Connie... you don't say where you are going to be when you leave next month! However...

In Rome in October 2006 my passport photocopy was perfectly acceptable.

In Dubrovnik in October 2007 my passport photocopy was not even asked for.

One reason to carry your passport or a copy is to provide identification in case of an accident. The passport also suggests noting in it someone to call or notify in the USA as well as at your foreign address.

I keep it with me in my moneybelt with my credit card and extra cash. My walking around money goes in my front pocket. Copies of the passport and cards are in my luggage in the apartment.

I've done both...left it and taken it. It depends on where I'm staying. But I lock it in my suitcase.
Get an Eagle Creek money belt though.
I always have two copies of my passport that I take on vacation along with an old passport and an official copy of my birth certificate in case of theft.
My best male had his money and passport stolen off of him in the metro, in Paris, and he's a very experienced traveler. But, it can happen to anyone. It was a REAL headache replacing his passport and he speaks fluent French. It took all day of running around . I couldn't believe that he didn't take an official copy of his birth certificate and an old passport along since every little bit helps in these types of situations. It was kind of hard to prove his identity with no ID. And he had his passport and money in a pouch around his neck and tucked deep into his shirt...they still got it. Happy Travels!

I think the comment of never being stopped by a cop in Europe to check ID is interesting. I've almost been stopped several times in Paris while strolling in the 7th.I stay in the 6th. But, one time, although the cops were eyeing me very hard from across the street, they were too busy with checking an African man for his ID so they left me alone.
My ex- Ghanaian boyfriend has been hassled a lot in France and especially in Belgium . He's an engineer for big international companies and has been, on the roads around the world, for over a decade traveling to different engineering projects and he's told me a LOT of his horror stories. And he's always had more than adequate ID on him.
And my best, African American friend who has lived in a Scandinavian country since the mid 60s and holds a dual passport has been stopped on the street numerous times, in the city that he's resided in for over 40 years. It's good he's totally fluent in the language of the country that he resides in and can handle the situation. Now, when I'm in the country where he resides and where I've resided part time for two decades, I get a bit nervous on the street. In the past, I never had a problem as I also speak the language and would just go on with my daily life like everyone else. I wasn't even asked, many times, to produce a passport at borders...just crossed borders, on the trains, with my Scandinavian friends.
The place that I've personally been hassled the most is in Germany where I would get hassled on trains at the border crossings...even to the point of having to open my suitcases for them to be inspected when no one else, in the same compartment, would be asked to do such. Happy Travels!

a person without a passport, is a person without a country!...
carry it on your person in a safe hidden pocket etc.....

Racial profiling is alive and well .
If I was black I may consider the law about carrying my passport with me all the time more seriously. I am not though, I am a middle aged white woman, and in all the days of my time in Europe, I have never been ided.
I am sure some people do get hassled more then others, just like someone who looks Mexican (Hispanic) might be hassled more if they live near a border town in some States. In Paris they do have issues with immigrants, so I am convinced that being black would make you more of a target for passport checking they being white. I do not agree it is right, but I acknowledge that some will have a harder time then others, even though I am in the group that has never been hassled.

Bozama, You are unfortunately completely right. As a white woman, I have never ever been asked for my papers by the police on the streets in France. On the contrary, all of my French friends of Maghreb or African origin have been stopped in the street by the police several times to show their ID.

And yes, it is compulsory in France to carry your ID with you, we all do.

Marie

When I am in Paris, I try to live like the Parisians do. We rent an apartment, and shop at the local stores. I see thousands of Parisian women carrying purses around the city, so I do, to. It is always a shoulder bag with a zipped compartment that I place my wallet in. I carry my driver's license and credit cards in my wallet. My passport is in the apartment. I do place a photocopy of it in my wallet.

I really think money belts, etc. are like little targets for pickpockets...I would never carry one. And I would never carry a passport around the city with me becaue I cannot imagine what a hassle it would be to lose it.

That's just me...this has worked for me during three visits and it is what I plan to do in June when I head over to Paris.

In Barcelona, my sister decided to give me her credit card and passport to put in my money belt. Good thing she did, as at dinner a very clever thief managed to steal her purse, which fortunately carried only her camera.

I always keep my passport in my moneybelt, along with my credit card. Once, in Germany, I cleverly had an extra credit card and a debit card stored in the hotel safe. I promptly forgot about them until I was about 200 miles away.

I've never had any difficulty with anything I've put in my money belt, which I keep under my clothes.

In more than 30 years of traveling I have never carried my passport around the city.
It was never stolen from hotels or apartments I stayed in.

Personally I don't think a moneybelt would be a target for a thief if it's hidden under one's clothing.

A copy (color) of your passport will suffice in most situations. Make a couple copies and carry one with you unless you know you will need the original for some reason - e.g. transaction at a bank. I have never been asked for my passport at an Internet cafe in Paris.
When I was a novice traveler I used a moneybelt, then graduated to the around the neck pouch, but found them to be more of a hassle than they are worth. Now I just use common sense, like not carrying valuables in a pocket that is easily picked.

Don't we have to keep ID on us at all time in the USA as well?
NEVER leave the house without my DMV ID card.

I have seen ohter posters who claim to have left their valuables etc in the hotel safe, so therefore they rather not use them anymore...

All I have to wonder is do they SLEEP with the money belt on so they don't forget it???? Too funny.

If you are absent minded with your valuables, then nothing will make any difference. Money belt or safe.

I would keep a copy of your passport on you, and hide the passport in your luggage in the apartment.

If your really afraid that your apartment will be broken in to and your items stolen then I would rethink the apartment you are staying in.

When I was in Italy I always kept some $$ in my pocket, some in my purse, and my Driver's license and one card in the zip up compartment of my purse - never had a problem. However, I would be MUCH more nervous if I did carry my passport around with me.

It's much more likely that you will lose, or have your passport stolen/taken while wandering around then from the maid at the apartment.

Have a great time!!

Does anyone know if actual passport is needed to get discount at Printemps or Galerie Lafayette in Paris.....or will photocopy suffice? Thanks!

In my experience, those two department stores have required the actual passport. However, that does not apply everywhere. Just in March, I took my photocopy around and had my detaxe papers done using the photo copy at a luggage boutique that I shop at in Paris. So, you never know, but at the big department stores I take the actual passport. Happy Travels!

Bozama...I think you'll find this interesting. Some decades ago, one of my closest friends who happens to be from England came to L.A. area and stayed with my parents and me. She wanted to go down to Mexico...Tijuana. So, I told her I'd drive her. About 20 minutes of driving, I asked if she had her passport on her and she said she'd left it at my house. So, I drove back home so that she could get it. I didn't need a passport being American so I didn't take mine.
Well, we got to TJ and as we were leaving to cross back into the U.S., she was waved through with a big smile and I was detained for quite a bit of time. Remember, she was the person who needed to have a passport not me.Plus, she really stood out in appearance. I, on the other hand, didn't stand out. The only difference was that she was White and I Black.
So, I just have my passport on me at all times now since I'm sick and tired of the hassles. Happy Travels!

Guenmai , yes, I admit, being black ( or any other visible minority, like try being middle eastern looking now, ) has you usaully pegged for extra questioning. I admit it ,but I don't think it is right, but, unfortunately that is just the way it is. If I was black I would carry my passport at all times, just because I do believe there is racial profiling.
I am not black, or young, or different looking, I look like a piece of white bread, and as such I know I am least likely to be hassled on the streets of Paris. I still am fully aware that in an airport random searches can and do occur so being white bread there is less advantageous.

I do want to comment again on the " locking the passport in the suitcase" line of reasoning. I don't get that. If someone breaks into your apartment they are there to steal, and a locked suitcase says" I have something valuable in me" . They will just take the whole suitcase, or go to apt kitchen, get a knife and pry open suitcase. Seems like a real false sence of security. I would hide passport myself,, and I have a list of places that are good and not obvious( crimminals know all about hiding it in the fridge or freezer, or in boxes of cereals or cookies,or under mattresses. You must think out of the box. I actaully have used duck tape and taped it underneath certain peices of furniture on past occaisons on some of our non Europe trips. We have rented cabins etc in resort areas for camping, and they never have safes, and I don't think anywhere is completely safe, so that was a solution I used on year. Beleive it or not, we lived in fear of being " stuck in the States and not being let back into Canada" , I bet some of you find that amusing,,