École nationale supérieure des mines de Nancy
Mines Nancy is one of the leading French engineering Grandes Écoles.
Main staircase in the hall of Ecole des Mines de Nancy
A grande école is a specialized top-level educational institution in France and some other previous French colonies such as Morocco or Tunisia. Grandes écoles are part of an alternative educational system that operates alongside the mainstream French public university system, and take the shape of institutes dedicated to teaching, research and professional training in either pure natural and social sciences, or applied sciences such as engineering, architecture, business administration, or public policy and administration.
Gate of the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand, in Paris, is one of the most famous lycées providing preparatory classes for grandes écoles. (It is on the right side of the rue Saint-Jacques; on the left is the Sorbonne.)
Image: Lycée Henri IV
Image: Lycée Henri IV rue Clovis