travel money

Gelateria Miretti

Each country has its own system and payment preferences, taxes, commissions and tipping rules, in short "monetary customs".

Certain countries like Italy still love cash a lot, especially when you deal with independent providers. This is because the Italian fiscal system is "totally unsustainable and overwhelming" as the European Union put it years ago...

However, this post won't be about the average Italian financial situation, the 1000E/mo generation or our high VAT (22% included in every price you see) but rather about a few travel tips.

When planning your trip over to Turin and Piedmont keep in mind that:

• changing foreign currency in an Italian bank is virtually impossible if you don't know anyone with a bank account at that bank
• cash advance is unheard of (rather uncommon)
• the easiest way to go is withdrawing cash from an ATM, sometimes the lines will be busy and you will need to try from more than one
• double check with your bank you can use your ATM and credit cards abroad
• see if you can avoid any foreign transaction fees when traveling (you need to request this option with your credit card company)
• Paypal is used in Italy however the fees are high and many vendors don't like to use it

Via Cibrario

• many shops won't allow you to use your credit card to pay for small amounts (even up to 15E)
• if you know you will have to pay somebody in cash, inquire in advance if they accept dollars, it might save you time and worries 
• double check your credit type is common and popular, some are better than others...
• NO travellers' cheques - it's impossible to cash them...
• prepaid cards is usually what Italians travel abroad with but your credit card should have a good fraud protection
• try to estimate in advance how much cash you will need. Should you have any Euros left before going back home, remember you can only change the bills, not the coins! If you are planning to visit Europe again, you may just want to keep those extra Euros for your next trip 😎 after all you can use them in any Eurozone country!

Caffé Mulassano

As usual large stores, chains, hotels and famous places such as coffee shops, restaurants, museum, train and subway stations will all accept credit cards and you can book/pay online for many attractions too.

Also, Euros come both in coins and bills.

Euro bill sizes are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500

The Euro coins are special: one side changes country to country within the Eurozone, so you can collect them all.

The Euro cents are: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50

Then we have 1 and 2 Euro coins 

Maybe this link by Rick Stevens will be helpful too.

Now you are ready to fully enjoy our vidaroyal 🙆