France
Wedding ring lost on holiday in France?
Nine pages follow the coast from Menton to Le Touquet, Corsica and inland Provence among them; Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Annecy each get a card on this one.
Leaving France does not end the chance of finding a wedding band that went missing there. How it goes depends on how closely you can place yourself that day: which stretch of sand, which corner of the lawn, which table on the terrace, and whether you went into the water afterwards.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in France. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the beach, garden or park, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Holidays by the sea are covered on the coast pages listed below. Lower down, a card describes each city park or lake beach.
Atlantic hours, Mediterranean ground
Four of the coast pages, from Saint-Jean-de-Luz up to Le Touquet, are on the Atlantic and the Channel, where the sea covers and uncovers the sand in the course of a day. There the hour counts as much as the beach.
The other five follow the Mediterranean from Gruissan to Menton, cross to Corsica and reach inland into Provence. On those pages the question that comes first is the surface: sand, pebbles, a harbour quay, a cobbled lane or the lawn of a rented house.
If you are writing from home, not from the beach
Home again is not too late
Plenty of people only notice once they are back at work, and that is still a good time to write. Your messages all go to one person, who stays on the case until the report at the end.
A fortnight is a lot of ground
If all you can say is that it went at some point during two weeks on the coast, that is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Your own house, while you are away
For a loss in the garden of a house you own in France, tell us who holds a key while you are abroad, so the search can be planned around it.
The costs, and your call
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and whether to go ahead is your decision, made in your own time.
Our Ring Finder Service Locations in France
Nine coasts, then four cities away from the sea
Match the town you stayed in to one of the coast cards; its page is in the list above. After those come Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Annecy, where the park or the lake beach is described right here.
Coast by coast, then Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Annecy
Côte d'Azur
The town beaches of Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes and Juan-les-Pins, Cannes and Menton, the Cap d'Antibes and the Île Sainte-Marguerite, and Fréjus in the Var.
Var coast
Saint-Tropez and Pampelonne, Sainte-Maxime, Hyères with its beaches and the islands of Porquerolles and Port-Cros, Toulon, and Cassis with its calanques.
Marseille and Provence
Marseille's beaches, calanques and Frioul islands, then inland: parks in Avignon and the Barthelasse, Orange, Nîmes and Montélimar, lakes at Sisteron and Manosque, and houses around Gordes.
Languedoc coast
L'Espiguette, La Grande-Motte and the Travers, Palavas and Maguelone, Sète and its lido, Cap d'Agde and Gruissan, and the Comédie and Parc Montcalm in Montpellier. The Languedoc coast page has them all.
Corsica
Calvi and boat trips to Scandola, Ajaccio's beaches out to the Parata, Porto-Vecchio with Palombaggia and Santa Giulia, and Bonifacio with Rondinara and the Lavezzi.
Basque coast and Landes
Biarritz from the Grande Plage to Milady, the beaches of Anglet, Saint-Jean-de-Luz with Erromardie and Lafitenia, and Hossegor's ocean and lake beaches. See Basque coast and Landes.
Arcachon Bay, Cap Ferret, Royan and Île de Ré
Arcachon's beaches and the Banc d'Arguin, the oyster villages, Cap Ferret and its ocean beaches, Royan, La Rochelle, and Île de Ré out to the Conche des Baleines.
Vendée and Loire-Atlantique
Les Sables-d'Olonne, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and Saint-Jean-de-Monts in the Vendée, and La Baule, Le Pouliguen, Pornichet, Batz-sur-Mer and Saint-Brevin around the Loire.
Brittany, Normandy and the Channel coast
Saint-Malo and Dinard in Brittany, walks across the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, Deauville's beach and boardwalk, Trouville's boards and beach, and the whole beach at Le Touquet.
Parc Montsouris, Paris
In the 14th arrondissement, Parc Montsouris is laid out as three large lawns planted with groves and separated by three bridges, and it has a lake. On fine days students from the Cité Universitaire next door spread out on the grass, which is open to everyone. Statues stand around the park, some of them on the lawns above the lake, and one in the background of a photo places you well.
Parc de la Tête d'Or, Lyon
On the banks of the Rhône, the Parc de la Tête d'Or was laid out on the English model, with a large lawn, long paths and a lake. Tell us whether you were on the grass or by the water, and which side of the lake you were on.
Plage de Bordeaux Lac
At Bordeaux's lake beach, swimming happens inside an area marked out by a perimeter, with a shallow part and a deeper one. Say which of the two you swam in, where your towel lay, and whether that was near the picnic tables or the play area.
The Marquisats and Albigny, Annecy
The Marquisats is a grass beach on the lake, used by locals and holidaymakers alike, with the sailing, canoe and rowing clubs a few steps away. Albigny, the largest beach on the lake, has a vast lawn, a jetty and a sandy bottom that slopes gently.
Places we cover in France
- Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer
- Antibes, Juan-les-Pins and Cannes
- Menton
- Fréjus
- Saint-Tropez and Sainte-Maxime
- Hyères, from L'Almanarre and La Capte to Le Ceinturon
- Toulon
- Cassis
- Marseille
- Avignon and Nîmes
- Gordes and the Luberon
- Sisteron
- La Grande-Motte and Palavas-les-Flots
- Montpellier
- Sète and Cap d'Agde
- Gruissan
- Calvi and Ajaccio, Corsica
- Porto-Vecchio and Bonifacio, Corsica
- Biarritz and Anglet
- Saint-Jean-de-Luz and its Grande Plage
- Soorts-Hossegor
- Arcachon and Lège-Cap-Ferret
- Royan and La Rochelle
- Île de Ré
- Les Sables-d'Olonne and Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
- La Baule-Escoublac and Pornichet
- Saint-Malo and Dinard
- Deauville and Trouville-sur-Mer
- Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
- Parc Montsouris, Paris
- Parc de la Tête d'Or, Lyon
- Plage de Bordeaux Lac
- Plage des Marquisats and Plage d'Albigny, Annecy
Missing after a stay in France
Jewellery
- Wedding bands
- Engagement and eternity rings
- Signet rings
- Gold chains and lockets
- Earrings
- Cuffs and bracelets
Everything else with metal in it
- Watches, mechanical or smart
- An Oura ring
- Phones
- Keys to the hire car, the rental or your own house
- Metal-framed reading glasses and sunglasses
The day it went
- A picnic on the lawns at Parc Montsouris, Paris
- Sitting by the lake at the Parc de la Tête d'Or, Lyon
- A swim at Plage de Bordeaux Lac
- An afternoon on the grass at the Marquisats, Annecy
- Tidying the garden before locking up a second home
- The last swim before the drive home
From your first message to the report
It runs the same way from a hotel room in Nice or from your kitchen table back home.
The piece and the stay
On WhatsApp, describe what is missing and where in France you were staying, even if you are already home.
The closest photo you have
Look back through the pictures from that day for the one taken nearest the loss, and send it with a map pin on the place. A picture of the ring, or of one like it, helps as well.
Matched to a detectorist
Then the job is ours: a metal detectorist near enough to that beach, garden or park, who works from your pins, photos and notes.
Searched, then reported
The search waits for your agreement. Afterwards you are told on WhatsApp which parts of the beach, garden or park were covered, and whether the piece was among what came up.
Questions about France
My watch came off during a picnic at Parc Montsouris, and one lawn looks much like the next.
Start with which of the three big lawns you sat on, and which bridge you crossed to reach it. If a statue or the lake shows in any photo from the afternoon, send that one, because it fixes the spot better than a description.
My ring came off somewhere between the lawn and the lake at the Parc de la Tête d'Or in Lyon.
The park has a large lawn and long paths as well as the lake, so it matters whether you stayed on the grass or walked the paths by the water. Pin each place you stopped, in the order you stopped there, and say which side of the lake you were on.
I felt my necklace go during a swim at Plage de Bordeaux Lac.
Swimming there is inside a marked area with a shallow part and a deeper one, so tell us which part you were in when the clasp gave. Pin where you went into the water and where your things were on the sand, and send a photo of the necklace or its clasp.
An earring dropped somewhere on the grass at the Marquisats in Annecy.
On a grass beach, where your towel lay is the heart of it. Pin that spot, say whether you also went into the lake or walked along the cycle promenade, and send a picture of the earring's partner.
Hyères sounds like the Riviera to us. Which page has it?
It sits on the Var coast page, which describes Hyères's beaches from L'Almanarre to L'Ayguade, the harbour, and the islands of Porquerolles and Port-Cros. The Côte d'Azur page stops at Fréjus.
Is Cassis on the Marseille page?
No. Cassis is right next to Marseille, but it is on the Var coast page, together with Saint-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime, Hyères and Toulon. The Marseille and Provence page covers Marseille's own beaches and calanques, and places inland.
The keys to our holiday rental went missing on our last day, and we fly home tomorrow.
Write to us before you go. A search can be arranged after you have left, so the time is better spent sending us a pin for every place you went that day, a photo of the key ring and the name of whoever manages the house, than in going back over the beach yourself.
France
Home already, and still worth a message
Tell us on WhatsApp what you lost, in which town and on which day, and add a map pin for the spot you suspect.