Travel and tourism: Vocabulary in context
Vocabulary for travel and tourism covers the words needed for holidays and trips: nouns such as les vacances (holidays, always plural), un séjour (a stay), un billet aller-retour (a return ticket), un vol (a flight) and la douane (customs); verbs including réserver (to book), faire les valises (to pack), atterrir (to land) and décoller (to take off); and the phrases used to describe a past trip and recommend a destination, such as ce qui m'a plu pendant mon séjour and je recommande. Examiners test accurate travel vocabulary alongside the perfect tense, since most travel answers describe what a student did on holiday.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the core travel nouns with gender: les vacances (feminine plural, never singular), un séjour, un billet aller-retour, un vol (a flight - note it also means a theft, so context decides the meaning), la douane, un office de tourisme (masculine, an unusual gender to memorise), le paysage.
- Learn the false friend un car: it means a coach/bus, not a car, which is une voiture - confusing the two in a transport answer changes the meaning of the whole sentence.
- Learn the near-miss une chambre: it means a bedroom or hotel room, not a chamber - une chambre d'hôtel is the standard phrase for a hotel room.
- Learn the false friend attendre: it means to wait for, not to attend, which is assister à - j'ai attendu le bus is 'I waited for the bus', not 'I attended the bus.'
- Learn the verbs for the journey itself: réserver un hôtel/un vol, faire les valises, décoller (to take off), atterrir (an -ir verb, to land), passer la douane (to go through customs).
- Build past-tense travel sentences using the perfect tense you already know, choosing the correct auxiliary (je suis allé(e) but j'ai réservé, j'ai visité), since travel is one of the most common contexts for perfect-tense practice.
- Practise adding an opinion about a past trip with ce qui m'a plu, c'est... (what I liked was...) plus a noun or infinitive, to move beyond a simple list of what you did.
Worked example
Build a perfect-tense sentence about a past holiday using at least three pieces of travel vocabulary and one opinion phrase.
- Choose the auxiliary for the main movement verb: aller takes être, so je suis allé(e) en France.
- Add a booking detail using avoir as the auxiliary: j'ai réservé un hôtel près de la plage.
- Add a transport detail, being careful with the false friend car: nous avons pris un car pour aller à l'aéroport.
- Add the flight itself: notre vol a décollé à huit heures et nous avons atterri deux heures plus tard.
- Close with an opinion phrase to lift the answer: 'Ce qui m'a plu pendant mon séjour, c'est le paysage magnifique.'
Practice questions
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Q1What does un car mean in French, and what English word does it resemble but NOT mean?Show answer
Answer: It means a coach/bus; it resembles but does not mean the English word 'car', which is une voiture.
Q2Translate into English: 'Nous avons attendu le vol pendant deux heures.'Show answer
Answer: We waited for the flight for two hours.
Q3Give the French verb meaning 'to take off' (of a plane).Show answer
Answer: décoller
Q4Translate into French: 'I booked a hotel room near the beach.'Show answer
Answer: J'ai réservé une chambre d'hôtel près de la plage.
Q5What is the gender of vacances, and how many meanings can un vol have?Show answer
Answer: Feminine, always plural (les vacances); un vol can mean 'a flight' or 'a theft', depending on context.
Q6Give one phrase meaning 'what I liked was...'Show answer
Answer: ce qui m'a plu, c'est...
Q7Correct the error: 'On a pris la voiture jaune pour aller à l'aéroport.' (the group travelled by public coach, not a car)Show answer
Answer: On a pris le car jaune pour aller à l'aéroport.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Lisez ce texte, puis répondez aux questions en anglais. 'L'année dernière, je suis allé en Espagne avec ma famille. Nous avons réservé un hôtel près de la plage et nous avons pris un vol direct, ce qui n'a dure que deux heures. À l'aéroport, il y avait beaucoup de monde à la douane, donc nous avons attendu presque une heure. Ce qui m'a plu le plus, c'était le paysage et la nourriture locale.' (a) Where did the writer go, and with whom? (2 marks) (b) How did the writer's family get there, and how long did it take? (2 marks) (c) What problem did they have at the airport? (1 mark) (d) What did the writer like most about the trip? (2 marks)
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Translate this passage into English: 'Des que nous sommes arrivés à l'hôtel, ma soeur a découvert qu'elle avait oublié son passeport dans le car. Heureusement, le chauffeur l'avait gardé en sécurité, et elle a pu le récupérer le lendemain matin.'
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See real GCSE French past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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