When in Paris should we carry our passports around with us as we're out and about or leave them in the hotel safe?

Tim, <BR> <BR>At least make a photocopy of the page with your photograph and details and leave that separate from your passport so shoul it be lost or stolen it makes matters easier to obtain a replacement. <BR>i would not think it is necessary to carry your passport around ( I have not) but not sure if thre are laws requiring this.

Unless I am staying at a friend's home and out exploring with them, I have my passport with me at all times. Use a money belt hidden under your clothes...safe for your tickets, passport, credit cards, extra cash, etc.

I leave a copy at home, a copy "hidden" in my room and always leave the original with the hotel/villa to put in their safe.

Is it legal to photocopy your passport? I know that in some countries it's absolutely not legal to copy your passprt.

In Europe I would always leave my passport at the hotel. But I would carry a picture ID (driving license), mainly for renting audioguides, I don't like to leave a CC. <BR> *But* that was before Sept 11, with heightened security everywhere I think it might be wiser to carry your passport at all times. Regards, Walter <BR>

Advise I got here, before our trip last May, was to scan those pages and email them to myself. That way I could access them if needed and even print out a copy. (Still we carried photocopies in a separate location from our passports, which usually we left in the room safe.)

Ingrid, if your passport gets stolen, this would be the last thing for you to think if it was legal to take a copy. You'd be grateful you've done so, as you'll need to know the passport number. It's not illegal to be safe. And it may be a good idea to keep copies of all cards - credit, phone, health - or at least a list of phone numbers to call.

Ingrid, always, always, always, make a copy of your passport!!!! My travel agent, Connie, will not give me my plane tickets unless I show her that I have a photocopy of my passport! Im not kidding. Being a travel agent for 22 years, she has heard horror stories of those who have "misplaced" their passports while abroad. I always put a copy in the outside pocket of my suitcase. I never take my passport out with me while Im on the town. I always put it in the hotel safe. Once, in Madrid, I took my passport with me to a shop and when I emptied my pockets to look for some money, I left it on a counter. As I was leaving the store, I hear a female voice saying, "Senior, you have left you a passaport." Now, I always leave it in a safe place.

The hotel copies your passport--it bailed our kids out when theirs was stolen and the last hotel they stayed in gave them a copy. Copy it, your airline tickets, your credit cards and keep it in a safe place, including leaving one at home with a friend. Don't carry passport with you.

I agree with Gretchen re: leaving info with a friend or relative back home. I leave an envelope with my parents with photocopies of passport, tickets, Travellers Check numbers, vouchers etc. Plus all my credit card/ATM info (CC #, pins, password etc) and the CC 1-800 numbers, if they are ever stolen I can make 1 phone call and have them canceled within minutes. Regards, Walter <BR>

It is certainly not illegal to photocopy your passport. You only need a copy of the first page with your picture and passport number. You don't need to copy every page. Leave one copy at home with a friend or relative and one copy in your luggage. Keep your pasport on you in your money belt or in a hotel safe. The hotels always ask for your passport when you check in and they make a copy of it so that is another backup for you in case you lose it.

There's a sign at the passport office (Canadian) advising you to make two copies of page 3 (personal information), take one with you, and leave the other with a friend at home. So I guess it's not illegal here.

I do the same as Diane, scan my passport, also my cc numbers, plane ticket numbers, any CC phone info and aything else i can think of and email them to myself. If I need them , I pick up my email from any computer. Also carry 1 copy, and leave actual passports in room or hotel safe. One less thing to wory about

I send an e-mail to myself with the numbers of my passport and credit cards along with the 800 numbers needed to call the credit card companies. Just for an added precaution, I encode them by adding the same digit to each number so that I can quickly decode the numbers but anyone managing to get access to my e-mail would not have all of the information reaadily available. Fortunately I've never needed the information but it's nice to have available.

If you go to a currency exchange in Paris they will ask to see your passport when changing money.

I forgot to mention that it's in cashing a traveler's check that they ask for your passport.

B - <BR> <BR>Unless your email is sent encrypted (not by your own method, but using an encryption algorythim in your email client) you are leaving your information out there in the open for anyone to grab. <BR> <BR>A far better solution is leave the info at home with a trusted friend, that you can call and get it from.

Carry a copy of your passport unless you need the real thing for a particular reason. But don't assume that it (or anything else valuable) is safe left in a hotel *room* safe. If the safe is robbed or actually stolen (as has happened in some hotels), the hotel has no responsibility for the missing/damaged contents. If you have anything of very high value, either ask the hotel to put it in their safe (which is insured) or leave it home (not possible with passports, of course).

Noone here mentioned where they had they're passport copied at.I live in Michigan and went to the biggest store in my area, MEIJER.When I asked to get a photo copy of my passport in the photo center where they actually take passport photos they said that they couldnt do it because its illegal.(like when something is copywrited ex.-olan mills photos)Where is this legal to get done?