.

Many people who need stamps also visit un tabac, which is a small store that sells stamps, postcards,
newspapers, candy, and tobacco, hence the name tabac, which means, "tobacco." Although tobacco stores
do exist in the U.S., they're not as common as they are in France where they can be seen in almost every
neighborhood.

Complétez les activités suivantes pour vous entrainer à utiliser ce que vous avez appris dans cette leçon. 

Entrainons-Nous!
Cliquez ici pour voir et imprimer la liste de vocabulaire.

RÉVISONS!
In this lesson, you learned a lot of new vocabulary that will allow you to talk about the buildings and
businesses found in your city as well as others. Before moving on to the next section, make sure you can
analyze and identify the key vocabulary words covered in this lesson. 

Don't forget to review the vocabulary in the last section of this lesson.

Question #1Matching
Dites où est chaque personne. 

Question #2MultipleChoice
Caroline et Sophie regardent un nouveau film. Où sont-elles ?
Elles sont au cinéma.
Elles sont au café.
Elles sont au théâtre.
Elles sont au bureau de poste.
Question #3TrueFalse
Caroline achète un journal chaque matin au kiosque. 
True
False
Question #4MultipleChoice
Olivia étudie parce qu'elle a un examen de biologie. Où est-elle ?
Elle est au kiosque.
Elle est à la librairie.
Elle est à la bibliothèque.
Elle est au centre commercial.
Question #5MultipleSelect
Choisissez toutes les réponses possibles. 
Caroline a besoin d'acheter des fruits. Où achète-elle les fruits ? 
une épicerie
un supermarché
un musée
un marché
Question #6MultipleChoice
Analysez la situation et choisissez la bonne réponse qui explique ce qui s'est passé. 
Thomas, an American exchange student in France, has a terrible sore throat and needs to buy some throat
lozenges, so he goes to a grocery store, but he leaves empty handed.
Thomas can't purchase lozenges in a French supermarket because they're only sold in a French hospital.
Thomas will need to go to a pharmacy to buy throat lozenges because they're not sold in French
supermarkets.
The moment Thomas entered the grocery store, his sore throat disappeared.
Thomas forgot to bring his money to the grocery store, so he can't buy any throat lozenges.
VOCABULARY
la bibliothèque library

le bureau de poste post office

le café café

le centre commercial mall

le cinéma movie theatre

l'épicerie grocery store

le gymnase gymnasium

l'hôpital hospital

le kiosque kiosk ; newspaper stand

la librairie bookstore

le magasin store

la maison house

le marché market

le musée museum
le parc park

la pharmacie pharmacy

la piscine pool

le restaurant restaurant

la salle de sport gym

le stade stadium

le supermarché supermarket

small shop where you find stamps, bus tickets, stationery, post cards
le tabac
and tobacco

le théâtre theatre