Honestly, ever since the pandemic nearly everywhere takes cards, pubs included. Haven’t had to use a pay toilet recently, but for sure you would need coins. There used to be an expression here in England when you were caught short: “I need to spend a penny”. That’s inflation for you! 😂

Wait, there are still pay toilets? Haven’t seen one of those in decades.

The Eight Bells Inn in Chipping Campden is where I began my love affair with Sticky Toffee Pudding.

There's a 2theloo in Covent Garden that charges 1 pound - very clean with an attendant there, and you can pay with a card.
Lots of those type of toilets in the Netherlands and Belgium now. And on motorways too. Always with a card reader.

Very true that contactless credit card is almost always the way to go.

Hopelessly American, I do like to leave the hotel breakfast server a coin every morning, and something for the hotel maids.

The little shop where I get my newspaper has a ฃ3 limit for cards.

I think remembering the hotel maid is ‘admirably American!’

I did not use cash for anything in Chipping Camden. We used our Apple Pay everywhere but a tiny parking area in Cornwall. MaiTai Tom is right about Eight Bells Inn. Great food and the sticky toffee pudding was delicious.

I just realised that I haven't bought a newspaper for 12 years now. The internet has replaced it

Do Europeans leave tips for hotel maids? That was my question since it was the only time my having no pounds or euros was an issue. In Paris, I was told no one leaves tips and the maid probably wouldn’t be allowed to keep it. Tipping etiquette is so different everywhere.

I only discovered it was a "thing" from Americans so I guess not. Since then I've done it in Egypt because we stayed a week and, frankly, I saw how they lived. But Europe, no.

May I suggest you open a Wise account (UK based I think) ... or a similar banking service now increasingly available. It is absolutely fantastic and has been a game changer for how I have managed the financial aspect of travelling since 2018 when I first opened an account with them. They are an app based banking system offering foreign exchange services for the most competitive rates on the market. Just google wise.com to see how it operates.

You can load a variety of foreign currencies at the cheapest foreign exchange rate (in my experience) into your account, and they will issue you with a Visa debit card with contactless capability and a PIN, which holds the various foreign exchange accounts.

I purchase the currencies in the amounts I require before travelling, such as pounds, euro, Canadian, Singapore and Australian dollars, and then use my account to make various online purchases, e.g. accommodation, car rental, tickets etc so I am paying in the that country's currency. While travelling I use it in the same way as I would a credit card (except it is a debit card), making purchases either contactless or PIN and also to draw cash at an ATM, no charge because you are drawing in that country's currency. I used it seamlessly to get myself around on the underground in London. It is also bliss to come home and not face a horrendous credit card statement with all the additional exchange rate charges for each purchase.

Oh yes, you can also just swap one currency into another while on the move via your phone app. for instance if you have surplus pounds leaving the UK and are travelling to Europe next, a couple of button presses, and the pounds convert to euro, at a very tiny cost.

It took the younger generation to get me on to it!

I use Revolut for the same reason.

I understand from this site that some US cards already have the best conversion rates on their credit cards.

I don't know, I leave this stuff to Mrs Bilbo

I use Wise to move money to my Italian bank from the bank where my US pension is deposited. I considered getting a Wise multi-currency account, but most of my travel is within the EU and I have the US account which I can use when I travel in the US. I use the debit card from the US account when I make online dollar payments. I decided it wasn't worth keeping money tied up in an account I wouldn't use much. If you get one of these accounts, be aware that the funds are lot guaranteed, so I wouldn't put a lot of money there.

The Wise app is sometimes a bit flaky, but in general it works very well.

​​​​​​I can vouch for their reasonable fees, although they've been creeping up.

I've also been using the Wise app, and their Visa debit card, as KathNZ mentions. I just load it up with my Canadian currency and let them do the conversion as I make a transaction. It has worked well for us in the Netherlands and the UK,

I've noticed that, as well.

As an aside, for any Canadians reading this, Scotiabank offers a Visa credit card that does not charge a foreign transaction fee. It is called the Passport card and it also generates Scene points, for those who care about such things, plus access to some airport lounges. It does have an annual fee, but it may be worthwhile if you have certain travel patterns abroad.