Carrying your Passport in the Parks

[Eeyore's the Best]

Hi, I'm in a DLP facebook group and there is a big discussion about having to have your passport on your at all time even when you are in the Park. We are travelling from Canada and would typically leave passports in the safe. Is this really a concern? I don't love the idea of having the stress of carrying the passport I would be worried about losing it or possibly being pickpocketed although we have a good plan in place for this. Just wondered for those that have been did you always have your passport on your person? We are in our 50's so we don't typically need it for ID for alcohol

 

[norhel]

Hi, I'm in a DLP facebook group and there is a big discussion about having to have your passport on your at all time even when you are in the Park. We are travelling from Canada and would typically leave passports in the safe. Is this really a concern? I don't love the idea of having the stress of carrying the passport I would be worried about losing it or possibly being pickpocketed although we have a good plan in place for this. Just wondered for those that have been did you always have your passport on your person? We are in our 50's so we don't typically need it for ID for alcohol

Legally you have to have ID on you according to French law.
If you are stopped by French police and can't show ID, they will detain you from what I've seen.
The risk is probably not that high when being in the parks, but it's up to you.

 

[OKW Lover]

Legally you have to have ID on you according to French law.

Does the law specify a passport though? Is their Canadian Driver's license good enough?

 

[walt34]

This is a bit different in theory and practice. Your passport is usually only checked when crossing the border, at airports and it is often requested when checking in at a hotel in France. Nobody will care about your ID when buying alcohol unless you look very young.

In theory you are required to have an ID with you as a tourist in France and as a Canadian this probably means your passport. In practice nobody will check this unless you are involved in some kind of incident, report a crime, etc. Some tourists reported that having a (digital) copy of their passport helped/was accepted in combination with other ID cards in these situations but there is probably no firm rule for this and your experience might differ.

I leave my passport in the hotel safe and have a photo of my passport on my phone. It might get me into trouble one day but to me this is the smaller risk than losing my passport while carrying it around in the parks or while strolling around Paris.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm also curious as to what citizens of other EU countries do about this. Do they bother carrying their passports while in France?

 

[norhel]

I'm also curious as to what citizens of other EU countries do about this. Do they bother carrying their passports while in France?

As a Norwegian, I use my EU ID card and have my passport as a backup.

 

[norhel]

Does the law specify a passport though? Is their Canadian Driver's license good enough?

Not sure, however I will assume that your passport is the only legal ID.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I'm also curious as to what citizens of other EU countries do about this. Do they bother carrying their passports while in France?

I have a passport card, as in Ireland we don't have an official ID card like other EU countries.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Does the law specify a passport though? Is their Canadian Driver's license good enough?

No, only a passport or EU identity card. Its just automatic to me when I travel to have my passport on me.

 

[Minnie1222]

I carry my US passport card, a picture of my passport, and a picture of the border entry stamp showing I did not sneak into their country. The passport booklet stays in the safe.

Even in my country, I always carry the passport card and global entry with me at all times. You never know when that impromptu trip pops up (to areas that accept passport cards of course).

 

[steve_rob]

I'll admit that I don't carry my passport on me when in France - it stays in the hotel safe. I do have a credit card sized photo ID in my wallet (that stays in there all the time, even when I'm back in the UK), which would be fine for a cursory check but I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't count officially as it's not an EU approved document, so if anyone insisted on seeing my passport, they'd have to accompany me back to my hotel.