Greetings all,
1. Where is the best place to exchange money in Paris? It's a long time since I traveled to Europe. Last time it seemed like the forex at the airport (CDG) was actually reasonable compared to banks. I am carrying USD.
2. Need to buy a train ticket from Nice to Cerebere. It's too late to buy online and have shipped to my home. Can I buy it in Paris at a reasonable price? Would prefer couchette, 2nd class is fine. Maybe a travel agent can do better than the US$191 listed at Eurail? I tried www.voyages-sncf.com but their site indicated that I should follow a non-existant link.
many thanks!
desertdune
desertdune
1
ben
The best way to exchange money in Europe is not to carry USD but to use ATM machines. You will get a much better rate and the fee (charged by your bank) is generally $5 or less.
3
voyager_2002
Train: the website you mention gives you the option of pickng up the ticket at a station or having it mailed to your address in France. But check the time limits carefully. It will also tell you what the 'walk-up' fare is, which will almost certainly be very much less than what Rail-Europe charges.
Oh: I doubt if you can get a couchette for the journey you mention, since it is not a terribly long way, and French trains are fast.
4
desertdune
thanks....most the English links on that site don't work very well and I don't read a lot of French. Guess I'll try the walk up fare when I get there.
um....9 hours isn't a long ride?
5
micolett
Voyager, this trip is more than 10 hours, and usually done on night trains, so a couchette is the best way...Deserdune, I'm not sure you can book a couchette through sncf.com, I just tried and couldn't find infos, but the "basic" fare is 106 euros for this trip.
6
hello_bamboo
<blockquote>Quote
<hr>The ATM fee is low, but there is also a 3% conversion fee.<hr></blockquote>
how much do you think the conversion fee for cash is? usually between 5 and 10% at an exchange office. ATMs are the best way to go. and this question pops up every day and always gets the same answer- i wonder why i even bother answering if people like you are too lazy to do even the most basic research
7
desertdune
If I knew what the conversion fee for cash is I wouldn't have asked...dontcha think? There is a lot of information on the site about using ATMs and credit cards. That was not what I was asking. Glad to know we have an expert in research on hand. Perhaps you can write some guidelines for key word searches and other useful tips for posters.
I wish you great love, as you obviously harbor lots of anger. Of course mecury has gone retro today, so perhaps that's affecting your nature as well.....
8
la_vache
2 weeks ago I withdrew 200 Euros from the UBP ATM at CDG terminal 2. This resulted in a debit to my US account of $269.23, for a conversion rate of 1.345, certainly very close to the wholesale rate. Between UBP and my bank the ATM charge was slightly over $4.
ATM is definitely the way to go, but I would never withdraw less than 200 euros to make the ATM percentage small (in this case 3 percent). Withdrawing small amounts is quite costly, so converting cash is possibly preferable if you do not want to carry a lot of Euros.
9
euro-traveller
Over many years of frequent visits to France and comparing costs, I've found French banks and bureaux de change to offer some of the poorest rates for cash conversion. The best is the official Banque de France, but even their rates aren't brilliant. I would only exchange cash in France as the last resort.
ATM is the way to go. If you research, you'll find there are still some financial institutions in US that offer no commission or low charge ATM withdrawals abroad, and no added 3% (or whatever) conversion charge. Some credit unions offer this. Even if you are charged, it will still be cheaper than changing cash (typically 7 to 10% in fees, often hidden in poor exchange rates).
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