Have you heard of the Australian Bar during your French lessons at the Easy French Immersion School? You should have, it is where the vast majority of the students take a break from studying French and make the most of the long happy hour every Monday. It’s cheap and fun and full of students; both internationals and French natives.
A Group of French Students Go For a Happy Hour Tear Up in France
The teachers at my French language school had also talked about ‘Café Oz’ during our lessons. It is well known in Montpellier and attracts a wide variety of people. Monday nights however are a little different, with beers starting from 2 euros for a pint all of the students empty their residences for a night of value for money madness.
My friends from my student residence who are also here to learn French in France decided it was time we partook in this tradition. So we got dressed up, shared a lovely bottle of French wine and headed out to the Australian bar.
I had been to the Australian bar before for the language exchange recommended by my French language school and it was a great evening but this was completely different. As we arrived we were given a very warm welcome by the staff even though they were already very busy at the bar, pulling pints rapidly but with huge smiles on their faces. The staff there had an infectious energy and as I would see later is big reason why people come here.
A Second Home To Students From Easy French Immersion School
From talking to the staff, Mondays tend to be a little busier earlier in the evening and a lot of that is down to the large number of students from the Easy French Language School who come here every Monday. Although learning French in Montpellier is a lot cheaper than in Paris or some of the other big cities many of us are trying to save money so such a bargain of a night out is a lot better than paying full whack at the weekend. As I said before the beer is cheap but all of the cocktails are down at 4.5 euros as well, mixers, wines and shots are all available at highly reduced prices too.
The happy hour continued until 11pm and after that many of the good French students went home to rest ready for the next day of lessons, you need a clear head when you’re learning French in France and those preparing for the DELF or DALF Exam were particularly well disciplined.
What Time does French Class Start Tomorrow?
However for those of us who stayed out the dance floor quickly filled up and more and more people started to arrive, it was clearly a popular night. From talking to a few people they told me a big reason for them coming was the music. Sure enough the DJ was putting on a nice mix of cheesy classic belters and brand new stuff. If you like to dance you will definitely hear a lot of stuff it’s easy to move too especially after a few 2 euro pints!
The night was in its prime, the lights were dimmed, the music blasting, people were encouraged to get up on the tables and the stage was full of dancers good and bad (I fall into the latter category). Then the music stopped. The DJ shouted down the microphone something in French and then stuck on ‘Back in Black’ by AC/DC, a classic rock anthem and the bar tenders jump onto the stage and started playing some toy wooden guitars and looked like they were having the time of their lives. It was a good laugh and got everyone pumped up and screaming. Like I said you could see all the bar staff having a great time with each other and they were obviously a close knit team; lobbing glass after glass across the whole bar as well as full bottles of spirits just for the fun of it seemed. I spoke to a few of them and they were happy to let me practice my French language skills and even encouraged me to do so.
Eventually the lights came on and we had to shuffle out but we were bid a fond farewell by the bartenders and really got the feeling that they loved their work. So me and the other French learners filed out feeling great and all agreed that we’d be going most weeks. Before that though we have another week of the wonderful experience of learning French in Montpellier at one of the best language immersion courses available in France.