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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 duration - 5 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 les, de 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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