Paris ATM’s

Doesn't really matter what the exchange rate is today or what it was last year - it will be different when you get to Paris, unless you are going tonight.

Even so, why does it matter? You'll get the best exchange rate at the ATM in Paris, not in the US. Just understand what your credit union or bank charges per ATM withdrawal (the ATM in Europe likely won't charge you anything, at least at a bank-owned ATM). If you have a credit card with no foreign transaction fees, try to use that everywhere you can and use as little cash as possible.

If you have time before you leave, check if your bank charges ATM fees if your card is used overseas. Also find out if your bank or credit card charges foreign exchange fees on foreign transactions. If you are charged fees, look into getting a credit card and opening a bank account that has no fees. Check out your local credit union, CapitalOne credit cards and bank, Charles Schwab. Not getting dinged for using an ATM or being charged a 3% foreign exchange fee on charges or withdrawals can save enough to pay for a nice meal.

Also read the Money section of Travel Tips on this website.

The exchange rate you see is the exchange rate. It is the interbank rate at that point in time. It does not matter where you are, and is the rate your bank will convert your transaction. It will cost between 5 and 10 percent in fees to get Euro here, so it is pointless to try to save a cent or two per dollar trying to anticipate rate changes. Get your cash as withdrawals from your account via ATM machines when needed. Hopefully you have one of the recommended bank accounts that charge no ATM fees nor foreign transaction fees.

At this instant, the interbank rate is $1.2105 = 1.00 EUR. I am watching it on Finance.Yahoo. No, wait, its 1.2106 to 1, now its 1.2103 to 1. It changes by the second as it is continuously traded around the globe.
When you make an ATM transaction, the exchange rate is what it is at that particular moment in time. The banking system will skim about 0.003 cents per $ off the transaction. Anything more than that is your banks doing. That is often .03 cents per $ plus they will sock you with a $3 to $5 fee for using someone else's ATM.
That will be the same in Paris or Rome or Schickelheim.

You can control the big charges by doing business with a bank or credit union whose goal is not to rip off their customers. There are plenty of them.

Some European banks are starting to add ATM fees on too now. If they do, look for another bank's ATM. And if any machine asks if you want to do the transaction is US$, press the "No" button. If you say yes, the bank can charge you what ever foreign exchange rate they want, and it won't be in your favor.

True that the exchange rate has worsened relative to the US Dollar compared to what it was last summer. It stands now at $1.21 to one Euro., with the Euro slipping; its high was $1.24 to one Euro.

What can we expect to see at the rates at the ATM’s in PARIS?

Nobody has a crystal ball. Exchange rates fluctuate constantly. I follow the exchange rates of the € & £ on XE Currency Converter. Given your interest, bookmark that link and check it. I have it on my smartphone. Your best bet for €s is to use a bank cash machine when you arrive at the airport in Paris.

I would hardly characterize the euro as slipping against the US dollar. The dollar has been in a constant slide downward for the last 1 to 2 years when the euro/dollar rate was 1.05. Vacations will cost 15% to 20% more than they did just a few short years ago.

European bank ATMs only dispense cash. They have nothing to do with exchange rates. Most networks, such as Maestro or Cirrus, which make currency conversions for you charge 1% be it ATM withdrawal or credit card purchase.

Credit unions and small banks may charge nothing else. Some banks, such as Capitol One 360 or Swab absorb the currency conversion fee, their customers paying nothing.

Big banks have onerous charges. Some add 2% (making your cost 3% on ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases) plus a fixed fee to AM withdrawals. It´s not always easy to find what your bank is charging but it is written, in ultra small print, in your bank ATM and credit card agreements. Many customer service agents have no idea what their employers charge on foreign transactions and may not be ultimately helpful.

It pays to ask questions and to bank where the terms are in your favor.

Most US banks add between 2 and 3 percent to the 1% built into the exchange system. When you travel a lot or for long periods -- we are here for 6 weeks this trip and often travel for 3 mos -- it makes a difference. If your bank does this on your credit card or your ATM exchange or if it charges a withdrawal fee for ATM withdrawals abroad then get a better bank. We switched our credit card to Capitol One and our checking account for debit card use to a small local bank neither of which makes these charges when BoA started charging for withdrawals and added huge fees to the exchange. If everyone did this it might affect bank policy on this. BoA shortly after many customers balked at the $5 fee for withdrawals, developed a system of partner banks where they didn't charge if you used those banks. Our new bank NEVER charges for withdrawals. We moved our personal accounts and sizable professional accounts when the bank instituted those ridiculous charges; maybe enough people did that they created this partner system.

Get a better bank if yours hoses you because they can.

I have to agree that paying attention to the costs associated with using an ATM machine are more important than the exchange rate that day. One you can control and one you can't.

Do your research on foreign transaction fees and ATM fees charged by your bank or credit union. I have Charles Schwab Investor Checking for my travel checking/debit card account. I never pay a foreign transaction fee or ATM fee. If the bank whose ATM I am using charges a fee, Schwab credits it back to my account. A side bonus is by having a separate account for travel I always know how much I have in my travel budget and my household money is not put "at risk" by skimmers while traveling.

What can we expect to see at the rates at the ATM’s in PARIS?

To add to what Tocard said "European bank ATMs only dispense cash. They have nothing to do with exchange rates." - you will not "see" the exchange rate at the ATM.
If you withdraw 200 Euros, the ATM's owner charges your card that amount. It is your card company (Visa, Mastercard) that does the conversion from Euros to the currency of your account, at the applicable rate at the time. Their rate will be the best you can get.

However, if the machine says "Do you want to be charged in (insert your currency her)?", the answer is NO.
If you answer yes, you are giving the ATM's owner permission to do the conversion, instead of your card issuer, This is called DCC. You will have the warm feeling that you can see the amount in your currency on the screen, but you can be sure their rate will not be as good as your card company, and you will be a few % down.

Another element about DCC, often missed or not understood, is that networks such as Pulse, NYCE, STAR, and others did not appreciate vendors implementing DCC and bypassing the network´s currency conversion fees. Several years ago, virtually all ATM (debit) card and credit card contracts were changed to include the networks 1% currency conversion fee on all transactions made outside of the USA, even if the conversion to dollars had already been made by a DCC entity.

Therefore, by accepting a DCC conversion at point of sale, the card holder subjects himself to an unknown rate of exchange yet he still pays the conversion fees.

DCC should never be accepted when offered.

As you can see here, all European bank-operated ATMs will sell currency at virtually the same exchange rate. Only a very few European banks add their own fee (in my experience, Caixa in Spain does, or did two years ago.) The fees vary more among the banks back home so the only shopping around you can do is back home, finding the cheapest accounts.
However, the published exchange rate for the day, across all banks, is not what the small consumer can get. The ATM machines use a higher rate, roughly two per cent, meaning you get fewer euros. When it's time to sell your euros back to a bank, you will get a lower rate, meaning fewer US dollars than you paid. It is a straight business deal in which the banks make money both going and coming.
One further thought, about security. You should carry ATM cards from two different banks, preferably one on the Plus circuit and one on Cirrus. Ditto for credit cards.

Let us clarify this. European bank ATMs are not SELLING their currency. You are withdrawing cash from your account, in the local currency. The exchange rate is the interbank rate. And yes--there is some friction for this, since there is a service of providing cash that does have some minimal overhead, but that depends on your own bank.ANd it is not two percent.

For example, in London on April 6 we withdrew 110 £ from a Sainsbury Bank. My Schwab statement shows a withdrawal of 155.08. XE shows the exchange rate for April 6 as 1 £ for $1.409226. By this rate my 110£ equals $155.01. Yes, this is an average of the exchange rates during the day, but this is truly a minimal markup, well below 1%, closer to .1%. This has been true since we obtained our Schwab account a few years back, it's an even better deal than our CapOne, which was averaging about .5 to .6 of one percent increase (and an aside our CapOne and Amazon Visa credit cards are even better deals, as since filling of cash machines is involved, those purchases not only go at the direct rate, but along with no foreign transaction fee on either, we get the benefit odf1.5% cashback on all the CapOne purchases and 2% on all the Amazon card purchases that are restaurants.)