to all to visitors that come to europe until the end of this year. <BR>As you may have heard, from 1st January 2002, in several EU countries, a new currency will appear. The Euro. <BR>So far, that currencie isn´t available, but prices already have both local currencie, and euro values. <BR>The problem that was detected in Holland, was that some shops deliberetaly "change" the value, and instead of paying in local currency,you pay in Euros in all transactions made with visa card. <BR>Please, make sure, whenever you use a visa card, that the bill is correct, to avoid serious problems. <BR> <BR>

(cont): <BR>small example: <BR>if one thing cost 10 NGL, the same value in euros is 4,54. <BR>If someone changes to 10 euros, the value in NGL is 22,04. <BR>Please stand alert <BR>

This doesn't pertain to this thread, but I thought of it while I read the post. After the Euro is introduced, will countries still have their local currency? In other words, will you have the option of paying in French Francs or will you have to pay with the Euro. I have about $50USD in French Francs from a previous trip that I will hold on to until I go back, instead of losing the money in transaction fees. Will I still be able to use it when I go back in a few years??

No, you will not be able to use your francs "in a few years." There will be a brief period after January of 2002 during which local currencies can be exchanged for euros, but thereafter only euros will be used. Sell them to someone who's going before the end of the year, or exchange them for dollars now and accept the small loss.

Money, <BR> <BR>Every country has a several month period to take both currencies. There are several websites that give these timeframes. <BR> <BR> <BR>France <BR> <BR>End of legal tender for National Currency Units (NCUs): <BR>17/02/02 <BR> <BR>Last date for exchanging NCUs at commercial banks: <BR>30/06/02 <BR> <BR>Last date for exchanging NCUs at National Central Banks: <BR>Coins: at least 3 years, Banknotes: 10 years <BR> <BR> For further info see <BR>http://www.euro.ecb.int/ <BR> <BR>

Money: No you cannot use it anymore, Try to give these French Francs to somebody travelling to France still this year. <BR>Right now, I am giving all these foreign currencies to people travelling to countries of which I kept what was left from my last trips such as France, Italy, Spain, Greece. <BR>I guess you can change the bills (however you will loose money), but not the coins. We can't over here. <BR>After January, you would have to go to Banque de France to change FF, but I do not know whether they take coins back. <BR>I live in Switzerland and we will not change to the Euro like the UK. Everybody here is advised by the banks do to like I did, i.e. give it to friends. If the amounts are larger, you can still make a deal with them. <BR> <BR>

The discontinuation of acceptance of the present natioal currencies in the EU will occur very early in 2002. It is recommended to travelers that they use/exchange these currencies by the end of this year.

When you sign your charge bill, how do you ensure that the charge will be processed as the 10FF, etc. and not 10Euro's? By processed I mean that the charge will be put through to the bank by the store owner/restuarant manger/etc. as FFs and not Euros. <BR> <BR>Thanks the heads up.

1) It's easy to confuse prices on the tags as well: EU 100 FF 655 - and you look at the tag "oooh only $15". <BR>2) Re the coins: if you aren't planning to return to their country of origin anytime soon, give them to an overseas traveler, even if they aren't going to that country. Airplanes have UNICEF envelopes to deposit coins; I've seen boxes at airports (Heathrow maybe?) for depositing the coins for charity. <BR>3) Turn the coins into fridge magnets; buy flexible magnetic tape (craft stores have it), cut to fit, stick it on the coin - you got magnets! <BR>4) For leftover paper currency with minimal value (like 2000Italian Lira), paste it in a scrapbook or collect enough notes to laminate for a placemat.

Is there a list somewhere that has all the countries that will be part of the Euro?

John, <BR> <BR>From the Euro website listed in a ealier post, I found the following info: <BR> <BR>12 Member States of the European Union are participating in the common currency. They are: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland. <BR> <BR>Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom are members of the European Union but are not currently participating in the single currency. Denmark is a member of the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) which means that the Danish krone is linked to the euro, although the exchange rate is not fixed. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps! <BR>