France Travel Guide

Posts Tagged ‘miracle’

Buying a house in France is a serious business for anyone. Whether you’re selling up lock, stock and barrel and emigrating to France permanently, or you’re lucky enough to be searching for a French holiday home, the expense is still substantial.

So why do we notice so many folks treat buying a house in France with so little thought? It’s not a pair of shoes – you can’t take it back if it doesn’t fit right!

Yet too often we hear the same horrors. Someone who has bought a French house without thinking and is now beginning to find problems. Who are these individuals? They must be doing very well to just travel France buying French property as the fancy takes them.

The mad thing is, nothing could be further from the truth. Often – in fact more often than not – these are couples putting their life savings, their whole future, into their French dream house.

And a alarming number of them haven’t got the first idea. They’ve done very little research, they don’t speak any French and they’ve sought no professional advice.

Then when things go pear-shaped they start moaning about the system, the language, the French, the agent… just about anything and everything is to blame but themselves. They treated buying a house in France like getting a lottery ticket and now they’re complaining because their one-in-a-million gamble didn’t pay off!

Now perhaps you think I’m being a bit extreme. I’m not. I know a family who you would think of as very sensible and cautious who signed an agreement to buy a French property while on vacation. They weren’t even looking for a house when they left England but they fell in love with the house.

What they were unaware of was that by the time they got back to the UK ten days later, getting out of the contract would cost them 12,000 Euros.

I can give you another example of a couple who bought a French property to live in part and turn the rest into gites. They wildly underestimated the renovation costs (because they didn’t ask) and now live in a place that needs a new roof. They can’t finish the work so they’ve only got small pensions to live off. The house is in a bad way so they can’t afford to sell and return to England either.

It’s all very concerning, really. I hear one of these stories about every other month and it’s such a pity. Now I’m not perfect, I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself living over here and renovating an old French property, but fortunately my misjudgements have been quite minor because I’ve invariably checked and double checked the costly things.

Which is, when you strip it all back to basics, all anyone needs to do.

The French property market offers a wealth of opportunities and buying a house in France is neither particularly hard nor particularly complicated. The trouble is that unless you’re French or you’ve owned French property before it IS new to you. There will be things you haven’t met before. There will be things that don’t go quite as expected.

The essential thing is to get a degree of knowledge behind you. Search online, buy a book or two, ask questions – and don’t give up until you’re happy with the answers.

France is a great place to live but it’s not dreamland and miracles don’t happen just because you want them. If you crash around blindly in the French property market you will find trouble. Do your homework wisely and buying a house in France will be a delight – which is what it should be and what I wish for everyone who is looking.

France touring is more noteworthy because of its sharp cultural roots. The French have forever been known as the connoisseurs of the arts be it music, literature as well as theater.

Literature played a principal part in the French cultural picture right from the 18th century when the miracle and morality plays attracted large audiences around the church of Notre dame. France travel is certain to bring up some names.

Some of the foremost names in the theatrical record of the world like Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas and Samuel Becket have been instrumental in both popularizing theatre in Paris as well as providing a concrete influence to the art form as a whole. Therefore, it is imperative for those who enjoy traveling France to witness the scenes where some of the foremost works of the chronicle of theatre have been staged. On your journey to France, Paris can certainly argue to be the spirit of the theatrical and intellectual activities of the world. Experiencing a theatrical performance in Paris can be an experience of a lifetime!

The fact that the city pays great attention to its theatrical heritage is evident from the point of view that theatre is not just an isolated activity in Paris but a major attraction of France travel. It is surrounded by a number of other activities, which revolve around the theatre as well. These comprise periodicals and newspapers, which are dedicated exclusively to the theatre.

Targeted largely at the tourists of Paris, many of these magazines like the Pariscope: Une Semaine de Paris and the Figaroscope are published at frequent intervals and regularly enclose a unique segment in English for the non-French speaking tourists who want a flavor of the theatre of Paris. Contributing to the boost of France travel, these periodicals present a listing of all the plays that take place in and around Paris.

For more information, the Saison de Paris can be obtained. It is a booklet offered at the tourism office located in Paris which can give the tourist essential information on the plays to view and the means of reaching the theatres. The tickets can be purchased at the theatre itself. However, it is best to get them at an early date.

However, for silent admirers of France a hassle free experience at the theatre is possible. One can ask the hotel reception or contact the nearest agent. Theatres in Paris cater to a broad range of tastes and intellectual sensibilities. Some of these comprise major productions, historical reconstructions and musicals besides a number of other genres.

Starting with Greek tragedies to more contemporary productions like light comedies, opera and one-man shows, Paris has them all. Cafe theatre, one of the most popular forms of entertainment and an attraction of France travel, available in Paris provides political satire and an reason for getting out of the tourist mode, which can be quite welcomed after long stretches of traveling through mundane modes of city watching.

Of the theatres in Paris, the best known is possibly the Moulin rouge, which has a number of other theaters in the world modeled after it. Other important venues comprise the Odeon, which is renowned all over Europe for its post war production of the plays of Ionesco, Edward Albee, and Samuel Beckett, who have been instrumental in giving theatre a more concrete form not just in France but all around the world! So, what are you waiting for? Include theatre in your France travel journeys for a lifetime experience.