Route
Removals
to France
The shortest of the four routes and the one most often run. Where it differs from a domestic move is not the driving — it is what the extra hours on the road mean for anything fragile, and what has to be documented before the vehicle can leave.
A move to France is, on paper, a long domestic move with a crossing in the middle. In practice two things change. The road time goes up considerably, which changes how fragile items have to be protected. And the load becomes a customs movement, which changes what has to exist on paper before anything is loaded.
What the extra road time means
Vibration is cumulative. A piece that would arrive perfectly across a county can arrive with a lifted veneer or a starred glass after a full day and a half of motorway. So the handling classes set at survey get revised upward for an international move.
- Stone and glass tops travel crated, on edge, rather than blanket-wrapped flat
- Framed work and mirrors go into built cases rather than picture cartons
- Veneered and inlaid pieces are tissued and loaded so nothing bears on a face
- Upholstery is covered against dust and moisture as well as against rubbing
- Loading order accounts for a mid-route customs inspection being possible
More on how those decisions are made on fine furniture and antiques.
The route
Collection anywhere in mainland Britain, then the M20 corridor across Kent — Folkestone for Le Shuttle, Dover for the ferry. On the far side, Calais or Coquelles and the A16 or A26 south, then whichever way the destination takes you: the A28 and A13 for Normandy, the A11 for Brittany and the Loire, the A10 through Poitiers for the Charente and Dordogne, the A7 down the Rhône for Provence.
Where deliveries go
- Normandy and the north — Rouen, Caen, Calvados, the Cotentin
- Brittany and the Loire — Rennes, Vannes, Nantes and the coast
- Charente, Dordogne and the Lot — stone houses down long lanes
- Occitanie and the south-west — Toulouse, the Tarn, the Aude
- Provence and the Riviera — Aix, the Var, the Alpes-Maritimes
- Paris and the Île-de-France — apartment deliveries with their own access rules
Customs
Since the UK became a third country a household move to France is a formal customs entry. It needs a detailed inventory in the form French customs expect, evidence you are transferring your normal residence, and supporting documents for the relief on personal effects.
We prepare the declaration from the survey inventory — which is also why the inventory is done properly rather than as a room list. Where a document has to come from you, we say which and when at the start of the job.
Dedicated or shared
A dedicated vehicle means your dates and the fewest handlings. Shared space means a lower cost, a delivery window instead of a day, and more handlings along the way. On a household containing genuinely valuable pieces, the handling count is a real argument for a dedicated vehicle and we will say so rather than quietly selling you the cheaper option.
Starting
Both addresses, rough dates, a sense of the volume, and photographs of anything significant. We will survey, set the handling, and quote in writing. See European removals for how the four routes compare and storage if the sale completes before the paperwork does.
Route detail
Moving to France — questions
Which crossing do you use?
Le Shuttle from Folkestone or the Dover ferry, chosen on the load and the booking rather than by habit. The tunnel is quicker door to door; the ferry sometimes suits a larger or taller vehicle better.
How are valuable pieces protected on a long road?
Differently from a domestic move. More hours of vibration means anything veneered, stone-topped or glazed travels cased or crated rather than blanket-wrapped, and loaded where nothing bears on a face. That decision is made at survey, not at the kerb.
Can you reach a rural property?
Usually, with notice. A stone house at the end of a track poses the same question as a lane in the Cotswolds: will the vehicle reach the door? Photographs of the last few hundred metres let us plan a transfer if one is needed.
What does French customs require?
A detailed inventory in the expected form, evidence you are transferring your normal residence to France, and the documents supporting relief on personal effects — the French address, the previous UK address and the timing. Prepared here from the survey inventory.
What about wine, tools and vehicles?
Tools travel with fuel drained. Wine above personal quantities has to be declared properly. Vehicles and firearms sit outside a household inventory entirely and need their own route — raise either early rather than at loading.
Is shared space sensible to France?
Often. It is the most frequently run of the four, so the wait for space is the shortest. The caveat is handling count: a shared load is handled more times than a dedicated one, which matters if the contents are valuable.
Next step
Moving to France?
Send both addresses, rough dates and photographs of anything significant. We will survey, set the handling and quote in writing.