Visas
Citizens of the European Union (EU) can travel freely across France while those from Australia, Canada, USA and New Zealand will need a visa; allowing them 90 days in France. This can change and it is advisable to check with your Embassy well before travelling. Details can be found at the end of this document.

Health
All EU citizens are entitled to take advantage of the superb French Health Services as long as they have their current European Health Insurance Card (replacing the old E111). Free from www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk. (it takes about 10 days to arrive so do not leave it to the day of travel) This entitles you to up to 70 – 100% refund of any medical or dental expenses as long as the doctor is Government registered (medicin conventionne). The local pharmacy can always help with advice.

 

Consulates
The British Consulates in France are serviced through five different departments depending on the area you are visiting. Below is a general list of those consulates and the departments in France they cover:

britishconsulate.mail@orkilyon.fr
Based in Lyon, covering the South East Departments of:-
Auvergne, Bourgogne, Franche-Comte and the Rhone-Aolpes Region

MarseilleConsular.marseille@fco.gov.uk
Based in Marseille, covering the Southern Departments of:-
FrancePhyrenees-Orientales, Aude, Herault, Lozere, Gard, Vaucluse, Bouches-du-Rhone, Var, Alpes-Maritimes, Haute-Alpes, Alpes-de-Haut-Provence, Corsica and Monaco

Postmaster.bordeaux@fco.gov.uk
Based in Bordeaux, covering the twenty South West Departments of :-
Ariege, AVeyron, Charente-Maritime, Correze, Creuse, Dordogne, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Gironde, Landes, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrenees, Deux-Sevres, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Vienne and Haute-Vienne

Consular.lille@fco.gov.uk
Based in Lille, covering the five furthermost North Departments of:-
Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Aisne and Ardennes

Consularemail@pavis.mail.fco.gov.uk
The Paris Consulate covers all other areas not listed above.

For all those travelling through Ireland. You can contact the Irish Embassy on:-

Telephone: 01 44 17 67 00 or at Embassy of Ireland, 12 Avenue Foch, 75116, Paris

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Travel
Flights to the lesser known parts of France have improved greatly over the last two years and it is now possible to fly from within Europe for under £30 to anywhere in France. The following links may aid your search for airports in your area of choice:

www.ryanair.com
www.easyjet.com
www.flybe.com
www.airfrance.co.uk

You can also travel using the train links such as www.eurotunnel.com servicing France every 30 minutes from England (Folkestone – Calais). Also try www.eurostar.com and www.raileurope.co.uk (services sncf – the local French Rail Network but also the more exclusive TGV line) which can get you from Calais to Avignon, Nice, Toulouse, Narbonne, Bordeaux and Biarritz. Rather expensive at times and worth looking out for the offers!

Ferries are also prolific to the country with sites such as www.poferries.com (Dover to Calais, Hull – Zeebrugge) and www.brittanyferries.com (Portsmouth to Caen, St Malo. Plymouth to Cherbourg, Roscoff and Cork – Roscoff)

 

Driving
British, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and the USA driving licences are valid in France. If the vehicle is rented, check that the car has its car documentation (carte grise) and insurance papers as they must be carried with you at all times. The French law of ‘prioritie a droite’ – give way to traffic coming from the right (even minor roads) is being faded out, but be aware that it still applies.