I think that covers it well - but the offer still stands

Sure, you may eat them - perhaps cheaper in USDs than many meals in the UK!
M

In a way it's a moronic question; in a way it isn't but here goes without trying to be nasty (although it might come out that way)...

1. The UK is a member of the EU but has chosen not to join the single currency for a variety of reasons. This is an internal UK problem. Both Sweden and Denmark are members of the EU but do not use the single currency. The new countries who just joined the EU are not eligible yet to use the single currency.

2. Having said that some merchants in London and other parts ot the UK do accept Euro coins and notes but are under no leagal obligation to do so. The currency is not legal tender in the UK. Also there is no fixed exchange rate between the Euro and the Pound so merchants are free to charge whatever they want.

It is also true that some merchant, Harrods for example, take US currency but again it is not legal tender and they are free to set whatever rate they want. Many of the merchants at Heathrow Airport take US currency charging almost $2 to £1 but that doesn't make the USD legal tender.

3. Many people in the tourist industry reluctantly or not take US currency but it is an arrogant American thing to expect others to accept US dollars. I know some of the guide books say that it is proper to tip with US dollars but the reality is that it is a sign of arrogance and the same arrogant Americans who want people in Europe to accept US currency would laught if they were a clerk in New York and somebody offered to pay or tip in Euro. Of course Europeans have more sense and understand Euro is not legal tender in the US nor basically in the UK.

4. The same arrogant American attitude prevails when Americans travel in Canada. I have even seen idiots putting US postage stamps on post cards being sent through the Canadian post.

But Canadians have developed a way of ripping off Americans and good for them. The exchange rate is hovering about CAD1 = US.75 so there is a 25% difference right. So some Canadian say, okay I'll give you CAD1.25 for USD1 the same 25%...right on. So these jerks who don't have a clue say, sure how nice you are. What they don't realize is the reciprocal of 3/4 is 4/3 so that in reality CAD1.33 should be USD1.....but then again Americans have never been geniuses when it comes to comprehending that US currency is only legal tender in the US (although some very weak currencies existed during the Cold War where US currency was accepted in a sort of black market).

I believe it is the epitome of arrogance to ever use another country's currency when visiting another country. I wouldn't dream of using USD in any country in the world just like I assume citizens of other countries wouldn't dream (and they don't) of using their currency in the US.

So in the UK, you use sterling. Change your Euro to sterling. Do the right thing.

wyz123 - you did not sound nasty at all - your point about the Canadian US exchange is a good one - the rates are just so confusing which is why I was offering to just exchange at par - it saves people having to do all that nasty math!

A further thought and a true story.

In Canada there is a store called Canadian Tire - something like a Home Depot/Home Base. They provide a discount for people who pay in cash by way of "Canadian Tire Money" - which is something like monopoly money - you get a small percentage of your purchase back by way of this money. You can then use the money next time you shop at the store.

I was at the duty free in Vancouver airport, and witnessed a shop attendant trying to explain to a person who spoke very little English that she was sorry but she could not accept the Canadian Tire money for the candy he was trying to buy. Absolutely priceless!

>...the rates are just so confusing which is why I was offering to just exchange at par - it saves people having to do all that nasty math!<

Wombat, you are so mean. :)

<Can I use $US in Canada? After all, they are both in North America and they both use dollars.>

Excellent point, Ira. And furthermore, the US should accept the Mexican Peso as well because it's all North America anyway. Does the US think it's better than the rest of North America? I know America usually uses the US$, but I mean, is there really a difference? (Do you hear how ridiculous this sounds, TravelSavy?)

I would expect a question like this from someone who has never been anywhere, but this is a very strange question coming from someone who (supposedly) has already been to Europe. This question, combined with the fact that TravelSavy only has one other post on the board, tells me that he/she is in fact a troll.

I sure wish M_K would contribute to this discussion. I'd love to read her answer to this question.

TravelSavy is a troll. Read the posts near the top of the thread.
He/she is probably having a good laugh that this is still going.

Actually taggie, I don't think TS is a troll- I think a lot of people are under the impression that Euros may or should be accepted in the U.K., based on the rationale that the U.K. is a member state of the EU, therefore Europeans and others traveling to the U.K. must be able to use their Euros there, despite the difference in currency usage, since they are all part of "One Europe." A rather naive and ignorant generalization perhaps, but I believe TS' question is sincere.

Sometimes it's hard to distinguish a troll from a moron. I prefer to think this is a troll. It's hard to imagine there's actually someone out there who thinks that the British don't take the euro because they believe they are better than the rest of Europe, as TravelSavy said in his/her second post.

Darn those Brits!! How dare they refuse to convert to the euro for the convenience of TravelSavy. Or better yet, why don't they and everyone else just convert to the US dollar!!

.... complete sarcasm, of course.... ;-)

I think there were some good points raised in this thread regarding cutrrency and using the one of the country you're visiting, and also about arrogance.
BUT - this was TravelSavy's first post ever. And he/she has only made one other contribution - a one-word question on another thread. So I think he/she is a troll.

Whether the person is a troll or not, I have met many coming into the UK who think Euro is legal tender there and I have met even more who think the USD is a universal currency acceptable everywhere. As I mentioned, there are even idiots writing travel columns or books who suggest that in a pinch, you can tip in USD and the recipient will be delighted.

It has nothing to do with the strength or weakness of the currency. It is just pure arrogance and/or stupidity to use USD any place where the USD is not the legal currency (yes I understand there are some countries in Latin America and also at one time Liberia where the USD is legal tender or semi legal tender but those places are few and far between and certainly nowhere in Europe now that the Cold War is over and there really is no such thing as soft currencies).

Folks, once again and for all time, when you travel in a foreign country, use the local currency and don't make such stupid statements as I have heard some dumb Americans make, "How much is that in cash?" when quoted a price in a local currency.

The fact is that in 99% of the cases where some merchant takes USD outside the US, you are being ripped off. It is never being taken for your convenience. And to give it as a tip (except say for a tour guide on an organized tour) is downright arrogant.

You're so right xyz... we get a TON of this bad attitude in Canada from our American visitors.
I think in most cases it's not meant to be, but it comes off as SO arrogant.
But I'm sure it's close-minded, uneducated travellers who are the guilty parties...no one on this forum would engage in such behaviour, right?:)

TravelSavy,

Having asked that question, I think you need to find yourself a new nickname...'cause I think savy is not appropriate.

Taggie, I know what you mean about the American visitors to Canada. I am American, but I get so embarassed when I hear someone ask "How much is that in real money?" I want to scream, and I find it impossible not to chastise them for that, even if it's a complete stranger. But I do think you are right, these people really have no clue as to how badly they are coming across to you. I am always impressed at how patient the Canadians are with these ignoramuses, but I wouldn't blame you if you told them off more often!!

Ah, I remember the two couples in Rome who absolutely went ballistic when they could not (a) get table service at the cafe (where it was absolutely clear that you went to the counter and got your own food/drink and then sat down) and (b) almost walked out without paying when they were told that they could not pay in US dollars. "After we saved your $^*%% in the big war, you won't take my good old American dollars????"
deeply embarassing to be in the same place with that kind of ignorance.

First of all, I really think that TravelSavy is Jessica Simpson...hmmm...is it chicken or tuna? well, it says "chicken of the sea"..it's all the same isn't it? Is it pounds or euros...it's all the same isn't it? Secondly, when I was a child...in the stone age....we would quite often get Canadian money... mostly quarters as i recall. It was actually spendable..interchangeable. My only thought is that the value was on par with the dollar in those days. Also, it may have had something to do with the fact we were still on the gold standard at that time but just guessing.

I remember in the Buffalo bus terminal back in the early 70's at a time when if anything the CAD was a tad higher than the USD (such a time did exist back then) that the pay phones were rigged not to accept Canadian coins, despite the fact the difference in the coins is so slight in terms of size, metal cntent etc. or at least was back then, that it caused a lot of problems in terms of sensitivity and having US coins slightly deformed being denied.

I also remember about that time that US coinnage circulated in Canada along with Canadian coins and indeed remember that US coins were often mixed in with Canadian coins when I got change.

But that was then and this is now.

Once upon a time the Cdn. dollar was worth a fair amount more than the US dollar.
You still cannot use Cdn. coins in US vending machines, etc. - they spit them right out.
US coinage is still intermixed with Canadian when you get change in Canada. It's not uncommon at all to have a US coin or two in one's pocket along with all the Cdn coins. But heaven forbid you should try to use a Cdn coin in the US.