A cultural travel guide to the world

Etiquette & taboos

Etiquette & taboos

Understanding local customs is where a journey begins. Find the topics that matter to you and feel at ease wherever you go.

12 rules found

Essential restrictionsEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · Germany

Germany: Keep quiet on Sundays and at night

Do

  • Do noisy chores such as vacuuming, spin cycles and drilling on weekday daytimes
  • At night (usually 10 pm to 6 or 7 am), keep sound low enough that neighbours can't hear it with the door shut
  • When you move in, read the house rules (Hausordnung) posted in the building
  • If you hold a party, tell your neighbours in advance and turn it down by 10 pm

Don’t

  • Don't use power tools such as drills or lawnmowers on Sundays and public holidays
  • Don't throw bottles into public glass bins on Sundays or at night (check the sign on the bin)
  • Don't make noise during the midday quiet period (often 1 to 3 pm) where it applies

Quiet hours are set by state law, local bylaws and house rules rather than a single national law. Repeated disturbances can lead to complaints from neighbours, action by the public order office or police, and fines; amounts are as officially published.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Germany Focus Guide: German Ruhezeit and Sunday etiquette

Cultural sensitivitiesEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · France

France: Keep your voice down in public and never jump the queue

Do

  • Queue patiently and leave a little space in front of you
  • Speak quietly on public transport and in museums and libraries
  • Let passengers off first and don't block doors or aisles
  • Keep to the right on pavements and escalators
  • Offer your seat to older people, pregnant women and people with disabilities
  • Say Bonjour to staff when you enter a bakery or shop

Don’t

  • Don't cut in or push
  • Don't take calls or play music on speaker
  • At markets, don't pick produce yourself; let the vendor choose for you

Cutting in or being loud won't get you fined, but it is considered rude. Some guides note that queues at stations or markets can be looser; still wait your turn and don't push.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: We3Travel: 16 French etiquette tips for Paris

Cultural sensitivitiesEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · France

France: Say Bonjour when you enter a shop; friends greet with la bise

Do

  • Say Bonjour when you enter a shop and Au revoir when you leave
  • Friends and acquaintances greet with la bise, a light touch of cheeks
  • The number of kisses varies by region; follow the other person's lead or go with two
  • In formal business settings and first meetings, use a brief, firm handshake
  • Use vous with new acquaintances, elders and service staff; switch to tu only when invited

Don’t

  • Don't start asking a shop assistant questions without greeting them
  • Don't initiate la bise in business settings or at a first meeting
  • Don't hug strangers

Nobody will penalise you, but skipping the greeting in a shop is seen as rude, and getting la bise wrong shows you don't know local ways. Two kisses are usual in Paris and the north, three in parts of the south, and customs vary elsewhere.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: La Minute Française: Guide to la bise

Cultural sensitivitiesEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · United Kingdom

UK: Join the back of the queue and never jump it

Do

  • Join the back of the queue: first come, first served
  • Leave a comfortable gap to the person in front
  • If unsure where the queue ends, just ask "Is this the queue?"
  • If someone pushes in, a polite word is enough; there is no need to argue

Don’t

  • Don't jump the queue
  • Don't save places for friends arriving later or wave others in ahead of you
  • Don't talk loudly while waiting

Queue-jumping is not punished, but it is seen as one of the worst breaches of British manners. People rarely confront you directly, yet the whole queue will mutter and glare.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Explore: The unspoken UK queuing rule

Cultural sensitivitiesEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · Japan

Convenience stores and vending machines: say you're eating in, and recycling bins take bottles and cans only

Do

  • Queue at the register and place your money on the tray if there is one
  • Answer clearly when the clerk asks whether to heat your bento
  • If you will eat in the store's seating area, say so when paying (eat-in and takeaway are taxed differently)
  • Don't linger in the eat-in area, and sort your containers and chopsticks into the store's bins
  • If you can't find a bin, bag your trash and take it back to where you're staying

Don’t

  • Don't bring household or outside trash to a convenience store to dump
  • Don't stuff rice-ball wrappers, coffee cups or bento boxes into the bins beside vending machines
  • Don't drink alcohol in the eat-in area where the store prohibits it
  • Don't leave trash on benches or the ground

The bins beside vending machines are for plastic bottles and cans only, and forcing other trash into them is considered very rude in Japan; stores accept only trash from items bought there, so dumping household waste is not allowed.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Makimono Manners: Convenience store manners

Cultural sensitivitiesEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · Japan

Castles and museums: don't touch exhibits, check photo signs before shooting

Do

  • Check each gallery's photography sign before raising your camera
  • Turn off the flash even where photos are allowed
  • Keep your voice down and follow the visiting route
  • Leave large bags in the lockers or storage the venue provides
  • Check tickets, opening hours and special-exhibition rules in the venue's official information

Don’t

  • Don't touch exhibits, armor, folding screens or the building's woodwork
  • Don't take photos in no-photography areas
  • Don't let tripods or selfie sticks block the way or bump exhibits
  • Don't walk against the route or step past ropes and barriers
  • Don't give loud commentary or take phone calls in the galleries

Oil and sweat from hands damage the surfaces of cultural properties; touching exhibits or breaking photo rules will be stopped by staff, and in serious cases you may be asked to leave.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Romancing Japan: Temple and shrine etiquette

Cultural sensitivitiesEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · Japan

Sort your rubbish and take it back to your lodging or a convenience store

Do

  • Sort waste into burnable, non-burnable, recyclable, and oversized
  • Rinse PET bottles and remove the cap and label before recycling
  • If staying in a rental or long term, put rubbish out at the designated spot on the morning of collection day
  • Use transparent, semi-transparent, or designated bags as your area requires
  • Street bins are rare, so take rubbish back to your lodging or a convenience store
  • Book oversized rubbish collection in advance and pay the fee; check the official rates

Don’t

  • Do not drop rubbish on the street
  • Do not put bags out the night before
  • Do not throw other rubbish into PET bottle bins
  • Do not assume rules are the same everywhere; follow your lodging's and the local government's guide

Wrongly sorted rubbish, or rubbish put out on the wrong day, is refused and left where it is, and it annoys the neighbors. Bags put out too early get torn open by crows.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: tsunagu Japan: Everything You Need to Know About Garbage in Japan

Cultural sensitivitiesEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · Japan

Take off your shoes when you see a genkan (entrance step)

Do

  • Take off your shoes at the entrance of homes, some restaurants, temples and hot-spring facilities
  • If unsure, look for a shoe rack or slippers at the entrance

Don’t

  • Stepping onto tatami or indoor wooden floors in shoes

It is seen as very rude.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette

Local customsEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · Germany

Germany: Greet with a handshake and use Herr or Frau with the surname

Do

  • Greet new people with a firm handshake and eye contact
  • Say Guten Tag in formal settings; Hallo is fine among friends
  • Address people as Herr or Frau plus their surname
  • Switch to first names only when the other person suggests it
  • In Bavaria you can reply with Grüß Gott; in the north, Moin is common

Don’t

  • Don't hug or kiss on the cheek at a first meeting
  • Don't use first names before a relationship has been established

Getting it wrong is rarely a big deal, but being too casual at a first meeting can seem rude. Guten Tag is the safest choice in formal settings.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Fly Homes: How to greet in Germany

Local customsEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · United Kingdom

UK: Greet with a handshake and follow how people introduce themselves

Do

  • Greet new people with a firm handshake and eye contact
  • If someone introduces themselves by first name, use it
  • With older people or in traditional settings, start with title and surname
  • Address peers below duke as "Lord" plus their title, and a duke as "Duke"
  • Use please and thank you freely

Don’t

  • Don't go in for a cheek kiss with someone you have just met
  • Don't offer a limp handshake; it can suggest you are holding back
  • Don't ask new acquaintances intrusive personal questions

Nothing happens if you get it wrong, but a surprise kiss may make people recoil, and being either too stiff or too familiar makes others uneasy.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Commisceo Global: British business etiquette

Local customsEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · Japan

Staying at a ryokan: no slippers on tatami, keep to meal times, mind the curfew

Do

  • Take off even your indoor slippers before stepping onto tatami
  • Leave luggage at the entrance or the designated spot
  • Eat dinner and breakfast at the times the inn sets, and call ahead if you will be late
  • Note the curfew and ask before going out late
  • Put valuables in the room safe
  • Ask the inn whether you may go out in the inn's yukata

Don’t

  • Don't drag a suitcase across the tatami
  • Don't put personal belongings in the tokonoma alcove
  • Don't take the inn's yukata, towels or other items home
  • Don't strip or wash the bedding yourself

Ryokan dinners are served at set times, so arriving late may mean missing the meal; most ryokan have a curfew, and coming back after it may leave you locked out.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Japan Ryokan Association: Staying at a ryokan