Arrival (part 1 of 2)

You push open the door, the receptionist looks up, and the evening's first real test of your French begins. This part gets you from the entrance to your room without reaching for English once.

You practice the opening moves of a check-in: returning a bonsoir after dark, saying you have a reservation under your name, confirming how many nights you booked and what kind of room you asked for, and producing a passport when the desk asks for a pièce d'identité. From there the receptionist sends you upstairs, so you also learn the follow-up that saves your arms, Il y a un ascenseur ?, and how to picture the answer when directions come back as à droite or derrière vous. Everything runs in the formal register, which trains your ear for vous avez rather than tu as. Those same lines work at a hostel, a rented apartment, or anywhere a stranger has to check who you are before handing you anything.