This paper looks at the use of cell phones for tours of cultural sites in Europe. Although several projects have experimented with IVR, SMS and even multimedia tours on standard and next-generation networks, take-up of this platform by museums has remained low in comparison to US activity, despite cell phone usage being more wide-spread and longer-developed than in North America. Through case studies of recent phone tour projects at Tate Modern and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, we examine what the key differences and similarities are between phone-based tours on the two continents, and what each can learn from the other.