Euro vs Dollar exchange
 

I've read many insightful postings on Fodors and I was hoping to get some clarity on the money situation. I am traveling to Italy in September and am fully aware they have converted to the Ero and that our dollar is not as strong as it once was. My question is this- though the dollar is worth less than the Euro, when it comes to practice, am I getting less for my dollar in Italy specifically? For example, when I go out to eat (I'm in Florida) at my local decent restaurant, it's usually about $15/ person after entree and some drinks. When I go shopping, a pair of jeans will run about $40-60. Museum entrance is $10. A movie- in Florida- runs about $7. Is this comprable with what I'm going to find in Italy? I'm just worried about what amount to bring with me for food & fun. Our hotels, tours, & transportation are already paid. Thanks for any info ahead of time.

A lot depends on where in Italy you'll be. Rome, Venice and Florence are more expensive than most other towns.

When I was in Italy in 2002 a Euro was 90 cents, but now it's $1.20. Meals will probably run more than $15 unless you don't drink alcohol, go to simple restaurants and sometimes order the tourist menu.

What we're doing this year in France is to plan on more picnic lunches. Italy is also great for picnics and they can be very inexpensive. A few picnics, a few simple meals, and then a few nice meals in better restaurants will average out.

As for specific prices, the Uffizi in Florence is 9.5 euros. A 3 course meal in a nice (but not high end) restaurant in a tourist area should run around 20-25 Euro. A bottle of wine will up the cost significantly.

There's more going on here than just the exchange rate -- there's international differences (many European museums are more heavily subsidized than in the US) and you'll also have urban/rural differences -- those FL prices you specified would be 50% higher here in my urban US location.

Right now, my favorite conversion site, www.oanda.com, gives the dollar/Euro conversion as 1.20. So if you checked a specific site and found that their admission fee was 10 Euro, that would be equal to US$12.

Actually, to answer your specific question, don't bring any money with you -- get your euros at an ATM after you arrive. As long as your checking acct at home has enough in it, you don't need to know a specific amount in advance. As alan has pointed out, a few picnics are fun and can help balance out higher-priced meals.

Thank you for the helpful info. It sounds like prices aren't that varied or outrageous. We are going to Rome, Florence, Venice- in that order. Since this will be our honeymoon, picnics sound very romantic, and affordable. We are not on a tight budget- at least I don't feel we are. We'll be there for 2 weeks & I'm figuring on about $4500 spending money to include food. We aren't late night party goers. We aren't big drinkers. We really enjoy traveling and sightseeing at museums, sights- typical tourists. But I like to be prepared & I want us to have a nice time without worrying at the end of the trip if we can eat lunch that day. I lived in Germany but that was almost 11 years ago now and things change so quickly in Europe- anywhere really. I've also signed up to take a practical Italian class. I think that will make things easier as well- not to be near fluent, but able to get by.
My biggest question was simply that the Euro covers such an enormous land mass, different countries, and like anonymous said, prices vary in each city here. I'm in Jacksonville where prices are moderately "reasonable". We were just in NYC & there's no comparison. In short, can I compare NYC prices to that in Rome then?
And the advice about getting the money at the ATM leads me to wonder, should I get all my money there? Would I get a better exchange rate here or there? I've read here before also that most places will take my Visa. Is cah a necessity?

Don't change money in the US unless you absolutely must. Any widely accepted ATM card will work in Europe and exchange rates at US banks are awful because most US banks simply do not change currencies very often, thus it is inconvenient for them and they pass the financial troubles on to you. You don't have to "bring" any dollars (I've got the same travelers checks from a few years ago -- never use them), just withdraw.

Don't use your Visa to get money from the ATM -- you'll start incurring cash advance fees from the second you withdraw. Most places accept Visa/MasterCard but many will add the transaction charge that Visa/MasterCard charges them (around 2%) or will add even more to the bill (up to 5%). In other words, they don't eat that cost like US businesses do.

Since you're not buying Old Navy or Gap jeans, the Italy prices won't shock you, but generally clothing prices are higher in Italy.

Note also that you will probably not get the "exchange rate" when you draw money from the ATM. There are various charges such as Interbank fees that will turn a $1.20USD/1EUR into a 1.25-1.27 exchange rate.

Some suggest changing a small amount ($50 or so) into Euros before you go as emergency money for as soon as you arrive. I've stopped doing this as there are ATM's in all the airports (some Europeans refer to them as Cashpoints).

I use my ATM to draw euros, and occasionally will use a credit card as a back-up for restaurants or stores if I'm low on cash at the moment.

MBNA and Citibank have some of the lowest conversion fees, but just about any Visa, Mastercard or Am/Ex will be better than the money changing places for tourists. Changing money in a bank gets you a good rate, but you may be in line for an hour!

In the past one needed a 4 digit PIN for ATMs, but I don't think that's needed anymore. Perhaps others here can confirm.

Re: <i> I am traveling to Italy in September and am fully aware they have converted to the Ero...</i>

Yes, while other countries in Europe converted to the Euro, stubbon and romantic Italy converted to the Ero, the plural of which is, of course, Eros. :) And, not only that, but within Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi created his own currency, the Ego.

Anyway, seriously...prices in Rome would be likely much more comparable to those in NYC than in Jacksonville. And you'll probably find prices in Venice, especially for dining, even higher overall than those in Rome. A great value for lunches in Rome are tavola caldas, literally &quot;hot tables&quot;, where you select food cafeteria style. If the weather's nice and you want to do something fun and different, gather up makings for a picnic from the food stalls in Campo di Fiori, as well as the nearby bakeries and wine and cheese shops, and go picnic on the lower level of nearby Tiber Island.

Many -- and, I think, most places -- will accept a Visa card, but you should also have some cash, which you can easily get at numerous ATMs in those three cities.

We ate in a variety of places last summer(June 2003) in Italy and prices varied. In Rome at a little restaurant near the Spanish steps the prices were:
fettucini porcini 8.5E
gamberi vino bianco (shrimp) 14E
mixed salad 3.8E
aqua 1.8E
vino della casa 3.8E (1/2 lt)
sm coke 1.9E
pane 1E per person

At other restaurants further off the main tourist route the prices were cheaper. Porcini 6E and salad 2.5E
1/2 lt of house wine 3.1E

Bottled water in stores were anywhere from 1E - 2E. Coca lite at McD's(yes I'm addicted) medium 1.6E large 1.8E

I also took my daughter to Hard Rock in Rome and a bacon cheeseburger was 9.95E, pork sandwich 9.95E,iced tea 2.35E, proseco 3.75E,soda 2.65E.

Gelato prices ranged from .80E for small to 2E for a large.

In Venice we went to Florians and you don't want to even know those prices.

I find the further you wander away from the main tourist areas the cheaper the prices. There are many reasonable restaurants in the Trastevere area.

Prices are definitely higher in Venice than in Rome. I think comparable meals were priced about 30% higher in Venice.

The short answer to your question is that in most cities in Italy food etc will be more than where you live. It will probably be more similar to prices you would see in New York - but keeping in mind that in the US food is much less expensive than anywhee else in the world (comparatively - but really vs western countries) so fine dining may be even a little more than New York.

The same would hold true for London, Paris and other world capitols - with prices in central europe (Prague, Budapest etc) somewhat less.

nytraveler is correct: The simple answer to your question is that you will find almost everything in Italy to be more expensive that it is where you live.
What you will find, I hope, is that everything, especially the food, is of better quality and a bargain for the actual price in dollars.
And yes, use your ATM card. I like to arrive in Europe with at least enough money for a taxi and a sandwich, which I get before departure, but after that, ATMs are the way to go.

A bottle of water or soda that costs $1 in a vending machine or convenience store here, costs 1 Euro in Rome. Same size. Same quality. More money. Period. Of course, it is way easier to whip out a Euro than to fumble with change, so it is obvious how the mark-up works.