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CITY GUIDES — FRANCE
Where to live in France: a mover’s city guide
Choosing a city in France? Compare the 5 cities we relocate to from Dubai — what each is like, and what moving into it involves.
European destinations we cover
Each guide covers customs, timings and what to expect on that specific route from Dubai.
Ireland
Netherlands
Belgium
Spain
Portugal
Italy
Switzerland
SwedenEU relief rules
France applies the EU’s relief for household goods moved in from outside the EU — we prepare that application before you ship.
Sea & road options
Most moves to France go by sea to a nearby port, then road delivery — often faster and greener than you would expect.
Residency paperwork
Several countries need proof of residence for duty relief — we tell you exactly what to prepare before you ship.
Choosing where to live in France
People moving from Dubai to France usually settle the country before they settle the city, then find the city is what actually shapes the move. Where you land decides which destination partner handles your delivery, how far your shipment travels after clearance, and — more than anything else — what physically has to happen to get your belongings through the door. This page covers the 5 cities we relocate to from Dubai, and what each one involves.
The cities below sit across Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Île-de-France. That matters more than it sounds: the region decides which destination partner carries your belongings into the property, and how far the shipment travels after it clears.
How your move reaches France
The customs side is prepared before arrival: the DGDDI déménagement file that brings qualifying household goods in duty-free travels with a French-ready inventory from day one.
For Paris and the larger cities, the delivery itself is the planning point — parking authorisation for the crew’s vehicle is arranged in advance, so the shipment is not stuck circling a block it cannot legally stop on.
Access is the variable that moves the price
Most of the cities we cover in France have an old centre, and that is the single thing most likely to change what a move costs. Streets laid out before motor vehicles do not take a 40-foot lorry, and buildings of that age often have no lift and a stairwell too tight for a sofa. None of that is a problem when it is known at survey and planned for. All of it is a problem when a crew finds it on the morning of the move.
If your city is not listed
These are the destinations we have written up, not the limit of where we go. We move households from Dubai to France as a whole, including towns with no page here. Tell us the address and we will survey and price it the same way.
Moving to France?
Pick your country guide above, or get a quote and we will plan the full route.