Best places to live in France for over-60s, according to new ranking

France has long been a popular destination for retirees, but where are the best places to live once you reach a certain age?

Newspaper Le Figaro has ranked cities, medium-sized towns and small towns according to the best places to live for over 60s. 

The 2024 list was compiled by looking at data, mainly from 2023 and 2022, including heath, local services, leisure, culture and sporting activities. 

Criteria included:

Health: including life expectancy, and the number of GPs, dentists and pharmacists per 1,000 people.

Commerce: number of local butchers, bakers, supermarkets and other shops per 1,000 people

Leisure: number of swimming pools, libraries, cinemas and sporting facilities per 1,000 people. 

The paper also looked at the rates of theft and burglary and the environment, including CO₂ levels. 

All the towns included in the list are home to over 9,000 inhabitants. 

The top 10 towns/cities of over 100,000 inhabitants

1. Caen

2. Aix-en-Provence

3. Nice

4. Annecy

5. Bordeaux

6. Metz

7. Perpignan

8. Nimes

9. Toulouse

10. Angers

Caen, the capital of the Calvados department in Normandy, takes the top spot. Some 23% of the port city’s inhabitants are over 65, making it a big draw for retirees. Le Figaro particularly praises the city’s leisure, culture and sport offerings, noting it has more than 2,000 associations, including 13 seniors clubs.

The top 10 towns of over 40,000 inhabitants

1. Les Sables-d’Olonne (Vendée)

2. Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine)

3. Vannes (Morbihan)

4. Albi (Tarn)

5. Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze)

6. La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime)

7. Quimper (Finistère)

8. Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne)

9. Gap (Hautes-Alpes)

10. Hyères (Var) 

Le Figaro praises Les Sables-d’Olonne, in the Vendée department on France’s west coast, for its temperate climate that includes plenty of sunshine, but is not as hot as the south. The town has “hundreds” of cultural, solidarity and sporting associations. 

The town is also known as the starting point for the Vendée Globe yacht race, often touted as one of the toughest sailing races in the world, that takes place every four years. 

The top towns of under 40,000 inhabitants 

1. Pornic (Loire-Atlantique)

2. Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer (Var)

3. Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne)

4. Fouesnant (Finistère)

5. Lavaur (Tarn)

6. Cahors (Lot)

7. Cabestany (Pyrénées-Orientales)

8. Orthez (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)

9. Biscarrosse (Landes)

10. Mende (Lozère) 

Pornic, in the Loire-Atlantique department of western France, takes the top spot of towns with under 40,000 inhabitants. Its 18,000 locals swell to over 100,000 in summer, when tourists flock to this pretty town. 

Le Figaro notes Pornic scored particularly highly for its environment. It has 14 kilometres of coastline, with 12 beaches and numerous hiking trails. 

Have you retired to France? How did you go about choosing where to move? What were the most important criteria? How has it worked out? Let us know at feedback@connexionfrance.com