Language Lab

English▾

← All destinations

🇫🇷 France · City guide

Moving to Paris: Language & First Steps

France's capital and largest job market; French goes a long way at the préfecture and with landlords.

Living in Paris

Newcomers spread across the arrondissements and near suburbs like Montreuil and Pantin, trading space for location. The job market is France's largest, but the housing search is brutal (a full dossier and guarantor matter), and French goes a long way at the préfecture and with landlords.

To settle into Paris you'll need French — and the practical kind: residency steps at the préfecture and, for non-EU arrivals, validating your VLS-TS visa with OFII within 3 months, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to do first and the phrases to learn.

Sources: Language Lab's French curriculum & culture notes; city/official processes vary — confirm with Paris's local authority. · Join the beta →

What to do in your first week in Paris?

1. Register your address / residency — residency steps at the préfecture and, for non-EU arrivals, validating your VLS-TS visa with OFII within 3 months.
2. Open a local bank account so you can get paid and pay rent.
3. Register with a local doctor (GP) and sort health insurance.
4. Get a local SIM / mobile plan and set up any required digital ID.
5. Learn your transport options — tickets, passes and routes.

French phrasebooks for Paris

For the full country picture, see our guide to moving to France.