Can I bring a bag or backpack on my tour?Updated an hour ago
You're welcome to bring a small bag or backpack on your tour — most of our experiences allow them, and they're ideal for carrying water, sunscreen and other essentials. However, many of the sites we visit have size restrictions for security reasons, and a few have no bag storage at all, so it's worth packing light before you set out.
The simplest rule: a bag no larger than 40 × 30 × 15 cm (roughly15.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 inches) is accepted everywhere we go. If your bag is smaller than that, you can stop reading here.
Wheels are their own problem. Several sites refuse any bag with wheels regardless of size — a small wheeled cabin bag is turned away at WestminsterAbbey, the Louvre, St Mark's Basilica and the Tower of London even though it would pass on measurements alone. Leave wheeled bags at your accommodation.
Rome
Vatican Museums
Bags larger than 40 × 35 × 15 cm (approx. 15.7 × 13.8 × 5.9 inches) must be left in the cloakroom before you enter the exhibition rooms. The cloakroom is free and using it is compulsory for anything over that size. A small rucksack worn on the shoulder is fine as long as it doesn't stick out more than about 15 cm from your body. Valuables — wallets, phones, cameras, jewelry — can't be left in the cloakroom, so keep those with you.
Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
Hand luggage must not exceed 30 × 40 × 15 cm. Large backpacks, hiking packs, suitcases and wheeled luggage are not permitted. Glass bottles, trekking poles and umbrellas over a metre wide are also refused.
Important: there is no cloakroom or luggage deposit anywhere in the Archaeological Park, and that applies to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill as well as the Colosseum. If your bag is too big, there is nowhere on site to leave it. Please sort storage out before you arrive.
Paris
The Louvre
Bags up to 55 × 35 × 20 cm are allowed, and that measurement includes pockets, wheels and handles. Free self-service lockers sit beneath the Pyramid and at the Porte des Lions.
Two things catch people out. Rolling suitcases are refused whatever their size — the wheels are the issue, not the dimensions. And the lockers take the same maximum as the entrance does, so a bag too large to carry in is also too large to store: there is no fallback for oversized luggage. Collect anything you deposit before closing; the Porte des Lions lockers close at 3pm.
Palace of Versailles
The same 55 × 35 × 20 cm limit applies — but Versailles goes further than theLouvre. Suitcases and large-capacity bags are not allowed anywhere on the estate, not merely inside the palace, so arriving with luggage means not getting through the gates at all. Every bag is inspected on entry, so expect a short wait at busy times.
Barcelona
Sagrada Família
The Basilica doesn't publish a maximum bag size, but every bag and rucksack is inspected at the entrance and they ask visitors to travel light so screening moves quickly. There is no general cloakroom or suitcase storage.
If your ticket includes a tower, note that bags and rucksacks aren't allowed up the towers at all. Small lockers are provided for this, and you collect your things straight after coming down.
Florence
Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi doesn't publish a size limit. Instead it asks that backpacks, bags, umbrellas and other large items be left in the cloakroom before you go in — the cloakroom is free. Small umbrellas that fit in a pocket or handbag can stay with you. Glass bottles must be left behind, and genuinely oversized luggage may not be accepted at all.
If your tour includes the Vasari Corridor, pack especially light: bulky items aren't allowed there, and because the Corridor comes out at the Pitti Palace you'd have to walk back over the Ponte Vecchio to collect anything left at the Uffizi.
Galleria dell'AccademiaBags and any bulky item must be no larger than 40 × 30 × 18 cm. Luggage, large backpacks and helmets are refused, and non-folding umbrellas can't come in (there are umbrella stands at the entrance). Water bottles up to half a liter are fine.
This is the one to plan around: the Accademia has no cloakroom and no luggage storage. If your bag is over the limit, there is nowhere on site to leave it, so please bring only a small bag to see the David.
Venice
St Mark's Basilica
Backpacks and bags must be no larger than 40 × 30 × 20 cm. Wheeled trolleys are never permitted, at any size. There's also a dress code: shoulders should be covered, and very short skirts or shorts aren't admitted.
Don't count on leaving anything at the Basilica — we can't confirm any bag deposit currently operating there, so please arrive with only what you can carry or store your bags in advance.
Doge's Palace
The Doge's Palace measures bags differently from everywhere else: the three dimensions added together must come to no more than one meter, including handles, wheels and outside pockets. A 40 × 30 × 20 cm bag adds up to 90 cm and is fine; a 45 × 35 × 25 cm bag comes to 105 cm and is not.
There's a free cloakroom for smaller bags, backpacks and umbrellas that security would rather not have in the rooms. Anything over the one-meter total can't betaken in or checked in, so it needs to stay elsewhere.
London
Tower of London
The Tower doesn't publish a measurement, but suitcases, large bags and any rolling luggage are refused. Tripods and selfie sticks aren't allowed either, and every visitor's bag is checked on the way in.
There are no lockers or left-luggage facilities at the Tower — this is stated plainly in their own visitor information — so anything oversized has to be stored elsewhere before you arrive.
Westminster AbbeySmall bags up to 40 × 30 × 20 cm are permitted. Luggage of any size, large backpacks, and any bag or case with wheels are not — the wheels rule applies however small the bag is, which is what catches most people out.
The Abbey has no cloakroom and no left-luggage facility. Bags are searched on entry, and there can be a queue at busy times.
What We Recommend
If you need a bag, bring a small daypack, and keep it under 40 × 30 × 15 cm. That's enough for water, a scarf, sunscreen and a camera, it clears security everywhere we go, and it won't slow your group down.
Avoid anything on wheels, whatever its size.
Need More Details?
For bag rules specific to your tour, check your voucher and the tour's FAQ section — these cover any site-specific restrictions for the places you'll actually be visiting.
We're unable to store luggage during tours, and several of the sites above have no storage either, so please leave larger bags at your accommodation. Most hotels will hold luggage for you, including after checkout.