Money - Europe

Last Updated: Nov. 05, 2008

Tags: cash, currency, europe, money, travel and tour advice

The Euro Zone

The Euro (€) is the most widely accepted currency in the world and is the official currency of 13 European Union countries as well as being accepted in many other countries where it is used unofficially.

The countries where the Euro is the official currency are:

Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain

The United Kingdom

The official currency of the United Kingdom is the Pound Stirling (£) and although some pay phones may accept Euro, the Pound is the only accepted currency in through out United Kingdom (England, Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland). The Republic of Ireland uses the Euro.

Scandinavia

Although the Euro is very widely accepted, this however is generally not the case in Sweden , Denmark and Norway where the local currency for each individual country is generally the only accepted form of cash.

Other Countries

Most central and eastern European countries have their on currencies. Places of business in countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic along with Egypt, Russia and Switzerland accept the Euro alongside their official currency with change usually being given in the local currency.

ATM’s and Cash Machines

ATM’s and Cash Machines are readily available throughout Europe. There will almost certainly be a charge for making cash withdraws from foreign cash machines and its best to check with your bank at home to find out what these are.

It is also common for the lines of communication between banks in Europe and your home country to go down. Usually its best to carry at least 50€ (as well as some local currency if you are in a country that does not accept the Euro) as a backup in case you cannot get access to a cash machine.

Add a Comment Comments (3)

hey all
i was going to get a cash passport for my trip to europe as i found it priceless when i went to america. will i need to get 2? one for uk and one for euro?

TheBot posted 24 days ago Flag as Inappropriate
If you don’t already have travelers cheques, I wouldn’t bother getting any and would stick to bank and ATM cards to carry and access cash. If you have travelers cheques already they will be a certain currency (for example US$, £ € etc) you can often spend them as cash. You can sometimes use them as you owuld cash in stores and the like by signing them. If the currency accepted by the store is not the same as the currency that the cheques are in (ie if you try and spend US$ cheques in Europe) then there will be an exchange fee/rate added to the cost of whatever it is you are buying. You can also exchange travelers cheques for cash at cash exchange places but again, there are often fees involved with this. I’d take about 100 pounds and 100 euros in cash with me and access the rest of my money using ATM cards….hope that helped…

mattyvcontiki posted on Jul. 27, 2008 Flag as Inappropriate
Hey,
I’m going on my first trip to Europe in a couple of weeks, but the whole money-thing really confuses me…I have to have Pounds Stirling and also Euro, but I don’t understand travellers cheques and how to use them, or how much foreign currency I should have. Can you please help me out?

Kitty Kat posted on Jul. 21, 2008 Flag as Inappropriate

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