Is a daypack a bad idea in England, France or Italy?

I was considering a JanSport daypack on a daily basis for carrying my
camera, water bottle and e.g. clothes for entering churches while in
Europe. But now I'm wondering if it would cause me entry problems due
to security in those same churches, museums or ancient monuments. Can
anyone tell me what entry issues I might expect at places like St.
Paul's, Tower of London, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame,
Chartres, Versailles, the Roman Forum or the Vatican?

Thanks!

<luxor1275bc@**********> wrote in message
news:2e36c35f-599e-40c3-9457-a41e5d1faf73@b1g2000hsg.************.com...
>I was considering a JanSport daypack on a daily basis for carrying my
> camera, water bottle and e.g. clothes for entering churches while in
> Europe. But now I'm wondering if it would cause me entry problems due
> to security in those same churches, museums or ancient monuments. Can
> anyone tell me what entry issues I might expect at places like St.
> Paul's, Tower of London, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame,
> Chartres, Versailles, the Roman Forum or the Vatican?
>
> Thanks!

I have had a few issues with my specialised camera backpacks (one Tamrac and
one Crumpler) at National Trust properties. I have learned to take the
smaller of the two and to carry it on my front. They do provide secure
storage and my wife always uses those with no issues for her small pack but
I prefer to carry the camera and they respect that when I explain the value.

In article <1ijnhqe.1em4ywdqzd813N%d4g4h4@yahoo.co.uk>,
d4g4h4@yahoo.co.uk (David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:

> congokid <congokid@congokid.com> wrote:
>
> > In article
> > <2e36c35f-599e-40c3-9457-a41e5d1faf73@b1g2000hsg.************.com>,
> > luxor1275bc@********** writes
> > >I was considering a JanSport daypack on a daily basis for carrying my
> > >camera, water bottle and e.g. clothes for entering churches while in
> > >Europe. But now I'm wondering if it would cause me entry problems due
> > >to security in those same churches, museums or ancient monuments. Can
> > >anyone tell me what entry issues I might expect at places like St.
> > >Paul's, Tower of London, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame,
> > >Chartres, Versailles, the Roman Forum or the Vatican?
> >
> > Last September I carried a backpack around Paris and had no trouble
> > taking it into the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, or the Arc de Triomphe.
>
> Agreed, though I notice that x-ray machines and metal detectors are
> increasingly common at museums in some other countries- recently
> encountered them at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum and Madrid's Prado. In
> Spain, x-rays for bags are common on the AVE services, though I've yet
> to encounter them for the Cercanias (i.e. commuter trains affected by
> the 2004 bombings.)
>
> I suspect it's only a matter of time before such security systems are
> similarly compulsory for various London attractions. (At the moments
> bags can be 'randomly' checked AIUI.)

I don't know if it's just security or the chances of people carrying
bags inadvertently hitting things.

I got into St. Mark's Basilica with a messenger's bag, which I think
someone said was okay because it was a "handbag." (it's bigger than
most women's handbags but not stuffed as much so it has a thin profile).

Meanwhile, backpacks had to be checked in.

But in situations where they made you check everything in, I would take
a little hip pack where I could stuff my camera.

Best situation is if they provide lockers so you can lock up your stuff
but you don't always have the right coin to deposit for the key.

On 2008-07-05, luxor1275bc@********** <luxor1275bc@**********> wrote:
> I was considering a JanSport daypack on a daily basis for carrying my
> camera, water bottle and e.g. clothes for entering churches while in
> Europe. But now I'm wondering if it would cause me entry problems due
> to security in those same churches, museums or ancient monuments.

I've never seen a place banning bags without offering a facility for
leaving the bag behind, either for a small fee or for free.

Am Sat, 5 Jul 2008 14:44:30 -0700 (PDT) schrieb luxor1275bc@**********:

> Can
> anyone tell me what entry issues I might expect at places like St.
> Paul's, Tower of London, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame,
> Chartres, Versailles, the Roman Forum or the Vatican?

In Rome (Colosseum) they put your backpack through a scanner, like at the
airport. Then you can take it.
I experienced the same at the London Tower, but I was there before 9/11.

I wouldn't really think that it will be a problem, if you are not allowed
to take it in (like in some museums) there will be lockers available at the
entrance.

Regards,

Frank

Am Sun, 06 Jul 2008 08:26:26 -0700 schrieb poldy:

> I don't know if it's just security or the chances of people carrying
> bags inadvertently hitting things.

They also want to minimize theft - in a huge backpack you can easily pack
something you took (not all museums have everything wired to some alarm).

Regards,

Frank