Essential French summer vocabulary

Posted by Josh on 25th Jun 2025 in the blog in the vocabulary category

A pair of sunglasses on a beach

What are your plans for the summer? Spending some time at the beach and soaking up the sun? Travelling abroad with friends and family? Or simply staying at home and relaxing?

Even if ‘getting better at French’ isn’t part of your plans, you can get a head start by learning how to express your plans in French. Below you’ll find some essential French summer vocabulary grouped according to category, from weather to activities.

La météo — Weather

French English
C'est ensoleillé It's sunny
C'est orageux It's stormy
Il fait beau It's nice out
Il fait chaud It's hot
Il fait bon It's warm
Il fait une chaleur torride It's scorching
La canicule Heatwave
Les lunettes de soleil Sunglasses

Les dates — Dates

French English
Solstice d’été Summer solstice (21 June)
Fête de la musique Music Day (June 21)
Fête Nationale Française Bastille Day (14 July)
Assomption The Assumption (15 August)
Festival d’Avignon Avignon festival

Les activités — Activities

French English
Aller à la pêche To go fishing
Faire de la randonnée To go hiking
Partir en vacances To go on holiday
Mettre de la crème solaire To apply suncream
Se détendre To chill out
Aller à la plage To go to the beach
Aller camper To go camping
Aller nager To go swimming

Les lieux— Places

French English
Le parc aquatique The waterpark
Le parc The park
La plage The beach
L’hôtel The hotel
Le glacier The ice cream parlour
La colonie de vacances The summer camp

Make sure to check out our blogs on essential autumn and spring vocabulary too!

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