July 14th is a bank holiday and Bastille day in France and wherever you are in France you are sure to be able to watch a fantastic firework display.   They certainly know how to celebrate and enjoy themselves in France with village parties inland and beach barbecue parties on the coast.  The important things are never forgotten – even on a bank holiday the shops selling meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread and pastries, wine and cheese are all open in the morning so that people are able to enjoy the freshest food for their celebratory meals with family and friends – once again showing that the quality of life is all important in France – the main reason that so many of us love to own homes there to be able to participate in this lifestyle and enjoy the ambience of well being.  Apart from food shops, on Bank holidays all other shops are closed so that friends and families spend time together instead of trailing around shops with nagging children – and husbands!    Although seaside resorts such as Juan les Pins on the Cote d’Azur and Le Touquet in the North  have shops that are open on these holidays in order to welcome the holiday makers and day trippers who can wander around the shops after leaving the beach – and in Juan les Pins they will stay open until midnight with various stalls selling jewellery to browse over.    As they say, the best things in life are free -  and there is so much to enjoy at no cost in France.  Flights are still reasonably priced so why not go and see – and if you miss July 14th you will find that there are firework displays and festivals going on throughout France in July and August.

 France never lent money on the same basis as here and has always stuck to very strict lending criteria and so we are not seeing distressed sales as people have mainly bought within their means.   We are however seeing some good reductions which does make it a good time to buy – especially with the slight improvement on the Euro exchange.   It also means that those who are selling are probably doing ok with the fact that they bought when the Euro was weaker so will get back more Sterling than they paid out  – so still making a profit in these difficult times whilst those buying are getting more for their money even bearing in mind the exchange rate – a definite win win situation.

It is a great time to visit France if you prefer not to fly as Eurostar are offering some great deals – you an travel direct to most major cities in France and then get a more local train if you want to go elsewhere – or why not hire a car for your onward journey so that you can take a good look around in the smaller villages and soak up the real atmosphere.  It offers a great opportunity to grab a few days away to go and view properties whilst property prices are stable and not increasing as well as some reductions from previously over hopeful vendors.  With the better rate again Euros that we are now experiencing and the good prices it could offer the opportunity to buy at the best price for some time with the benefit of cheap travel and deals being offered at some hotels.  And if the area you buy in is served well by Eurostar as well as flights then you are sure to be able to get there conveniently at any time.