English only? in South France?

You will be much more likely to get by in the south of France speaking only English than you would in Dallas if you only spoke French.

But in reality the real answer depends on what you want to do. If you are sightseeing and vactioning in popular areas, you are likely to find folks the speak English to some extent. People that deal with tourists on a regular basis adapt for their own benefit. but it's always nice to pick up a few phrases and words in the local language to help.

If you are wanting to stay in very small villages and accomplish things that require a lot of interaction like looking up geneology or finding long lost relatives, then knowing some French would be essential.

The short answer is yes but the long answer that it would be wise to learn a dozen French words and phrases covering the basics. My experience with the French is that if you start with french they will want to switch to English as soon as possible. A number of years ago we were in a very small french cafe in an out of the way location. One waitress for about 15 tables, it was crowded and she was flying. When it was our turn we were struggling with the menu, our french, when she suddenly announced to everyone, "Does any speak English?" A gentleman put up his hand, come to our table, was our buddy for lunch. Very friendly, full of information, told us the best things on the menu, where to go for dinner that night, etc., etc., and when she return, we quickly gave our order and she flew to the next table. All in all a very pleasant experience.

R.F.,

I've just returned from the south of France and the short answer is "yes", you can get by with English in that area. However, as the others have mentioned, this will depend to some extent on whether you're only going to be travelling in larger areas mostly frequented by tourists, or whether you'll be in smaller towns.

You'll probably find that in the tourist areas, most of the people you'll be dealing with are either fully fluent in English, or have at least some ability to function. However, you'll probably also find a few people that speak no English at all.

In any case, it's always a good idea to learn a few of the basic "polite" words (please, thankyou, etc.) and a Phrase book may help (check out those in the Travel Store on this website).

You might have received a few more replies if this had been posted in the "To The West" section.

Happy travels!