Core holiday vocabulary — places, accommodation, activities
The themed word banks you will reuse in every holiday question.
Let's start by building a reliable bank of holiday words (le vocabulaire des vacances). Notice the gender (le/la) every time — it decides which words around the noun must change.
Where you go (les destinations).
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| les vacances (f, pl) | lay va-KONSS | the holidays |
| la mer / la plage | la mair / la plazh | the sea / the beach |
| la montagne | la mon-TA-nyuh | the mountain(s) |
| la campagne | la kom-PA-nyuh | the countryside |
| la ville | la veel | the town/city |
| l'étranger (m) | lay-tron-ZHAY | abroad |
| le pays | luh pay-EE | the country |
Where you stay (le logement / l'hébergement).
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| un hôtel | uhn o-TEL | a hotel |
| une auberge de jeunesse | ün o-BAIRZH duh zhuh-NESS | a youth hostel |
| un camping | uhn kom-PEENG | a campsite |
| un gîte | uhn zheet | a holiday cottage |
| une tente | ün tont | a tent |
| une chambre | ün SHONBR | a (bed)room |
What you do (les activités).
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| nager / se baigner | na-ZHAY / suh bay-NYAY | to swim / to bathe |
| bronzer | bron-ZAY | to sunbathe |
| visiter un musée | vee-zee-TAY uhn mü-ZAY | to visit a museum |
| faire du shopping | fair dü SHO-peeng | to go shopping |
| se reposer | suh ruh-po-ZAY | to rest/relax |
| prendre des photos | prondr day fo-TO | to take photos |
Worked mini-example. Put three banks together into one sentence: Pendant les vacances, je vais à la mer et je loge dans un hôtel. (During the holidays, I go to the seaside and I stay in a hotel.) One destination word, one verb, one accommodation word — and you already have a full, examinable sentence.
- Les vacances is always plural and feminine.
- Destinations: la mer (sea), la montagne (mountains), la campagne (countryside), l'étranger (abroad).
- Accommodation: un hôtel, une auberge de jeunesse (youth hostel), un camping, un gîte.
- Activities are verbs: nager (swim), bronzer (sunbathe), visiter (visit), se reposer (relax).