Paris Travel Forum

I wanted to know-do they let you take your camera, your backpack and your mobile phones inside the museums, cathedrals and other such places?
Because I dont think I'd feel very comfortable leaving my nikon D3x and kit at some ''baggage counter'' thingy!

When you are asked to leave cameras etc at the Desk you are usually given a ticket with a number - the other half of the ticket is attached to your possesions which will only be returned to the person with the matching half - so hang on to it well!

hi,
as i remember they allow to do some pics in museums but they charge extra fees for a camera. i did picss in Louvre, Paris and in some other museums... even in Notre Damm De Paris i did!
cheers....

yes you usually have to leave your bag, camera depends on each place's policy. But I never felt insecure doing it. It depends on the museum, some give you a receipt like said above (no one else can retrieve your things), other places have automatic lockers (the small-closets type, you put some coins and you keep a key or a receipt to open it). Besides there is usually some security staff around.
BTW, never seen this is churches, only in museums

sometime, someplaces you might be asked to do not take picture, but no one will tell to leave you camera. About mobile phones... you better turn off all.
Backpack.. you might be requested to leave them at 'baggage counter', not always, it might happen also in a mall, the matter is not you do not trust them, really, it's they do not trust you :)

I brought a camera and pack back into the Louvre, Musee d' Orsay and the Cathedral of Notre Dame. You cannot take photo with the flash, but other then that there were no problems. The one place that did not let you take photos in Paris was the Bascilica of Sacre Coeur. We did not have to pay an extra charge for a camera.

Some churches ask you to buy a Camera Voucher - these usually cost very little and are a means of contributing to the upkeep of the building.
I was in St Davids Cathedral in Wales this week and noticed that the fee for using a still camera was £1.50, more for a video camera and a bit more again for using a stand. I often see set-ups that look like a professional photographer at work, sometimes spending a lot of time in the aisles putting equipment in place etc. and using the church or cathedral as a work place.
It does not seem at all unreasonable to me that a charge is levied in these circumstances.

Backpacks are a menace when you're short as they get pushed in your face! I'm glad places are starting to ban them. Have a look at pacsafe which do largish bags which are far more secure. Available from Amazon heavily discounted. These bags are allowed in and provide greater security for your camera etc.

Hi,
In France, in churches, you can take pictures without flash. There is no extra charge.
In museums, you may be asked to take pictures without flash and file if your bag is too big but there was never a problem to retrieve it. Do not leave money or items of value anyway.
Enjoy your stay.

Polcies vary from place to place:

1. Some have no cameras allowed, ever. I think they want you to buy their low quality postcards. No flash makes sense, as it can affect the artifacts, especially paper, textiles and paint. Others just don't want you to slow down the crowds. I even had the guide at Neuschwanstein castle in Germany tell me there was a copyright on the interior. A bit of a stretch see as the place was built before there were any copyright laws...

2. Bag / bag / camera size restrictions - they don't want your to knock into things with your big bags. They usually let you carry the camera(s), so generally an easy workaround. I always carry a small point and shoot, just in case.

3. Tripod / monopod restrictions - again makes sense in many of these places

4. Photo permit required - look at this as a way for them to make a bit more money off the tourists. You can try to work around this one and try to not get caught. In Egypt, they did have the permit police and they handed out hefty fines if you did not have one. In Tibet, they were so ridiculously expensive (especially for video) in some of the "sensitive" temples, that you knew this was just their way of telling you "no photography".

That being said I have left my Leicas and high end video camera checked without any issues. Other places I just walked, because it was just wasn't worth the risk.

I have been in Paris for the last week and have been in at least a dozen museums/memorials. The only place where I was not allowed to take in anything was the Mémorial des martyrs de la déportation on Ile de la Cite. You will have to go through security everywhere. Pictures are allowed most places and if they do not want you using a flash, they will have it posted - this is usually for tapestries and paintings. You need to learn how to turn off your flash on your camera if it goes off automatically. I never have paid a fee for using my camera. Some of the museums will make you check backpacks, and the facilities as described in a post above and are safe. At Mémorial des martyrs de la déportation there is no place to check - they simply take your purse, camera, phone etc away from you and place it on the staircase. There is a guard watching it.

Wow Kathy, Mémorial des martyrs de la déportation on Ile de la Cite didn't used to even look at you when you walked in. You just walked down the stairs and there was no one there. I'm surprised. They must have had some problems. That is a shame.

Backpack-type purses are usually allowed everywhere. However, larger backpacks are a problem in very crowded museums so need to be checked. They are perfectly safe although I would not leave anything of value just on general principle.

We've been to Sacre Coeur many times and they have never allowed photos inside and there are signs posted to this effect . . . and ushers to enforce it. It's so dark inside they wouldn't be very good photos anyway. 8^)

Museums seem to change and it's a good idea to ask. A few years ago the Delacroix Museum did not allow photos; this year they allowed them without flash. The Picasso Museum allowed photos a few years ago; this year we were not allowed to take photos . . . perhaps because they are starting a 4-year renovation. The Louvre forbids and allows photos of Mona Lisa from year to year. It will be posted and Mona always has private guards. We've been allowed to take photos in all the other places and never had to pay a camera fee. Churches are generally free and allow photos (except Sacre Coeur).

Mobiles are required to be turned off inside churches and museums. When you see the crowds, you will understand this.

In other European countries the rules change, but you asked about Paris.

its cover well so far, just briefly, the idea is to protect the showing on the museums and churches, plus some services running in churches; I am going tot he madeleine now for service in Paris.No pictures.

Each place has its own policy, well posted. large backpack occupies space and in crowded tourist places this has caused a problem,,,. You have told right about the ticket to leave your valuables ,even going into the US Embassy in Paris you do this ::)
Enjoy your day !!!

thank you (everyone!) that was really helpful. couldn't have found an answer to this simple question in all the Frommers..Insight guides and Lonely planet guides! (I've read almost almost all these guides before leaving). Im flying in to Madrid on this saturday and will travel across all of central europe for 45 days..ending in rome before I fly back.
Just one more thing was on my mind-do they allow the cameras inside flight cabins?? Because someone told me that you have to BOOK/check-in the camera battery and then you are allowed to take the dead camera with you on board. I have a slight problem-IM JUST CARRYING A BACKPACK! I aint checking anything in!! what now??
Does anyone know any way that I can take my camera in cabin with me??

in more than 25 years traveling (oh my... I feel old writing that!) never ever I get my camera refused on board (and I always carry at least one) and I never heard this could happen!!

You will be asked not to use your camera on take off and landing as any other electronic device (cell phone, laptop, ipod...), that's all

Or you may be asked to switch off/on your camera (or other device) and to remove (and put again) the batteries in front of the security people (to 'show' it is really a camera, not a kind of shell to hide drugs or explosives or whatever...) only happened to me once, a couple of years ago (I usually take +20 planes per year).

no problems with cameras on board, just have it off and disabled, loose, so they can see it.You can bring it all with you .

I even carry extra batteries and chargers with me and have never been refused a carry-on with these things. I see no problem at all.

Ditto the above. I always carry my camera in my purse along with an extra card and at least one extra set of batteries. I do put the charger in my luggage but that's just to save carryon space. I've never even put the camera around my neck, just stick it in the purse. Haven't had to turn on my computer for years.

BTW, once past take-off, you can take pictures out the plane window if you like. It's sometimes fun when flying over the Alps, the Rockies, something very large and well known . . . Of course all electronics must be turned off during takeoff and landing. 8^)

yes I took quite a few nice pics from the air

and many other people as you can see here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/aerials/
(definitely their cameras were not "dead") :))