It's hard for me to imagine the exchange rate from American dollars to the Italian Lire, with it currently being somewhere around 2,000 Lire to the American dollar. Just so I get a feel for what I can expect to pay, approximately how many lire would a plain old cup of coffee cost in Rome? How about a T-shirt or a roll of film? I'll be going in February. Linda

Hi Linda, <BR>Go to http://www.xe.net/ucc/ <BR>Or do a browser search on Universal currency converter! The best free service on the Internet. Just punch in a number of Lira and then hit "convert it" and it will give you the exact amount of USD that amout of Lira is. What I do is to go to the universal currency converter and punch in a few amounts like 15,000, 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 or whatever then make a business card sized "cheat sheet" to carry with me so that I can get a good idea of what I am spending. Hope this helps.

Just FYI as of this moment, 2,000 Lira =$.90....20,000 Lira = $9.00 and <BR>100,000 Lira = $45.00

It's no harder to get a handle on Italian Lira, at 2,000 to the dollar than it is on Deutsch marks, at 2 to the dollar. <BR> <BR>Italians are no more talented than Germans or Americans when it comes to big numbers. A ten dollar t-shirt is written $10.00 or sometimes $10.** (the asterisks are supposed to be little x's). In Deutsch Marks, it will be DM 20,00 (they use commas where Americans use decimal points) - - or maybe also DM 20,** just like our little x's. <BR> <BR>And Italians will write L 20.000 or just as often 20.*** - - there are simply three little x's instead of two. You see, mentally, they just drop the thousands - - it's as if the "real" units of money in Italy are "kilo-Lira" - - which are virtually the same as a Deutsch Mark - - two to a buck. <BR> <BR>It really is simple. <BR> <BR>I am not answering your question about coffee or film, because coffee varies so much from place to place in both America and Italy - - 50 cents? (in a small midwest town) or $11.50 (room service at the Plaza hotel). And I forget how much film costs, here or there. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex

An easy way to figure right now is to simply drop the last 3 digits from the lira price and then divide by 2. This will give you an approximate amount as the exchange rate is about 100 lira = .045 US. For example 100,000 lira is about 50 US dollars. As no respectable person would drink a cup of American coffee in Italy I can't tell you how much that is, but an espresso will run about 1000 - 1500 lira or US .50 - .75 cents.

A cappucino costs anywhere from 1500 to 3000 lire, or 70cents to $1.50 -- a real deal to a Seattleite like me!

And Linda they are actually making it a little easier for us these days. You will see more and more prices even on restaurant menus quoted in Euros right next to the Lira. If you drop about 10% off the Euro amount you will have dollars -- much easier than dividing by 2000. Just count out the appropriate amount of Lira to pay, but look at the Euros to get a dollar comparison. Or to play it safe just think of Euros as dollars and you will get a pleasant surprise when your charges come through at a good 10% less.

-- <BR>Linda: <BR> <BR>Was in Italy a few weeks ago. The dollar is strong against the lira, so you can get good value for your money. <BR>As already mentioned, the quick & easy method of conversion is to drop the last three zeros & divide it in half. <BR>So 50,000 lire = $25 US dollars (rate is actually a tad better, but this is close enough so you'll be able to budget accordingly). <BR> <BR>Also, your best exchange rate is over there (don't change much if any dollars to lire in the US) --- I used my ATM card, just a regular bank card & was charged $1.25 for using an 'out of network' ATM on each transaction. Obviously, you want to plan ahead & not have to change money too often. Credit cards can be used in Italy, but in alot of places (especially smaller shops) they prefer cash. In fact when I paid for my hotel in Milan, I asked if they gave a discount for cash and got a slightly better rate for doing so. Never hurts to ask. <BR>

Just got back from Italy 1 mo ago & hardly had to bother to change Dollars into Lire. The dollar is so strong, right now, they are glad to accept it & anxious to give you Lire in exchange, I always ask for dollars back, though. The currency converter that I use is http:wwwanda.com.converten/travel & I print it & have it from Italien Lire to Dollars so I quickly can find the equation 2 days before I leave & lamiinate it & carry it in my pocket ---makes everything easy!!!

Linda, <BR>I know what you mean by it being hard to put the exchange rate in perspective even when you know what the rate is. We just got back from Italy last week and as the others have said, the dollar is strong and the conversion calculation is easy. I don't drink coffee but a can of Coke was (dependent on the town) anywhere from US$0.75 to $1.00. Another example...in Florence we had an elegant 7 course meal for 8 of us in a private dinning room, 2 wait staff dedicated to our party, cocktails, 5 wines, gratuity, all for 1,200,000 lira. You do the math.

Linda, things in Rome are going to cost about what they would in New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles. <BR> <BR>Those are all world-class cities, and you'll find things in the central parts of town relatively expensive to what they would cost in Keokuk or Paducah. <BR> <BR>Coffee in Rome runs from about 50/75 cents to at least 5-8 dollars. The former gets you a basic cup of coffee standing at a 'bar' in a working class part of the city. The latter buys you a seat for most of the evening at a sidewalk table in a fashionable part of town. <BR> <BR>Film in Europe is generally expensive as in most cases development is included in the price as used to be the case in the US years ago. <BR> <BR>Julie has purchased t-shirts from a sidewalk vendor in Rome at the Piazza di Spagna for two for fifteen dollars as I recall. A block away it's quite easy to buy a (high-fashion) 't-shirt' for well over $200. <BR> <BR>Your question is a good one, just hard to answer in the way you posed it. Costs in a major city in Europe will be generally similar to costs for similar items in the largest cities in the US. That's a very broad answer, but about as close as I can come anyway. <BR> <BR>Ed

Dear Linda-- <BR> <BR>First of all, I also recommend Oanda.com. You get a cheat sheet which gives you the conversion of dollars to lire ranging from 10-1,000,000 lire in hundreds (100,200,300 lire, and upwards). It's the most convenient converter I've ever used. Second, although Rome prices are generally comparable to New York, you can get great deals because the dollar is so strong--last February I got very nice cotton tee shirts from outdoor vendors in the Piazza Navona for $5; the really high end stuff is a fantastic bargain right now--you can get Prada, Ferragamo, Fendi, Gucci and even Hermes things for about 40% less than you'd pay for it in New York--so, if you can afford it, plan to make at least one special purchase--who knows if we'll ever get another chance??

Well, for those of you who love shopping. The Milan duty free is great and has very good prices. Whenever my husband goes there for work, I ask for a Ferragamo scarf. Its easy to shop, light wieght and costs about half of what you would pay here in HongKong. Same for neck-ties.

Deepa--you've confirmed my instincts about the Milan airport--lucky me, I've got a 4-hour layover there!

As for the "hardly bothering to change dollar into lire since the dollar is strong": In tourist centres, many shops are willing to accept major foreign currencies as a service to tourists. They don't care whether the dollar is strong or weak as long as the exchange rate is good. If they wanted dollars for their lire, they just have to go to the next bank and exchange it. If they don't want to hand dollars back, that's rather normal. Why should they have a lot of foreign currency lying around? (I'm actually surprised that one can get dollars back.) Anyway, as soon as one leaves major tourist centres or visits places with little tourist appeal, one shouldn't be surprised if nothing else is accepted. If it is, one should regard it as a major courtesy and not as something normal. After all, the person accepting the foreign currency has to go to the bank and exchange it to a currency useful to him, an action for which the tourist was too lazy.

RE: Hotel Prices <BR> <BR>I just got my VISA bill yesterday from our trip 2 weeks ago and it was a PLEASANT surprise! We stayed 10 nights in hotels - all 3 and 4 star places in Rome, Florence, Siena, and Sorrento, and the total for 10 nights was $1240!!! The lowest price was in Siena ($82 a night - 3 Star) and the highest was in Florence ($142 a night - 4 star). All included breakfast. Effective conversion rate from Visa was 2240 Lire to the dollar. The best bargain was a 4 star place in Sorrento (4 star - beautiful sea view room) for $128 a night. Remember - these are off-season rates.

I just got back from Italy (Florence) and France (Paris) and my Hotel room cost for 10 days (one on plane, one on train) was around $550. I spend that much in NYC for a weekend. I stayed in 2 star Hotels that were nice and in good locations. The lira is a little tough, but once you buy your first couple of items and buy a few meals, it is easy.

I'm amazed at the idea of using US dollars in Italy or any other foreign country. Can you imagine an Italian walking into your local grocery and asking if she can pay with Lira? A friend once bragged that on their tour, their tour guide only took them to shops that would accept American dollars, so they wouldn't have to convert any money. I could only guess that they were really overpaying for everything. I was looking at postcards one day in Barcelona when a cruise ship group hit the place. One of the tourists asked if the place took US dollars, and the clerk said yes, the postcards were two for one dollar. This woman gave her 5 dollars for ten postcards. In local currency, for the same amount of money the woman would have gotten about 30 postcards. Quite a difference. I would imagine the same thing is true for more major purchases. Part of traveling should be using the local customs and the local currency.