Bags in Museums

I have found that if you have a backpack, you'll need to check it. I just use what I think Rick calls his iPad bag and wear it cross body. It usually fits everything I need. If I have a coat it either gets tied around my waist or the bag and this one I have always been able to take into museums. My husband has a small backpack that he carries and more and more he has to check it, which he is fine with. It usually doesn't cost anything and he doesn't need anything in it while we are in the museum anyway. If he has something small, like gum, he wants for while in the museum I slip it into my bag.

I have not been to London lately, but Larger bags/backpacks are generally more restricted on the continent. Everywhere I have seen that though there are bagcheck facilities or coin lockers. Other places may require x-raying of bags. Beware of picnic “knives.” Last summer in Spain train stations xrayed bags too like at airports.

Why would anybody want to carry a backpack in a museum? The only things you might need are your wallet for the cafetaria and a camera. Backpacks are a nuisance for other visitors and can be a hazard for the museum. It is no trouble at all to leave them at the cloakroom or put them in a locker.

Sounds like you are carrying stuff for others.

Not going to allow anything that large in a museum.

Not to mention would be a PIA to have on a crowded tube train.

Less is more.

There are lockers and coat checks and sipping out of a water bottle while meandering through a gallery not going to happen either. Museums aren’t like Disneyland.

DH and I both carry cross body messenger bags. Mine is smaller, but his is big enough to fit a laptop. He had no problem keeping it in any museum we visited. OTOH, on our previous trip he used a smallish backpack and frequently had to check it.

I haven't read much about checking bags, is this a common thing in museums? If so, that would be great, I'd love to check whatever I have. The only thing I've read about is that the Eiffel Tower restricts bags and has no place to store things when you go in. Kind of afraid most places would be like that.

You’ll need to check the specific sites that you plan to visit. Most of the museums have a cloakroom where you can check la daypack. Usually they search the bag and often there is a fee to check. For example, here is British Museums info:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/facilities.aspx

Think about whether you really need to carry things with you as it can be a hassle. I usually go out with just a purse which holds my phone and my Ipad mini. I only bring a coat if I need to wear it. Unless I am hiking, I don’t bother with a water bottle. There are water fountains in most museums and if you are really thirsty there are many places to stop to buy a drink.

"I haven't read much about checking bags, is this a common thing in museums?"

Yes, almost all museums that don't want large bags inside have a place to check them. In London, it's very common for there to be a fee to use the lockers, particularly at "free" museums like the National Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, or the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Other non-museum attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower, can indeed have a situation where you can neither bring bags nor check bags. But that's quite unusual in museums.

Do be prepared to remove anything you want to have with you in the museum before you check the bag. In addition to the obvious (wallet, phone, camera), I often want my Rick Steves book, if it has a tour of that specific museum, and more than once I've forgotten it!

Awesome! Great info. Exactly what I was looking for, thanx all!

Another issue is the security check. Where I live, the smaller the bag, the faster visitors can go through security because smaller bags can be searched more quickly.

We use a small backpack on our outings (the 4 of us have various things to store when we are out all day) and had no issues in London except sometimes they asked us to wear the backpack on the front (I forget where-British Museum maybe?). It's a very small one though,so I'm not sure about larger ones. We also did Tate Modern, V&A, Churchill War Rooms, Imperial War Museum, National Gallery...

Museums will sometimes allow you a small backpack if you carry it in your hand while inside.

Most American art museums restrict bags. Some require that contemporary backpacks, by which I mean smaller than framed camping backpacks, be worn in front of you. Have you not noticed that you hit other people with the bag when you turn? This is a big problem today on public transportation. Museums are usually crowded, and this is selfish and inconsiderate. You are not at home.

Many art museums restrict what you can do with an outerwear coat. You are frequently required to check it or wear it. This is mainly to keep you from swatting an artwork when you turn around, but today they probably worry about a coat over an arm concealing a weapon or a sharp object. (No art museum allows umbrellas to be carried in.)

For those reason, I find it unacceptable that the Art Institute of Chicago charges for their coat and bag check. Museum checking ought to be free.

I just returned and didn't notice any issues with people carrying a backpack, I just saw security tell them they had to wear it on their front so it didn't knock into things. Like someone said above though, it did slow down security checks. Don't carry electronics with you, far too heavy.

I’d just check the museum’s website. Things are constantly changing. I was able to bring my backpack into Tate Britain a couple of months ago, I was with a member so not sure if that helped or not.

I do want to reduce plastic as much as possible, so having a backpack means I can carry anything I buy, along with my portable phone charger.