Expressing distance in French with "à ... de ..." = (at) ... km from ... (French Prepositions)

In French, to say that a place or a person is (at) a certain distance  from somewhere, you use the expression:

 à [distance] de [lieu]

How to express distances with "à ... de ..." in French

Look at these examples:

Je suis à 5 minutes de Paris.I'm 5 minutes from Paris.

J'habite à 2 h de Montpellier.I live 2 hours from Montpellier.

Tu habites à 10 km de Lille.You live 10 km from Lille.

Le supermarché est à 500 m de la poste.The supermarket is 500 m from the post office.

Note that the distance can be expressed as a duration5 minutes from Paris - or as a physical distance - 5 km from Paris.

ATTENTION:

In French, you must always use à before the distance:

Je suis cinq minutes de Paris. -> Je suis à cinq minutes de Paris. 

Note also that when locations are introduced by the definite articles le and lesde contracts into du and des 

Je suis à 1 kilomètre du cinéma.I'm 1 kilometre from the cinema.

L'école est à 15 min des magasins.The school is 15 min from the shops.

 

 

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Examples and resources

Je suis à 5 minutes de Paris.I'm 5 minutes from Paris.
Je suis à 1 kilomètre du cinéma.I'm 1 kilometre from the cinema.
J'habite à 2 h de Montpellier.I live 2 hours from Montpellier.
Le supermarché est à 500 m de la poste.The supermarket is 500 m from the post office.
Tu habites à 10 km de Lille.You live 10 km from Lille.
L'école est à 15 min des magasins.The school is 15 min from the shops.
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