Tourists in Menton leave luggage in cafés and shops
In Menton a number of cafés and shops have started accepting tourists’ suitcases and bags for storage. The service, which appeared in the town about a year ago, is popular with travellers who arrive for a single day.
Left-luggage services return to Menton
On the French Riviera the luggage storage service offered by city businesses is gaining popularity. In Menton several cafés and shops offer tourists the chance to leave suitcases and bags for a few hours or for the day. The service operates via mobile apps such as Nannybag: the traveller books a spot, pays online, and the merchant takes the items in a back room.
These points are usually located within a 500-metre radius of the station. One of the first in the town to offer such a service was the Kumpir café on Avenue Thiers — its owner joined the service in July 2025. According to her, demand proved so high that available space in the dining area filled up quickly.
Who uses the service
Most often the service is booked by tourists who come to Menton for a day and do not want to lug heavy bags around — those who might otherwise spend the day on the beaches of Menton. In July the largest share of such clients were travellers from Asia; in August — from European countries. Many of the newly arrived admit that they learned about Menton from advertising in their home countries.
Owners of the businesses note an additional effect: guests who leave luggage often visit the establishment and order something. At Kumpir almost all those who left items for storage had a coffee or breakfast. The owner even changed the menu to make it clearer to foreigners.
People, not automated lockers
The owner of the clothing shop Seventeen on Rue de la République Mathieu began accepting suitcases a year and a half ago. He says guests from Italy, Asia, Australia, Germany and even the USA have come to him. By his calculations, about five percent of such visitors make purchases.
An important distinction between commercial left-luggage services and automated ones is human contact. Airbnb guests often cannot leave their belongings after check-out, and hotels do not always offer this option. Therefore tourists go to local businesses, where they can get advice and at the same time learn about the town. The owner of Kumpir admits that over a year of work she has learnt English and become better at finding her way around the region’s sights.
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