Troyes
France
A half-timbered old town laid out in the shape of a champagne cork, with more medieval stained glass than almost anywhere in France
Photo by Sies Kranen on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
May to October
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 65mm in May
Where it is
48.30°N, 4.08°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Walk the old town early, before the day visitors from Paris
- Go into the churches as well as the cathedral — Sainte-Madeleine has a stone rood screen worth the detour
- Give the Cité du Vitrail an hour before the cathedral, so you know what you are looking at
- Drive the Côte des Bar with someone else at the wheel
- Set a budget before the outlet villages, which is the other reason people come
Troyes travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
Mid-rangeEuros, and cards everywhere, the outlet villages and the small champagne growers of the Côte des Bar included.
ATMs & cards
Bank machines in the old town and at the station. Use a bank’s own machine and refuse the offer to convert into your own currency.
Avoid these
- independent machines that offer to charge you in your own currency
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- Caisse d’Épargne
- Société Générale
- La Banque Postale
Cards are taken everywhere. Refuse any offer to convert.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
SafeA quiet, safe town. The things that catch people out are underfoot and on the road: the old town’s cobbles and timber-framed overhangs, and the vineyard roads of the Côte des Bar after a tasting, where the drink-drive limit is lower than in England or the US.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- the old town — the cork-shaped centre
- the Quartier Saint-Jean
- the cathedral quarter
- the banks of the Seine canal
Worth more attention
- the Côte des Bar roads — narrow, winding, and driven after tastings; book a driver if you are drinking
- the outlet village car parks — bags left on a back seat are what break-ins look for
- The cobbles of the old town, uneven and slippery when wet
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodAndouillette is the dish Troyes is known for and it is tripe in a sausage casing, which some people love and most people are not ready for — ask before you order. Chaource is the soft local cheese. The Côte des Bar, forty minutes south-east, makes champagne mostly from pinot noir, and the small growers sell at the door for far less than the Reims houses.
Travel tipsGetting around
Workable- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Troyes
No Holistay rentals in Troyes yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Troyes on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle CDG
2h 45mfrom the airport· 137 km as the crow flies
The RER into Paris, a walk from Gare du Nord to Gare de l’Est, then the train to Troyes; nearer three hours in all, two by road.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
