How much in Euros to bring?

will you be using a card or your phone for the vast majority of transactions or do you prefer to pay all in cash?

nothing

Just get cash from an ATM in France if you need it.

Indeed, just nothing. No need for cash in France!

Are you looking for a budget or how much cash in Euro to bring?

You can use a credit card almost everywhere. When I was in France a couple of years ago, I only used cash a couple of places. Some of the vendors at markets either only took cash or had a minimum (e.g. 10 EUR) if you wanted to use a credit card. If I were taking this tour, I’d probably take out about 50 EUR at an ATM on arrival. That is likely more than you will need but I always like to have some cash on hand. You could also start with less (e.g., 20 EUR might be enough for small purchases).

As far as budget for meals, this really depends on you and whether you are fine with a sandwich from a bakery or you want a 5-course meal or something in between.

If you're using credit/debit cards or Apple Pay or Google Pay with your phone, you'll need minimal cash.

Last spring a spent about €20 cash at 2 different sandwich shops in Paris because my order, as a solo diner, was under their card limit. If you're traveling with someone, you will probably never have that problem.

Use a bank ATM in France to get a minimal amount of cash.

I’d take out the amount you usually have in your wallet at home. Cheapest to get at a bank ATM when you arrive but if it makes you nervous to land without any cash and you don’t want to hunt for an ATM when you might get jetlagged., get some before the trip at your bank or AAA

As many have suggested, you might not need very much. However, it is wise, in my opinion, to always have some euros in hand because technology does not always work as it should. That is a simple fact of life. We have experienced a number of instances when credit or ATM cards did not work as they should for a variety of reasons. Better to have some euros in hand and not need them, than to need them and not have them.

You can wait and get euros upon arrival. But, you will be tired, jet lagged, sleepy, on new turf, and probably in awe of where you are. Most people (self included) don't need to be handling sharp instruments or operating an ATM under those circumstances. In addition, there is the problem of finding a "real bank" ATM, waiting in line to use it, and hoping all goes well. ATMs have been know to malfunction and do run our of currency at times.

The "extra" cost of getting 100-200 euros from your local bank before leaving in nothing compared to the overall cost of the trip. And it's a small price to pay to eliminate one more hassle upon arrival.

Regardless, be sure to check with your bank and or card provider to see if you need to place a travel alert on the ATM and / or debits cards. The same goes for any credit cards. Some require a travel alert, and others don't.

Just offering food for thought.

I think Laura has a good point as to whether you are looking for budgeting information or actual cash in hand. I go to France nearly every year and honestly, I'm with the others who use ApplePay nearly exclusively. Do you use this at home?

It’s nice to have a little cash on hand. There are some small shops that have a €5-€10 minimum in order to use a card.

Also helpful to make small cash purchase on arrival so you can get 1 euro coins in change for the public toilets!

Airport toilets are free and some in train stations have credit card machines for your 50-centime pipi purchase.

The only vendor in my neighborhood here in France who wants cash is the newsstand if we're buying a 1.50 paper. My husband taps his card for the 1.20 loaf of bread he brings home daily. You really don't need much. Banks have lower fees in France than in the US, so most shopkeepers tell me they prefer when I pay with a card because it's faster and more convenient for them.

Even 100 euros out of a machine might be too much for someone on a guided tour.

If getting cash from ATMs, I get amounts such as 85€ so that I will get some smaller bills. If you put in 100€, you might end up with 2 50€ or one 100€ note ! It’s not like most US ATMs where all you get ate $20 bills

We have been in rural France for 2 months - Bretagne, Dordogne, Carcasonne. Everywhere we go, the credit cards are accepted. Cash is accepted as well, but sometimes there is a difficulty with big bills (E50, etc) in small shops. We have used both credit cards and the Wallet app in my android-based phone.

1) Never a problem - not even 1 time - in getting the credit card accepted
2) Never a problem with the phone app except 1 time - used the physical credit card
3) Never had a request for the pin for the credit card, although some say this comes up
4) We had 1 occasion to need a E1 coin to pay for the toilet. That's in 2 M.

For various reasons, we took out a fair amount of cash, and are now having some difficulty getting rid of it.

I actually tend to use cash more often on a group tour than I do traveling independently. The reason is that when eating with other tour guests when the meal is an “on your own” one, which is a common scenario, it’s easier to just pay my share in cash than hassling with trying to bill split using cards, or repaying later. And if I have some euros left over at the end, that’s fine, I just stash them with my passport for the next trip. And while I think this isn’t the case with RS tours, with most other tour companies such as OAT it’s expected to tip the tour leader which can be a significant amount and that needs to be in cash, with the polite thing to do to have that be local currency rather than dollars, although that varies depending on what country it is. Plus some cash is useful for smaller tips such as hotel housekeepers, bar men, etc.

• "I actually tend to use cash more often on a group tour than I do traveling independently. The reason is that when eating with other tour guests when the meal is an “on your own” one, which is a common scenario, it’s easier to just pay my share in cash than hassling with trying to bill split using cards, or repaying later."

• "And while I think this isn’t the case with RS tours, with most other tour companies such as OAT it’s expected to tip the tour leader"

Yes and yes to Slade's statements. No tipping needed on Rick's tours.

We almost always pay by credit, but we almost never use the card itself! Instead we pay using our phones, which is way more secure because with each payment it uses a one-time "fake" credit card number. When you use your actual credit card, using your actual credit card number, there's a good chance that somewhere along the way your card will get hacked.

ALWAYS pay in Euros, and decline their offer to pay using your home currency. Your bank will give you the exact currency exchange rate. If you take their offer to pay in your local currency, the exchange rate is a ripoff.