Moving abroad is a massive dream for some and with France, you have the chance to explore one the most cultural countries on the continent. Having a lovely villa on the coast or a trendy apartment in the city enables you to live a completely different lifestyle and take advantage of all around you, from French furniture to French fashion.

Menton, Cote d’Azur, France by Berthold Werner

It is advised that you pick a region where people go to visit on their holidays or at least where the local economy has a healthy bounce to it. It also helps if the location has great communication and access to the countries roadways, unless, of course, you want to feel detached in a serene environment.

Putting money into property abroad can be quite a risk and therefore it is the better bet to locate yourself in an area that has a history of having a healthy financial climate. If you do have money to burn, however, you may feel obliged to test out untapped areas and gamble on a slightly more obscure part of the country.

For the purposes of this post though, we’ll just stick to the well-established towns and cities.

Going for glamour

It’s fair to say that the most obvious places in France to relocate to are the likes of Paris and the south coast (Cote d’Azur). The French capital of Paris harbours expensive tastes, but great opportunity for profitable investments on property, with house prices always on the rise and the city never going out of fashion. Grabbing yourself a city apartment and decking it out with some trendy French furniture and artwork could really spruce up your life.

The Cote d’Azur offers a completely different angle to French living thanks to both the climate and the jet set lifestyle. The big problem, however, is that you will need a pretty big budget and small investors will struggle to get on the property ladder. If you do have the money, it can be a very sound investment and you will be able to enjoy every sunny day of your time down there.

The Alps

For those of an active disposition will likely see the Alps as a fantastic prospect when deciding where to move to in France. The location is possibly the most popular skiing destination on the planet and because of that, house prices can be quite high, but going just a couple of miles out of the hotspots could see you pick up a bargain.

The slopes are the real attraction, of course, and you could enjoy a life of shopping in some of the most stylish shopping areas and then moving onto a bit of skiing, as well as taking in the breath-taking views.

French Alps by Jim Trodel

Living it up in the city

French cities are finding more and more investment being thrown at them and so are making for a very prosperous place to move to.

Places like Marseille and Bordeaux are beginning to thrive, the latter being the capital of one of France’s finest wine regions. With the countries brilliant TGV train service, most places are very accessible and going from somewhere like Marseille to Paris can be done in just under two hours.

Other locations worth a mention for a great taste of French city life include Reims and Strasbourg.

About the author: Sam writes for The Furniture Market where you can get a great selection of furniture made from solid oak and in such styles as French style furniture.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by agaw.dilim

The key to planning cheap city breaks, is to first identify what the major costs may be. These are normally to be found in transport, accommodation, and activities. By choosing the most economical way to go about each of these things, weekend city breaks anywhere in Europe become more affordable.

Airline Fares: Landing on the cheapest options

Depending on the destination, the cost of flights can quite often be the most expensive part of a weekend city break in Europe. There are several ways that one can go about reducing the cost though, and all that is needed is a little time and effort. The well-known budget airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet all have websites that can be browsed through, and from time to time, they also run worthwhile deals. Websites that compare the prices of different airlines can also be helpful in tracking down a cheap flight. Examples of such sites are skyscanner, Opodo, Expedia, Spa Travel, fare compare,etc.

Accommodation: Getting the best deals

After the flights, accommodation can be the next most expensive part when planning weekend city breaks in Europe. Fortunately, the internet can again be of assistance, and it is possible to both view and book hotels for a cheap city break in Paris online. Many hotels will offer some form of discount if staying more than two nights, and so the overall cost per person per night can be reduced.

Activities: Cheap and Cheerful things to do

The French capital has a wealth of things to see and do, and there are several ways to do this in the most economical way whilst not compromising on seeing the attractions themselves.

The first thing to do, is spend a little time in researching Paris, and visit those sites that are grouped together in order to avoid zig-zagging all over the city. Saving travel costs on taxis or other public transport goes a long way to make a cheap city break in Paris. Another idea is to pick the best day to see each attraction. Sundays in particular are a good time to see some places, as the Louvre is free one Sunday per month, and the Sunday organ recital at the Notre Dane Cathedral adds another dimension to the experience there. Paris also has many free museums, such as the Modern Art Museum, Fine Arts Museum and the Paris Fashion Museum. The Rodin Museum is also free on the first Sunday of every month.

Perhaps the most helpful piece of advice when planning cheap city breaks in Paris, or indeed any other city in Europe, is to be flexible. Whilst weekend city breaks might be the most desired choice, it is actually a lot less expensive to travel between Monday and Thursday than it is during the weekend. Early morning flights can also be cheaper than mid morning flights, and occasionally, leaving booking flights and hotels until the last minute can lead to price reductions.

Dave writes for Spa Travel an online travel agent dedicated to offering the cheapest Spa Breaks, flights, hotels and holiday packages for the UK outbound Traveller.

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