Money – if we paid 10 euros for a meal, that meant about $14 US – per person of course. 10 euros for a "plat du jour" would be a really good find – appetizer, entrée, drink, and dessert. Most places were from 16 to 19 euros for a "plat du jour" or "prix fixe."
You will need euros the minute you land in France, so have about:
40 – shuttle from airport to hotel or to the Etoile for two people
12 – lunch (for one)
12 – dinner (for one)
10 – tips
5 – internet café unless your hotel guarantees you internet access
5 – metro tickets
Total for first day: 84 or 85 Euros – so just make it an even 100 euros (buy these before you leave) (85 euros translates to about $118 US) Here in the U.S., it can take about 3 business days for your bank to obtain your paper euros, so plan ahead.
Actually, add 20 euros if there are two of you who would like to eat (and who doesn’t?).
The ATM machines in airports often charge a hefty transaction fee for the exchange.
If you arrive on a Sunday, as we did, be prepared to find very few places open, sigh.
Bank of America is a good choice, because they are a partner of BNP ParisBas. As far as I know, when you withdraw euros from one of their ATM machines (and they are all over the place), they charge you a 1% transaction fee - but I'll confirm that and update with a future blog. We were allowed to withdraw 400 euros daily from the ATM. Yes, there is a limit as to how much you can take out. Maybe your limit will be higher than ours. The one we used the most was the BNP on the Champs Elysee near the George V Metro stop.
There were many places that took Mastercard and VISA but not American Express cards. Watch out – you will probably be paying extra fees for using your credit card to pay for purchases, meals, or hotels, and the cashier is not about to disclose any of that to you as a general rule.
Bon Voyage!
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