Une semaine entre lecture et escapade à San Remo
A2 French listening practice · French · Curated for beginners
What does “une escapade” mean in French?
In French, “une escapade” is a short, relaxing getaway — a day trip or a weekend somewhere to break from your normal week. That is exactly what happens here: the speaker lives in Cannes, drives ninety minutes to San Remo in Italy, eats pasta, walks by the sea, and comes home the same evening. In English “escapade” sounds wild or risky. In French it is much gentler — simply a nice little trip.
From the clip: “Je suis allé à San Remo pour passer la journée… nous nous sommes baladés un peu dans la ville.” — “I went to San Remo to spend the day… we wandered around the town a bit.” This whole easy day trip is what French calls une escapade. “Escapade” comes from the Italian “scappare” (to escape), which also gives French “échapper.” Both the French and English words share that root — but they drifted apart. English kept the meaning of a wild, risky adventure. French softened it into something pleasant: “une escapade en amoureux” (a romantic getaway), “une escapade à la mer” (a trip to the seaside). In everyday speech you can also say “se balader” (to stroll around), as the speaker does here, or “faire un tour.” But for the trip itself — the leaving-your-routine part — “une escapade” is the perfect, common word.