|
|
|
|
FRANCE
- COSTS, MONEY AND
BANKS |
|
|
|
Before the euro currency
was introduced in January
2002
, the French unit of money
was the franc (abbreviated
as F or sometimes FF),
divided into 100 centimes.
Francs came in notes of
500, 100, 50 and 20F, and
there were coins of 20,
10, 5, 2 and 1F, and 50,
20, 10 and 5 centimes.
During most of 2000, the
exchange rate hovered
around 11.10F to the
pound, 7.60F to the US
dollar, 5.10F to the
Canadian dollar, 4.10F to
the Australian dollar, and
3.40F to the New Zealand
dollar. The euro was
initially pegged at just
under one US dollar, but
it suffered a series of
declines and by late 2000
had plummeted to near the
US$0.80 mark; at that
stage the exchange rate
was 1.67 to the pound,
1.17 to the US dollar,
0.75 to the Canadian
dollar, 0.60 to the
Australian dollar, and
0.47 to the New Zealand
dollar. For the most
up-to-date exchange rates,
consult the useful
Currency Converter Web
site www.oanda.com
.
The euro
France is one of twelve
European Union countries
who have changed over to
a single currency, the euro
(E). The transition
period, which began on
January 1, 1999, is,
however, lengthy: euro
notes and coins were not
issued until January 1,
2002, with francs
remaining in place for cash
transactions , at a fixed
rate of 6.55957
francs to 1 euro, until
they were scrapped
entirely at the end of
February. The euro comes
in coins of 1 to 50
cents, E1 and E2, and
notes of E5 to E500.
Even before euro cash
appeared in 2002, you
could opt to pay in
euros by credit card
and you could get travellers'
cheques in euros -
you should not be
charged commission for
changing them in any of
the eleven countries in
the euro zone (also
known as "Euroland"),
nor for changing from
any of the old Euroland
currencies to any other
(Italian lira to francs,
for example).
All prices are
given in francs and the
exact equivalent in
euros. When the new
currency takes over
completely, prices are
likely to be rounded off
- and if decimalization
in the UK is anything to
go by, rounded up.
Costs
Because of the
relatively low cost
of accommodation and
eating out, at least by
northern European
standards, France may
not seem an outrageously
expensive place to
visit, though this will
depend on the relative
strength of your own
country's currency. When
and where you go also
makes a difference: in
main resorts hotel
prices can go up by a
third during July and
August, while places
like Paris and the Côte
d'Azur are always more
expensive than the other
regions. For a
reasonably comfortable
existence, including a
hotel room for two, a
light restaurant lunch
and a proper restaurant
dinner, plus moving
around, café stops and
museum visits, you need
to allow at least
600F/?90 a day per
person. But by counting
the pennies, staying at
cheap hostels
(around 100F/?15.25 for
bed and breakfast) or camping
(from 30F/?4.58), and
being strong-willed
about extra cups of
coffee and doses of
culture, you could
manage on 250F/?38 a
day, to include a cheap
restaurant meal - less
if your eating is
limited to street snacks
or market food.
For two or more
people, hotel
accommodation is
nearly always cheaper
and better value than
hostels, which are only
worth staying at if
you're by yourself and
want to meet other
travellers. A sensible
average estimate for a
double room would be
around 280F/?43, though
perfectly adequate but
simple doubles can be
had from 190F/?29.
Single-rated and -sized
rooms are often
available, beginning
from 140F/?21 in a cheap
hotel. Breakfast
at hotels is normally an
extra 30F/?4.50, for
coffee, croissant and
orange juice - about the
same as you'd pay in a
bar (where you'll
normally find the coffee
and ambience more
agreeable). As for other
food , you can
spend as much or as
little as you like.
There are large numbers
of reasonable restaurants
with three- or
four-course menus for
between 65F/?10 and
120F/?18; the lunchtime
or midi menu is
nearly always cheaper. Picnic
fare , obviously, is
much less costly,
especially when you buy
in the markets and cheap
supermarket chains, and
takeaway baguette
sandwiches from cafés
are not extortionate. Wine
and beer are both
very cheap in
supermarkets; buying
wine from the barrel at
village co-op cellars
will give you the best
value for money. The
mark-up on wine in
restaurants is high,
though the house wine in
cheaper establishments
is still very good
value. Drinks in
cafés and bars are what
really make a hole in
your pocket: black
coffee, wine and draught
lager are the cheapest
drinks to order; glasses
of tap water are free;
and remember that it's
cheaper to be at the bar
than at a table.
Transport will
inevitably be a large
item of expenditure if
you move around a lot,
which makes some kind of
train pass a good idea,
although French trains
are in any case good
value, with many
discounts available -
two sample one-way fares
are Paris to Toulouse,
445F/?67.86, and Paris
to Montpellier,
379F/?57.80. Buses are
cheaper, though prices
vary enormously from one
operator to another.
Bicycles cost about
80F/?12 per day to rent.
Petrol prices shot up in
late 2000, and at the
time of writing were
around 7.70F/?1.17 a
litre for unleaded ( sans
plomb ), around
7.80F/?11.90 a litre for
Super and around
5.50F/?8.40 a litre for
diesel; there are 3.8
litres to the US gallon.
Most autoroutes
have tolls: rates vary,
but to give you an idea,
travelling only by
motorway from Calais to
Montpellier would cost
you around 379F/?57.80.
Museums and
monuments can also
prove a big wallet-eroder.
Reduced admission is
often available for
those over 60 and under
18 (for which you'll
need your passport as
proof of age) and for
students under 26 (for
which you'll need an
International Student
Identity Card, or ISIC).
Many museums and
monuments are free for
children under 12, and
nearly always for kids
under 4. Under-26s can
also get a free youth
card , or Carte
Jeune , available in
France from youth travel
agencies like USIT and
from main tourist
offices (120F/?18.30;
valid for a year), which
entitles you to
reductions in France and
throughout Europe.
Several towns operate a
global ticket for their
museums and monuments.
Changing money
Standard banking
hours are Monday to
Friday 9am to 4pm or
5pm. Some close at
midday
(noon/12.30pm-2/2.30pm);
some are open on
Saturday 9am to noon.
All are closed on Sunday
and public holidays.
They will have a notice
on the door if they do
currency exchange. Rates
and commission vary
from bank to bank, so
it's worth shopping
around; the usual
procedure is a 1-2
percent commission on
travellers' cheques and
a flat-rate charge on
cash (a 30F/?4.58 charge
for changing 200F/?30.50
is not uncommon). Be
wary of banks claiming
to charge no commission
at all; often they are
merely adjusting the
exchange rate to their
own advantage.
There are money-exchange
counters ( bureaux
de change ) at all
the French airports and
at train stations of big
cities, with usually one
or two in town centres
as well, often keeping
much longer hours than
the high-street banks.
You'll also find automatic
exchange machines at
airports and train
stations and outside
many money exchange
bureaux. They accept £10
and £20 notes as well
as dollars and other
European currency notes,
but offer a very poor
rate of exchange.
Travellers' cheques and
the visa travelmoney card
Travellers' cheques
are one of the safest
ways of carrying your
money. Worldwide,
they're available from
almost any major bank
(in most cases whether
you have an account
there or not), and from
special American Express
or Thomas Cook offices,
usually for a service
charge of 1 percent on
the amount purchased.
Banks may charge more to
purchase, but check
first with your own
establishment as some
offer cheques free of
charge to customers
meeting certain
criteria. The most
widely recognized brands
of travellers' cheques
are Visa, Thomas Cook
and American Express,
which most banks will
change, and there are
American Express and
Thomas Cook offices in
France; American Express
travellers' cheques can
also be cashed at post
offices.
French franc
travellers' cheques
can be worthwhile: they
may often be used as
cash, and you should get
the face value of the
cheques when you change
them, so commission is
only paid on purchase.
Banks being banks,
however, this is not
always the case.
The latest way of
carrying your money
abroad is with a Visa
TravelMoney Card , a
sort of electronic
travellers' cheque. The
temporary disposable
debit card is
"loaded up"
with an amount between
£100 and £5000 and can
then be used (in
conjunction with a PIN
number) in any ATM
carrying the Visa sign
in France (and 112 other
countries). When your
funds are depleted, you
simply throw the card
away. It's recommended
you buy at least a
second card as back-up
in case your first is
lost or stolen, though
like travellers' cheques
the cards can be
replaced if such mishaps
occur. Up to nine cards
can be bought to access
the same funds - useful
for couples/families
travelling together.
Charges are 2 percent
commission with a
minimum charge of £3.
The card is available
from, among other
places, Colombus Bank in
the US and Thomas Cook
in the UK. For further
information, call Visa's
24-hour toll-free
customer services line
on tel 1-410/581-9091 or
check out their Web site
at www.visa.com .
Credt and debit cards
Credit cards are
widely accepted; just
watch for the window
stickers. Visa - known
as the Carte Bleue
in France - is almost
universally recognized;
Access, Mastercard -
sometimes called
Eurocard - and American
Express rank a bit
lower. It's always worth
checking, however, that
restaurants and hotels
will accept your card;
some smaller ones don't.
Be aware, also, that
French cards have a
smart chip, and machines
may reject cards with a
magnetic strip even if
they are valid. If your
card is refused because
of this, you may be able
to get them to confirm
it by explaining the
problem to the cashier
or waiter in question:
"Les cartes
britanniques/américaines/canadiennes/australiennes/de
Nouvelle Zealand ne sont
pas cartes à puce, mais
à piste magnétique. Ma
carte est valable et je
vous serais très
reconnaissant(e) de
demander la confirmation
auprès de votre banque
ou de votre centre de
traitement."
You can also use
credit cards for cash
advances at banks
and in ATMs. The charge
tends to be higher - for
example 4.1 percent
instead of the 1.5
percent at home for Visa
cards. The PIN number
should be the same as
you use at home but
check with your credit
card company before you
leave. Also, because
French credit cards are
smart cards, some ATMs
baulk at for eign
plastic and tell you
that your request for
money has been denied.
If that happens, just
try another machine. All
ATMs give you the choice
of instructions in
French or English. Post
offices will give cash
advances on Visa credit
cards if you are having
a problem using them in
ATMs. Debit cards
can also be used in ATMs
or to pay for goods and
services if they carry
the appropriate Visa
symbol or there's an
"edc"
(European acceptance)
sign. British cards are
charged around 1 percent
or a minimum of £1.50
when used in an ATM, so
it makes sense not to
take small sums out
constantly, whereas
North American cards
tend to charge a flat
rate of $1-2, making it
the most economical and
convenient method. You
would not wan the use of
ATMs to be your sole
source of money on a
long trip far form home
as a lost, stolen or
malfunctioning card
would leave you with
nothing, so always have
some spare currency or
travellers' cheques as a
back-up.
|
