elizacat

Is it necessary to leave your passport at museums, chateaux,Versilles etc to rent an audioguide? I'm uncomfortable doing this and it seems like overkill for an audioguide. How common is it to require this?

OReilly

I leave my driver's licence, never my passport.

Carlux

They just want some guarantee that you will come back and not make off with their equipment. So a drivers license, or some ID of less importance than a passport is fine. In fact I think the last time they took one license for the two audioguides my husband and I took.

Christina

yes, they don't care what nationality you are, it isn't a passport per se they want, they just want something they know you will come back for. I always leave my driver's license, also, but I think they will also take a credit card (which I don't want to have laying around myself).

elizacat

I guess a driver's license is better than a passport but not really thrilled about that either. How secure do they keep these? How about an autoclub card(no picture on it though.)

Christina

I don't think they'll take that. It isn't your picture on it they want (no credit card has your picture on it), it's that they want something of enough value that you are not going to leave it there and not care, and you definitely going to remember it.

I don't think an auto club card would suffice, because it's not of much value and not really necessary (my auto club card is worth nothing, it's just something with my club ID number on it and a phone number, which can easily be written down elsewhere). I think they take pretty good care of these things at the big museums where they require it.

This isn't because of ID, it's a deposit.

Christina

oh, if you want, some place will easily take money instead of an item -- like a 20 euro note or something.

papagena

Depends on the museum - sometimes anything with a photo will do, sometimes they demand a credit card or passport. It's annoying when that happens (who would want to steal an audioguide anyway?*) but we've always got them back.

*This totally mystifies me. Surely if someone was that desperate to illicitly acquire museum information it'd be better to shoplift a guide book, since you need to know what number goes with which work of art in order to use the audioguide.

Underhill

There are both credit cards and ATM cards that can have pictures on them: Citibank and Bank of America issue them.

kappa

> (who would want to steal an audioguide anyway?*)

papagena, some (stupid) people might steal or break it just for fun if there is no penalty.

AnselmAdorne

"I guess a driver's license is better than a passport but not really thrilled about that either. How secure do they keep these?"

I rented an audioguide at Notre-Dame in Paris last February. I offered my driver's license as security and the fellow behind the counter put it into a little recipe box under "A" for Adorne. (Well, it was actually under "M" for my real name.) Secure? No, but not a big worry.

Anselm

OReilly

Re security, similar experience as Anslem I'm afraid. Hhowever, I have done it dozens of times and have yet to lose my D.L.

Opps, shouldn't have said that and tempted the furies. Wait for my next trip report where I'll probably write of my panic at losing my D.L. during a driving trip of wherever!

janisj

I have never left my passport. But have left a credit card probably 35 or 40 times and my Drivers license a couple of times in the UK and France and never had a problem.

kp

We were in France/Paris earlier this month and left a drivers license as deposit for audio guides (3 museums). Yes--they did use something similar to a recipe box. All we did was check that the correct license was returned. Credit card or passport were also accepted.

AnthonyGA

You should never leave a passport as security for anything. Leave something that you don't want to lose, but make sure it is something that would be of little use to someone else. A driver's license is a common choice. Don't leave credit cards, either.