"Can you send me your address again?": getting someone's address without spoiling the surprise
Published on 28 October 2026 · 3 min read
You've got the photo, you've got an idea for the message, you've even picked your moment. Only one detail is missing: the address. Your friend who moved in the spring, the colleague who left for another city, the cousin you last saw at the wedding. You have their number, their profile, their email, but not their street or postcode. And if you ask point-blank, half the surprise is gone. Here's how to track down an address in France or Monaco without giving the game away, and how to make sure it's right before you write.
Start with what you already have
Before asking anyone anything, go through your drawers and your phone. A birth announcement or wedding invitation, last year's Christmas card, the housewarming invite, the envelope from a parcel they once sent you: addresses often sleep in places like these. On your phone, open their contact card, the chat where they once gave you the door code, or the order history of a shop if you've already had a gift delivered to them. If you find an address that's more than a year old, keep it handy, but check it: people move more often than you'd think.
Go through a go-between
This is the safest way to keep the surprise intact. Their partner, their mum, their flatmate, their sister: someone close to them knows the address and will be delighted to be in on the secret. One message is enough: "I'd like to send Julie a card, could you give me her exact address without telling her?" Pick someone who can keep a secret, and ask for the address as it's written on the letterbox, not from memory. "Somewhere near the market square" won't do the postman much good.
Or ask them directly, without saying everything
No go-between? Ask them yourself. Saying "I've got something to send you" takes nothing away from the pleasure: they know some post is coming, but not what, when, or what it says. The waiting is part of the gift. Just avoid the word "card": let them imagine. And if you'd rather muddy the waters, an honest pretext works very well: "I'm updating my address book, are you still on Lilac Road?" In late October nobody will find that odd: everyone is getting their lists in order before the festive season.
Check the details that make a card go astray
An incomplete address means a card that comes back or gets lost. When you're given it, ask for three things: the full house number and street name, the postcode with the town, and above all what's written on the letterbox. In a flat-share or at the in-laws', the name on the box isn't necessarily your recipient's; in that case, write "c/o" followed by the name shown. For a block of flats, the building, staircase or floor helps when several boxes look alike. For Monaco, postcodes start with 980, and the country is written out in full. And if you're writing to someone at work, the company name and department make all the difference in a large organisation.
Save it straight away, in the right place
You've just spent ten minutes finding it: don't lose it. Add it to their contact card on your phone right now, with the date, so you'll know later whether it's recent. Next time, for a birthday or a Christmas card, there'll be no detective work. And when someone sends you a card, get into the habit of photographing the sender's address on the back before you put it away: it's the most reliable address book there is, since people write down themselves where they live.
And now, write
Once the address is in your pocket, don't let the momentum drop. With UnCoucou, you pick your photo, write your message from your phone, enter the address in France or Monaco, and we print your card on thick premium paper before handing it to La Poste at our next dispatch, from €2.49 per card, stamp included. Allow one to two weeks between printing, dispatch and delivery, and start two weeks ahead if the card needs to arrive by a particular date. They'll never know how you got their address. And that's just as it should be.