Comparative costs in Euro
 

My German relatives are complaining that since the introduction of the Euro, not only are things in Germany more expensive, but travelling in countries such as Spain, which used to be cheap for Germans is now more expensive. <BR><BR>Question for Americans who have travelled widely in Europe both pre and post Euro....<BR>Have you noticed anything similar? For instance, we have always considered Spain, Portugal, and Greece to be cheaper for us tourists than countries like Germany, France, and Italy. Do such distinctions still hold?

Yes, Portugal, Greece, and probably Spain are still cheaper than France and Germany, but my personal observation in France since the introduction of the &euro; is that prices have gone up. Whether it's from rounding or just jumping at the opportunity, I can't say, but I suspect it's true for all countries that use the &euro;.

This July I was in France, Italy and Spain.Compared to two years ago,before Euro,I definitely saw the greatest price jump in Spain then Italy,France pretty much the same.I commiserated with my Spanish and Italian friends.They are feeling the pinch,their salaries have remained the same.The pricing has gone way beyond rounding off just way up.<BR>By the way,whoever thought up the Euro coins-way too many of them,does any one agree?

Probably it's because it has something to do with the value of the euro. I find that last year when we visited Italy prices were very good when converted to US dollars-generally divide total lira into 2. Now when I compare the hotel rates, for example, it just seems as though it's more expensive in euro.

Wayup,<BR><BR>I agree with you about too many denominations of Euro coins. There are 1c,2c,5c,10c,20c,50c,E1 and E2. They are bulky to carry around as well.<BR><BR>In many stores I noticed the older people would hold out their hand with the coins and let the cashier take what they needed. They were obviously still a little confused, and understandably so.<BR><BR>Dick

I had made a list of 2002 hotel prices in late 2001. Checked again in 2002 after the prices online had been changed to euro. I found the prices had gone up over 10%.

All I know is that we were pleasantly surprised at how cheap our trip to Spain and Portucal was this year compared to what we thought it would be from the guide books printed with the old currency. Hotel rates were about 75% of those in the book when on past trips we have always found them higher due to it being a year later than the book's research. Also it was cheaper this year than Greece and Turkey last year, which I would not have expected.