Welcome to Unit 10 — travel in French! In this lesson you will learn the essential vocabulary for planning a trip: flights, hotels, passports, and suitcases. You already know how to talk about the present and the near future — now you will put those skills to work in a real travel scenario. Camille and Lucas are planning their first trip together, and you will follow along every step of the way. Let's go!
Learning tips
- Many French travel words look similar to English: 'passeport', 'hôtel', 'réservation', 'organiser'. Use these cognates as anchors and the new vocabulary will stick much faster.
- Notice the difference between 'voyager' (the verb, to travel) and 'le voyage' (the noun, a trip/journey). Both come up constantly when talking about travel.
- When you need to say you are going to do something, use 'aller + infinitive': Je vais préparer ma valise. This near-future structure is your best friend for talking about travel plans.
- The phrase 'il faut + infinitive' (it is necessary to / you have to) is very common in practical French conversations. Listen for it in the dialog today.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| la santé | health |
| respirer | to breathe |
| bouger | to move / exercise |
| s'étirer | to stretch |
| méditer | to meditate |
| profiter | to enjoy / make the most of |
| éviter | to avoid |
| important | important |
| régulièrement | regularly |
| chaque jour | every day |
Dialog
Camille and Lucas are at Camille's apartment planning a summer trip to the south of France. Lucas has brought a map and some brochures. They discuss destination ideas, flights, hotel reservations, and packing — a very practical conversation full of today's key vocabulary.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| voyager | /vwa.ja.ʒe/ | to travel | Verb — 'voyager' is a regular -er verb. Note: -ger verbs add an 'e' before -ons: nous voyageons. |
| le voyage | /lə vwa.jaʒ/ | the trip / journey | Masculine noun. 'Bon voyage!' literally means 'Good trip!' — a fixed farewell phrase. |
| l' l'aéroport | /la.e.ʁɔ.pɔʁ/ | the airport | Masculine noun. The silent 't' at the end is typical. 'Aéro-' = air, 'port' = port/gateway. |
| la valise | /la va.liz/ | the suitcase | Feminine noun. 'Faire sa valise' (to pack one's suitcase) is a very common expression — see chunks below. |
| le vol | /lə vɔl/ | the flight | Masculine noun. Also means 'theft' in other contexts. In travel contexts it always means 'flight'. |
| le passeport | /lə pas.pɔʁ/ | the passport | Masculine noun. Spelled similarly to English. The final 't' is silent. |
| l' l'hôtel | /lo.tɛl/ | the hotel | Masculine noun. The circumflex accent on 'ô' signals a historical 's' (hostel and hotel share the same Latin root). |
| la réservation | /la ʁe.zɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃/ | the reservation / booking | Feminine noun. A near-perfect cognate with English. 'Faire une réservation' = to make a reservation. |
| préparer | /pʁe.pa.ʁe/ | to prepare / to get ready | Regular -er verb. Very versatile: préparer un voyage, préparer un repas, préparer un examen. |
| organiser | /ɔʁ.ɡa.ni.ze/ | to organise / to plan | Regular -er verb. Note the French spelling with 's', not 'z'. 'Organiser un voyage' = to plan a trip. |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| l' l'agence de voyage | /la.ʒɑ̃s də vwa.jaʒ/ | ||
| la destination | /la dɛs.ti.na.sjɔ̃/ | ||
| le séjour | /lə se.ʒuʁ/ | ||
| confirmer | /kɔ̃.fiʁ.me/ | ||
| annuler | /a.ny.le/ | ||
| l' l'itinéraire | /li.ti.ne.ʁɛʁ/ |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| je vais voyager à... | I'm going to travel to... |
| j'ai une réservation pour... | I have a reservation for... |
| faire sa valise | to pack one's suitcase |
Grammar: Review of 'aller + infinitive' for future plans — contrast with present tense for current actions
| Temps | Structure | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| Présent (action en cours) | sujet + verbe conjugué | Je prépare ma valise. |
| Futur proche (plan immédiat) | sujet + aller (présent) + infinitif | Je vais préparer ma valise. |
| Présent | nous organisons | Nous organisons le voyage. |
| Futur proche | nous allons organiser | Nous allons organiser le voyage. |
| Présent | tu voyages | Tu voyages souvent. |
| Futur proche | tu vas voyager | Tu vas voyager cet été. |
In French, you can talk about the same action in two very different time frames using just the present tense or the near future (futur proche). The present tense describes what is happening now or as a regular habit: 'Je prépare ma valise' (I am packing my suitcase / I pack my suitcase). The near future describes a plan or an action you are about to do: 'Je vais préparer ma valise' (I am going to pack my suitcase). To form the near future, take the present tense of 'aller' (je vais, tu vas, il/elle va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont) and add the infinitive of the action verb. This structure is extremely common in spoken French and is usually preferred over the simple future tense at A1 level. Compare: 'Nous organisons le voyage' (We are organising the trip — present) vs. 'Nous allons organiser le voyage' (We are going to organise the trip — near future). The same contrast works for all subjects: 'Tu voyages souvent' (You travel often) vs. 'Tu vas voyager cet été' (You are going to travel this summer).
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the correct French travel word.
- J'ai besoin de mon pour voyager à l'étranger. (passeport)(the travel document you need to enter another country)
- Nous allons réserver un près de la plage. (hôtel)(where you sleep on a trip)
- Elle doit préparer sa avant de partir. (valise)(the bag you take on a trip)
- Le de Paris à Nice dure environ une heure. (vol)(the plane journey)
- Il faut le voyage longtemps à l'avance. (organiser)(to plan / arrange everything)
Grammar Application
Rewrite each present-tense sentence in the near future (futur proche) using aller + infinitive.
- Je prépare le voyage. → (futur proche)(je prépare → je vais...)
- Nous organisons tout. → (futur proche)(nous organisons → nous allons...)
- Tu voyages en été. → (futur proche)(tu voyages → tu vas...)
- Il réserve l'hôtel. → (futur proche)(il réserve → il va...)
- Vous préparez vos valises. → (futur proche)(vous préparez → vous allez...)
Translate into French
Translate each sentence into French. Use the near future or present tense as needed.
- I am going to travel to Nice this summer.
- She is going to pack her suitcase this evening.
- We are going to book the hotel tomorrow.
- Do you have your passport?
- The flight leaves at nine o'clock.
Build Your Own Sentence
Write your own French sentence using at least one travel word and the near future (aller + infinitive) or the present tense.
Takeaway
To talk about travel plans in French, use 'aller + infinitive' for what you are going to do, and keep handy the core nouns: le voyage, l'aéroport, la valise, le vol, le passeport, l'hôtel, la réservation.