What is CASH ONLY in Paris/Bernese Oberland/Fussen/Munich?
 

I came across an old thread mentioning that Trummelbach Falls in the Bernese Oberland is CASH ONLY, which led me to wonder if there are any other sites of interest that I should be prepared to have plenty of cash to visit? Places I'll be visiting are:

PARIS and NORMANDY:
Franprix
Supermarche' G20
local pharmacies in the 7th
Eiffel Tower (likely online tickets in advance)
La Fontaine de Mars
LeNotre
Pizza Tina
Creperie Josselin
Catacombs (online tour tickets in advance)
Luxembourg Gardens
Louvre (Museum Pass)
Chez Denise
Notre Dame and Towers
Berthillon
Shopping Saint-Germain des Pres area
Shopping Rue de Rivoli area
Fete de Foraine in the Tuileries
Musee de l'Orangerie (museum pass)
Normandy American Cemetary and Memorial
Sacre' Coeur
Arch de Triomphe (museum pass)
Batobus
Palais Garnier tour
taxis

BERNESE OBERLAND:
(will have BO Regional Pass for all trains and lifts)
Trummelbach Falls (I just found out cash only)
Restaurant at the Schoenegg Hotel in Wengen
Wengen Co-op
Bahnhof Restaurant in Kleine Scheidegg
Pfingstegg Toboggan ride
Trotti Bikes at Bort
Alpenruh restaurant in Murren
Schilthorn
Ballenberg Open Air Museum
Pedalos on Lake Brienz
Oberhofen Castle

FUSSEN/MUNICH:
Neuschwanstein Castle
Restaurant Fruhlingsgarten in Fussen
St. Peter's church in Munich
Max Krug in Munich
Hofbrauhaus
Nymphenburg Palace
Residenz Munich
Zum Alten Markt restaurant Munich (I have heard cash only?)
taxis occasionally

If anyone knows off the top of their head if any of the above are cash only, please give me a shout. Thanks!

Hi brubenow,

I live in Garmisch (near Füssen), and I can tell you that this part of Germany is still pretty much on a cash basis. Up until last year, even the season ski-pass (more than 500€) was cash only.

For restaurants -- how many are in your party? If the bill is over 50€, it should be ok to pay by cc. But if your bill is around 20€, it would be easier to pay cash. For cafes for coffee & cake (and this is a part of daily life here, don't fight it!), cash only.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone ever pay to enter a museum in this area with a cc.

Similarly, I don't think any taxis take credit cards -- but then taxis here are not that expensive. Most of your trips around town will be around 10€

Basically, in nice (expensive) restaurants, cc is ok. All else, be prepared with cash. (I've eaten at Zum Alten Markt, and I didn't even think of paying by cc).

Have fun as you plan!

s

I think the attitudes are slowly changing.
In Berlin (yes, I know you won't go there), all taxis must accept CCs by the city's taxi ordinance.

In Munich, most/many taxis also accept credit and debit cards. When you ask a hotel or restaurant to call you a taxi, tell them to ask for one accepting CCs, to be on the safe side. At a taxi rank, look for the CC sticker - usually at the right rear passenger door. You don't have to take the first taxi in line.

At restaurants, I usually pay by card, also for amounts of 15 or 20 euro.
Yelp (not me from personal experience) says that all the places in Munich and Füssen where you plan to eat, including Zum alten Wirt, accept CCs.

All sights you mentioned accept CCs.
Residenz München only Master/Visa, though.


In general, the discrepancy between Germany more card-friendly regions like Scandinavia, the UK and obviously the US is most visible at:
> eateries which are inbetween McDonalds and a fully-fledged restaurant. Like the small Thai place with a few tables or some smaller beer halls (Wirtshaus). Here it's really hit or miss, and often miss.
> convinience stores and small shops - often no plastic money, or just debit cards. Opposite to supermarkets which accept CCs.

Nevertheless, it would be a good idea if each person carried some €50 in cash, to be on the safe side.
ATMs are widely availably in Munich. In the historic city center, you will hardly ever be further than 100 yards away from the next ATM.

Those falls in Switzerland (which are great IMO), are at least partially privately owned (and perhaps that is limited to the actual access, that interior elevator, etc.) which may help explain the cash only situation there.

Museums, restaurants, pharmacies, supermarkets, metro stations in France accept Visa and MasterCard. Supermarkets and metro have a 1 euro minimum for a card. Many small places have a 15 euro minimum.

Don't know what you are planning on spending money on in the (free) Luxembourg Gardens or (free) Sacré Coeur. Candles are cash only in the churches.

Taxis are now obliged by law to accept cards, but some will claim that their equipment is out of order. Public transportation is a much better option, except for the Batobus which is crap.

The rides at the Tuileries fun fair are likely to be cash only.

I agree with Swandav on Bavaria. Munich is use to Credit/debit but not the smaller towns. We went out with some friends one night and they wanted to use their credit card and it created a little scene,like they didn't know how to use it and that was last year. I always have cash there. Fussen, have cash for eating out and small purchases.

One should assume you will have to pay cash for anything small - less than 20 euros or so Also some (not a lot) of restaurants require paying in cash (usually more modest ones). I have never seen major sights that did not take CC - but for instance when making a donation in churches, buying small souvenirs or renting an audio guide cash is usually necessary.

Have you really planned to do all these things on your list? Including all the supermarkets, fast-food places and restaurants?

My gosh, I hope you will be travelling alone. Otherwise, your travel companions will feel like being squeezed in straitjackets.

Relax a bit and be prepared for suprises and novelties - and bad weather.

Always carry at least €250 with you.

Why your concern about cash?

They have this thing called an ATM.
You put a piece of plastic in it, and it spits out money.
They are everywhere!!! Even the smallest villages have them.

As tomboy said. What is the problem about carrying and using cash?

Another advantage of cash is that you don't have to betray your identity to every shop or restaurant.

Accepting no credit cards has, by the way, nothing to do with quality of products and service. On the contrary: often the small businesses, the "cash only" ones, offer the best quality.

I would never try to pay cash for minor purchases from a street vendor or a single ice cream cone (ie, Berthillon), etc. I also wonder why you don't want to carry any cash? I use cash even in the metro machines in Paris, of course, as they don't take my American credit cards.

I take issue with you needing "plenty of cash" for minor purchases, which you know are minor.

It's not that I don't want to carry cash, it's just that I'm not accustomed to it, so I don't always think to go to an ATM everyday. I charge everything at home for the travel points. I rarely, rarely use cash for anything. I rarely go to an ATM.

So it's more that I want to be prepared. There are 4 in my group, so that can add up to a lot of cash for one day of eating and shopping and touring. I just want to be prepared.

And yes we are planning everything on the list, traveller1959. Not in that order, but still. I have to plan A LOT when traveling with young kids in terms of walking distances and types of foods available in restaurants and activities. Most parents do.

Kerouac, just curious why you think the batobus is "crap"?

Yes Tomboy, I know what an ATM is. But if I don't have to search for one daily it makes my life easier.

The batobus is crap because a lot of people think it's going to be useful transportation, but it is slow, the stations are inconvenient (down and up lots of steps from street level and cobblestones to scramble over), and you have to wait wait wait for one to come. I am used to taking the metro which arrives at 2 minute intervals at busy times and 4 minutes when it is slow.

Oh, and if you want to go anywhere that isn't on the Seine, obviously the batobus is totally useless.

Not to mention my ATM limit for withdrawals is $500 U.S. Per day. If I'm using cash all day long for everything from groceries to taxis to restaurants to shopping, I may not have enough cash.

Thus, the question. Places that require it, I will use cash. Places that take credit cards, I prefer to use my card for the points and the convenience.

Can't remember the last time I paid cash for something other than to pay my babysitter!

"But if I don't have to search for one daily it makes my life easier."

You don't have to. They are practically on every street corner. In my small town in Germany, there are maybe 4 on the short pedestrian path through town, and 2 more maybe 200m from me in either direction.

The hardest part will be in remembering that you'll need to stop at one -- if you don't use one regularly. Maybe appoint someone to remind you every day, maybe a different "reminder" person every day as a rotating responsibility.

In Germany and Switzerland, it's not uncommon to walk around with hundreds on Euros/Francs on your person. I do it routinely. Just yesterday I got 500€ from the ATM for my monthly spending money, and I walked around with it all day. Just make sure you're not waving it around, thumbing through hundred-Euro-bills to buy an ice cream.

In Paris, though, it's a different matter. I only brought the cash I needed for the day, and I kept that in a cross-body wallet that I wore UNDER my coat.

I think you're over-thinking this -- it'll be easier than you imagine.

Have fun!

s

Thanks for the info on the batobus, Kerouac. I wasn't planning on using it more than once. But thought it might be fun to try it once going from the Eiffel Tower stop to Notre Dame stop, as a way of seeing the city from the river. Wouldn't matter about efficiency it we were using it as a sightseeing tool, and just for 45 mins. or so. Plus I'll be staying within walking distance of the ET stop.

But I see your point about using it regularly. I don't plan to use it more than once, though.

Oh, call your bank to raise the cash limit temporarily. They should have no problem doing it. I called my bank to get permission to withdraw large amounts, and they gave me no problem.

You can easily do this when you tell them you'll be travelling in Europe and not to cancel your card on the first purchase/withdrawal.

s

Thank you Swanda. Appreciate your advice. I'll have to make a daily mental note to stop by an ATM in my neighborhoods where I'll be staying abroad. I think there are only 2 in Wengen? But my information could be outdated.

I don't live in a tourist area but I just counted and the various banks (and post office) at my intersection offer a choice of 29 ATMs (usually 5 per establishment), both indoors and outdoors.

<i>I don't plan to use it more than once, though.</i>

Then it would absolutely not be worth the price charged for a day pass. Taking a boat on the river is fun, but in that case you should take one of the normal tourist sightseeing river cruises, of which there are a multitude.

If you pay for groceries, restaurants and shopping with a card, there is no way that you would ever need $500 cash a day.