1. What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store. Related technologies — local storage, session storage and pixel requests — do a similar job. Cookies let a site remember something between page loads: that you have dismissed a banner, which language you chose, or that a series of page views came from the same visit. They cannot read other files on your device or run programs.
We group what we use into three categories: essential, which the site needs to function and which requires no consent; analytics, which measures readership; and functional, which remembers interface preferences. Analytics and functional items are set only after you choose to allow them.
2. Cookies and storage used on this site
| Name | Type | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| nv_cookie_choice | Local storage | Records whether you accepted all, rejected non-essential, or saved custom preferences, so the banner is not shown again. | 12 months |
| nv_session | Cookie (first party) | Maintains continuity of a single browsing session and protects the contact form against duplicate and automated submissions. | Session — deleted when you close the browser |
| nv_csrf | Cookie (first party) | Security token that verifies a contact form submission came from this site. | Session |
| Name | Type | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| nv_stats_id | Cookie (first party) | Distinguishes one browser from another so repeat visits are not counted as new readers. Contains a random value, not your name or email. | 13 months |
| nv_stats_ses | Cookie (first party) | Groups the pages you view into a single visit so we can see which guides are read together. | 30 minutes of inactivity |
| nv_ref | Session storage | Records the referring source of the visit — search, direct or a link — for aggregate reporting. | Session |
| Name | Type | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| nv_nav_state | Local storage | Remembers whether you last used the mobile overlay menu, so the navigation opens in a familiar state. | 6 months |
| nv_region_last | Local storage | Remembers the last regional guide you read so we can offer the matching next step on the home page. | 6 months |
| nv_motion_pref | Local storage | Stores a reduced-motion choice made on this site, in addition to your operating system setting. | 12 months |
3. Third-party cookies and advertising
We do not run display advertising, we do not use social media tracking pixels, and we do not participate in cross-site behavioural advertising networks. Photographic placeholders are requested from a third-party image service; that request reveals your IP address and browser to the service in the normal way of any image request, and the service may set its own cookies under its own policy. Links in our guides to rail operators, tourist offices and reference sites take you to independent websites which set their own cookies once you arrive.
4. Changing or withdrawing your consent
Your choice is stored in your browser, not on our servers. To change it, clear site data for nimbletcuriousvalt.com in your browser settings; the consent banner will then appear again on your next visit and you can choose differently, including using the Preferences option to allow analytics without functional cookies, or the reverse. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place while consent was in force.
5. Blocking or deleting cookies in your browser
Every major browser lets you block all cookies, block third-party cookies only, delete existing cookies, or clear them automatically when you close the browser. Blocking essential cookies may prevent the consent banner from remembering your choice and may stop the contact form working, but the guides themselves will still be readable. Official instructions:
- Google Chrome — clear, allow and manage cookies
- Mozilla Firefox — cookies and site data
- Apple Safari — manage cookies and website data
- Microsoft Edge — delete cookies
- AllAboutCookies.org — general guidance
Most browsers also offer a private or incognito window, which discards cookies when the window closes, and several honour the “Global Privacy Control” signal where a site supports it.
6. How cookies relate to personal data
Where a cookie value can be linked to you, even indirectly, it is treated as personal data and handled according to our Privacy Policy. That policy explains the legal bases we rely on, the categories of supplier who process data for us, our retention periods, and how to exercise your rights under the GDPR and the CCPA.
7. Questions and updates
We review this policy whenever the site’s technical setup changes, and at least once a year. The date at the top of the page reflects the current version. If something here is unclear, or you would like a written list of the current suppliers, write to [email protected] or use the contact form. French residents can also find general guidance on cookie rules from the CNIL.