ATM in Paris to Obtain Euros

ATMs at the following banks generally charge no local fees:

• La Poste
• LCL
• BNP
• CCF

Other entities will reliably add local fees. Any fees incurred making withdrawals from the above locations, originate from your local bank.

You may want to check with Capital One Bank to confirm any foreign ATM fees. It would be reasonable to assume that Capital Once passes along the 1% currency conversion fee.

I like to use the post office as their machines are more often programmable to get smaller bills.

How much cash in euros will we need for the three week stay?

Probably not much at all. Every trip I take, I use less and less cash. I can't even remember the last time I replenished my "stash" of Euros, but it has to be pre-COVID.

On the plus side, the Euros you return with can be kept for your next trip. Or, you can just use them up on the final day or two by not using your CC for things like meals or souvenirs.

And when you use the ATM, go for the smaller bills option (if possible). Buying a newspaper or croissant with a 100 or 50 Euro bill is often frowned upon.

Another recommendation for La Poste. The machine was inside where I went in the Latin Quarter and the directions were simple to understand.

I suggest using an ATM inside a lobby once you decide on the other variables.

Jim,
My guess would be 100 euros for three weeks. Buying a crepe on the street in Paris or something small at a street market may be easier with cash. And, as mentioned above, just spend them down on your last day or two in France. (We bought a bottle of a brand of pastis to bring home in our checked bag on our last visit. It is a brand we can't find at home.) Or save them for your next trip to Europe. You can use them in so many countries.
Happy travels!

In Fall of 2023, I used cash for the following:
1) Paris Walks
2) Some vendors at outdoor markets I visited had minimums for cards (e.g., purchases under 10 EUR had to be paid with cash).

I used less than 100 EUR in notes. I used a BNP ATM and did not incur any additional charges.

In spite of the large amount of cash brought along, it started to run out, down to the last 250 Euro. I decided to get more cash regardless of the various expenses.

I was in Nogent-sur-Seine not far from Paris and happened to see the post office....fantastic since I had to get stamps for post cards anyway and the post office had its ATM.

I used that , better to use that , if absolutely need be, than those ATMs in the train stations.

Thanks for your very helpful replies. My bank (Capital One) says they don't charge a fee for withdrawals at foreign ATMs (where I need to get euros upon arrival in Paris). Capital One says their ATM network partner is Allpoint. If some banks in Paris (like BNP) do not charge local ATM fees, I am assuming that I don't need to find a bank that has Allpoint, if one exists in Paris.

There are no Allpoints ATMs in Paris.

While Capital One may not charge you, an interesting question you may want to ask them is, do they pass along any fees? Many banks pass along the 1% currency conversion fee charged by the entity making the euro/dollar exchange. This is not the same as any fee that an ATM may charge.

The only debit card issuer who absorbes the currency conversion fee, to my knowledge, is Schwab.

Hi Jim,

How exciting to be headed to Paris this week! I just checked back on my own spending in Paris in January: I had 80 euros in my wallet when I arrived (from a previous trip) and came home with about 30 euros cash after a week. We used Uber to get in from CDG, so that charge went directly to my Visa. All my day-to-day spending was on my phone using ApplePay via tap. You can link your Visa/Mastercard before you go. I had to use my physical Visa card to pay for the hotel and a couple of purchases that were over the tap limit. Otherwise, I used the Bonjour RATP app to buy metro tickets, including tickets on the RER back to the airport at the end of the trip.

My recollection is that we used our tap everywhere in Lyon in 2019 as well.

Have a wonderful time.

Use google maps to locate Banks near your lodging, then you know exactly where to head to once you are settled in.

Enjoy.

Hi,

I agree with everyone here: the more I return to Europe, the less cash I take. On my last trip to Paris in late summer of 2024, I took 17 left over euros from a previous trip. I did hit an ATM once in Paris for cash, but paid for everything else with a card. I'll relay a cautionary tale: in November 2023 my buddy and I went to Paris, then Frankfurt for an NFL game, then back to Paris. He had been to Octoberfest in Munich 8 weeks earlier and used his credit and debit card extensively. When, we arrived in Paris, he had zero problems using his debit card/credit card. However, when we got to Frankfurt, both of his cards got rejected everywhere we went: ATM machines, ticket kiosks, etc. He is a planner and brought about $600 euro with him so there were no hangups. I did not experience any issues with my cards whatsoever.

For what it's worth, I still plan to bring $50 in foreign cash when I visit Copenhagen & Amsterdam in September. But I ALWAYS stash one or two $100 US bills in my wallet, just in case I have to run into a bank or exchange shop. Hasn't happened yet but it does give me some sense of comfort.
Good luck

I'll just say that from CDG, just go to the OFFICIAL taxi rank and get in line. When you are motioned to a cab by the line manager, hold your CC or phone up (I use Apple Pay) to the driver and ask OK? They are all supposed to take credit cards but sometimes will say their machine is broken so I get that established before I get in the cab. You may wind up in a G7 cab or it may be another company BUT the taxi flat rate is 56E to the Right Bank where you will be staying.

https://easycdg.com/taxi-shuttle-paris-cdg-airport-charlesdegaulle/

BTW, I also have a 3x5 card with my address typed out to hand to the driver with the amount of the fixed rate written out to the side.

What I learned on this trip if it's absolutely necessary to get a cash advance, then do that transaction in a French Post Office. The ATM is part of it.

Fred, not to nitpick, but as a forty year bank employee, a cash advance is money advanced (borrowed) from your credit card (a no-no at an atm due to cash advance fee and interest accumulating from withdrawal date).
Use a debit card at an ATM and get a withdrawal from your account (usually checking, sometimes savings, depending on your set-up with your bank). That is just a withdrawal from your account, not a loan from your credit card line.

My beloved spouse is a school teacher. When teaching algebra to high school students, she uses a real world problem to engage the students and introduce them to problem solving concepts. “How far should you drive out of your way should you drive to find cheaper gas?” A deceptively complex problem. How far to the distant station? How much cheaper? What is your MPG? How big is your tank? How close to empty? Cost of wear and tear? Speed limit on the route? Value of your time?

The moral of the story is that for normal passenger cars, you probably shouldn’t drive very far to save a few pennies on gas; especially if you value your time.

Where am I going with this? This thread is really long, (including my contribution). I don’t think the OP is going to save any real money versus just picking up a few euros at a random ATM. Wouldn’t we have been better served trying to solve some world-level problem like war, famine, disease, injustice, climate change, noisy neighbors…?

Safe travels. Thanks for listening.

@ Judy....I don't bring a debit card along. Getting the cash advance is absolutely the last resort because of the fees involved, if you are concerned about that. Since I felt my cash reserves in Euro were being depleted, I had thought I had better get some Euro (350 Euro) as replacements.

Bottom line : yes , you do take a financial hit (If that matters) , so bring enough cash along in the first place. In 2 of the 2 star hotels I use in Paris, the employees told me the boss at each prefers the guest paying in cash....( obviously ) and gladly.