Removals from Hammersmith to France.
The closest of the four, and the one where a W6 move translates most directly — because Paris apartment buildings behave almost exactly like Hammersmith mansion blocks.
The route
A4 and M4 to the M25, round to the M20, and into Folkestone for the tunnel or Dover for the ferry. From Calais the motorway network fans out: the A16 west towards Normandy and Brittany, the A26 south-east towards Reims and Lyon, the A1 straight into Paris.
It is a short domestic leg by national standards, which is one reason French moves out of west London are among the most predictable we run.
Paris, in detail
The commonest destination, usually work-related. Haussmann-era buildings present exactly the constraints a W6 mansion block does, and the vocabulary is the only thing that changes.
- A gardien rather than a porter, who still needs notice
- A lift too small for a sofa — the service stair does the work
- A courtyard entrance with a fixed width and height
- Street access restricted at certain hours in some arrondissements
- An exterior hoist where the stairwell genuinely will not take a piece
We want the floor, the lift dimensions and the courtyard access before quoting — the same three questions we would ask about Brook Green.
Elsewhere in France
The northern departments
Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Picardy. Close to the crossing and increasingly popular for that reason — a realistic drive back to London when you need one.
Normandy and Brittany
Stone houses, renovation projects, and rural approaches where the last stretch decides the vehicle. Further west, but still a single day's run from the crossing.
The south and south-west
The Dordogne, Charente, Occitanie, Provence. Long, well-worn, almost always groupage. Larger properties, more furniture, and summer heat worth thinking about if anything is sensitive to it.
The paperwork
A UK export declaration, a French import entry, and an inventory detailed enough to answer questions before they are asked. Moving your residence brings relief, evidenced by property documents, proof you are leaving the UK address, and an inventory consistent with both. Second homes do not get the relief and are declared differently.
See the European removals hub for groupage against a dedicated vehicle, or Spain if you are weighing the two.
Hammersmith to France — questions
Is Paris much like moving in W6?
Remarkably so. Haussmann apartment buildings have the same problems as a Hammersmith mansion block — a lift built for people rather than furniture, a service stair that is the real route, a gardien who needs telling, and a courtyard entrance with a hard width limit. If you have moved out of a W6 mansion flat you already understand a Paris move.
Do we need to be there for delivery?
Someone with keys and door codes does. French addresses very often need a person on site, and "the neighbour has a key" wants arranging properly rather than assuming. If you are still in London when it lands, say so early.
Second home or permanent move — does it matter?
Yes. Transfer-of-residence relief applies to moving your household, not to furnishing a maison secondaire. Both are perfectly straightforward and they are simply declared differently. Tell us which at enquiry so the paperwork is right from the start.
Can a lorry reach a rural French property?
Often not the whole way. Village streets built for carts, stone archways with a fixed height, farm tracks that soften after rain. We shuttle with a smaller vehicle for the final stretch. Photographs of the last two hundred metres are worth more than any description.
What about antique or period furniture?
Worth export-packing properly, and W6 and Chiswick houses hold a lot of it. Veneers and polished surfaces do not enjoy a long journey in ordinary blankets. We wrap rather than blanket anything with a finish and board the corners.
Moving to France?
Both addresses, the floor at each end, and roughly what is going. That is enough for a real figure.