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We have a visit planned to our second home in Port Vendres this coming week. We are flying into and out of Montpellier by Easyjet and travelling by train to and from PV having secured 1 euro trains in each direction. Travel between the airport and the station is by navette as there isn't a tram stat...

Thanks Kate

Alan

Does anyone have experience of using traps (containers with material soaked with a chemical and sunk into the ground adjacent to a property) supported by a periodic maintenance contract in order to deal with a termite problem? Helpful replies would be appreciated please together with recommendations...

Alternatively, you might try Le Train Rouge https://www.letrainrouge.fr/. This runs on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday during your stay. The connections from and to Collioure are not great but you could leave Collioure by train at 7.52 and arrive in Rivesaltes at 8.27. Then at 10.00 take Le Tr...

I think it’s now ligne 6 and it now goes direct to Gare TGV - can anyone confirm? If I am reading the new timetable correctly on Saturday 22 September, there is a bus at 16.20 arriving at 16.51 but that seems to be cutting it very fine. The next bus is at 17.43 arriving at 18.14. On Saturday 29 Se...

I would always advise someone to avoid English intestacy rules which can produce some strange results. By making a will, you can choose your executors and unlike in France, you can generally choose who inherits.

I have been doing a bit more research. Just to recap, Steve is a widower who wants his children to inherit his French house and has been advised in France that a will is unnecessary because this happens anyway under French intestacy law. I think that the only reason to have a French will in such cir...

The register of wills in France is the fichier central des dispositions de dernières volontés

Martyn94 wrote:

“…you do have an English will, and unless it says something fancy (which doesn't seem to be so, though I'm guessing) it will apply to your worldwide assets,…â€￾

I’m afraid that this isn’t entirely correct. An English Will would not apply to a French home unless it does say, “something fancyâ€￾ in the light of something known as Brussels IV. Traditionally, there is a distinction between immovable property and movable property. Here is an extract from “Parker’s Modern Wills Precedentsâ€￾ (though not the most recent edition):

“…although the rule for English conflict of laws purposes is that the law of the testator’s domicile applies to movable property it is the law of the state in which immovable are situated which applies to themâ€￾.

Personally, I would take advice from an English firm of solicitors which also has expertise in French inheritance and tax law. There are a number on the internet but if anyone wants a name (though not a recommendation), please send me a pm.

Received and have replied.

Many thanks

Alan

I have sent a couple but they don't seem to have reached you although I did receive a pm you sent to me. All I was asking was for a specific recommendation on something that I can use with my laptop and which will both work in PV and is relatively foolproof. As it is, when we want to access the inte...

Allan

I have sent you a pm.

Alan

Thanks for the suggestions. We don't have a phone line and a small TV would only give us access, presumably, to French TV which is not going to have the detailed coverage we would like. We are not looking for an invitation to a party but information and informed commentary as the night progresses. A...

I wonder if anyone has any suggestions please. We have a second home in Port Vendres which is without a TV or connection to the internet. When General Elections happen, we usually stay up overnight to watch the results as they come in. This year, we shall be at our second home. Other than booking in...

I doubt that it is realistically possible to walk from Cerbere to Port Bou. It would be a very good walk along a mountainous road.

We found ourselves at Cerbere station one afternoon in October. It was almost totally deserted, as was the town itself.

Hope it's still there when we arrive on Friday.

I see now that the relevant prices have been inserted. At first glance it seems they are rather more expensive than in previous years.

Yes, thank you, but using the words "sold out" is inaccurate and misleading.

Sorry, I didn't make it clear that I was talking about Summer 2016. So every flight between Sat 28 May 2016 and Tues 27 Sept 2016 is shown as sold out. However, this isn't actually accurate as the following extract from a "live chat" I have had with Ryanair this morning indicates: "Alan If you look ...

It seems that Ryanair are flying the Birmingham/ Perpignan route this summer on Saturdays and Tuesdays.

However, the website shows every single flight as having being sold out! Either people have been very busy and the route is a great success or something is wrong. Does anyone have any information?

Yes, that is correct. We have just returned from a holiday flying into and from Montpellier and using the train to our house in PV. When arriving at the airport it is possible to purchase a ticket from the shuttle bus driver to include the tram (return also available). Whilst it's a pity the tramlin...

You should have plenty of time then to get a meal. The railway station is quite central and there are a number of restaurants on the road which leads to the Place de la Comédie

We usually get a through train from Port Vendres to Montpellier which goes through Argeles, avoiding any problems with connections. If you are flying from Montpellier, you might wish to get the tram from the station and eat in one of several restaurants in Antigone which are within a few minutes of ...

When we bought there was only one notaire involved and he was recommended by the selling agents but we were reasonably comfortable because we felt that it was a very straightforward transaction in which the sellers were, incidentally, also English. However, the most comprehensive book in English on ...

We've used Sécuriclé as well, an Irish locksmith with a French wife - excellent service.

We have a second home in Port Vendres. We don't find it that "busy" and there is always a supermarket, independent shop or restaurant open. I can't agree that it has "no beach within easy walking or cycling distance". We tend to use the beach behind Lidl on the road to Collioure and sometimes the be...

We used the Stansted to Perpignan route last October and at Christmas. The problem we had at Christmas related to the time changes we experienced after booking. When we originally booked, the outward flight was at 11.40. It then changed to 7.45 and the final change was to 9.00. This made planning di...

The question was: "Does anyone have experience of the Beziers airport shuttle bus?" I flew into and from Beziers at the beginning of last September and travelled by train to and from Port Vendres via Perpignan (spending the night in Narbonne on the return trip). The bus from the aiport stops right o...

Allan helpfully wrote above: "If you see a hotspot with the word FON in the name then you can use it on a pay as you go basis. Generally hot spots will have names like SFR public Wif". While we were at our house in Port Vendres last month, I found such a hotspot, namely "SFR public Wifi Fon" but I a...

We own a self contained studio apartment which is let. Our last tenant clearly and obviously abandoned the premises, turned off the power, leaving it in a terrible condition with rotting food in the refrigerator. In England and Wales the landlord and/or his agent would be able to take photographs an...