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Abstract We present a systematic study of the BVRI colours of novae over the course of their eruptions. Where possible, interstellar reddening was measured using the equivalent widths of Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs). Some novae lack spectra with sufficient resolution and signal-to-noise ratios; therefore, we supplement as necessary with 3D and 2D dust maps. Utilising only novae with DIB- or 3D-map-based E(B − V), we find an average intrinsic (B − V)0 colour of novae at V-band light curve peak of 0.20 with a standard deviation of 0.31, based on 25 novae. When the light curve has declined by 2 magnitudes (t2), we find an average (B − V)0 = −0.03 with a standard deviation of 0.19. These average colours are consistent with previous findings, although the spreads are larger than previously found due to more accurate reddening estimates. We also examined the intrinsic (R − I)0 and (V − R)0 colours across our sample. These colours behave similarly to (B − V)0, except that the (V − R)0 colour gets redder after peak, likely due to the contributions of emission line flux. We searched for correlations between nova colours and t2, peak V-band absolute magnitude, and GeV γ-ray luminosity, but find no statistically significant correlations. Nova colours can therefore be used as standard “crayons” to estimate interstellar reddening from photometry alone, with 0.2–0.3 mag uncertainty. We present a novel Bayesian strategy for estimating distances to Galactic novae based on these E(B − V) measurements, independent of assumptions about luminosity, built using 3D dust maps and a stellar mass model of the Milky Way.