Paris: Where to change large Euros for smaller denominations?

I think you're better off in Paris than you would be in Italy. I'd have a 7-euro breakfast in a café and pay cash. Maybe best not to go very early before they have much cash in the till. It seems as if that would work. This is why I make a lot of 40-euro ATM withdrawals.

Just use them. Not for penny candy but for reasonable purchases and you will get change.

It is not just that the banks won't change the money, they won't do any services for non-customers. If you had been a customer (account holder) some would have changed the notes.

But really, you don't need it.

If you are in an apartment just go and buy your groceries.

if any of the local supermarkets have automated checkouts just use them for a few small items put in your 100euro note and get your change.

Just use them, no need to exchange for smaller denominations. €100 is a perfectly normal denomination, the cash machines (ATM) I use dispense €100, and I have had no problem spending them.
Pay for a meal, or your shopping with one of them, you will then get change.

The banks you visited probably would not exchange them because you are not a customer.
You were not foolish. I find a small number of €100 easier to handle than a thick wedge of €20.

The best bets for breaking a bill are a supermarket or a restaurant. If the total is over twenty euro, I use the biggest bill I have, if any. Otherwise I use credit card, keeping the smaller bills I have for other things.

I would avoid trying it in smaller shops or for coffee and a pastry, you can certainly pull a larger bill out and ask if it is OK, but be prepared for some blow back, many places like nearly exact change, many want even the coins.

Unclegus's automated checkout (supermarket) suggestion is brilliant, if you can find one. No personal contact needed!

Have you had any actual problem with spending the €100s?

It is different in most parts of Europe compared with the US when it comes to larger denomination bills. They mostly don't have any issues with them. Sure, if you buy a €1 bottle of water and pay with a €500 as the first customer of the day, they may tell you no, but any reasonable purchase should not be any issue. Spend the larger bills when you are having dinner or buying something that is more costly and save the change and smaller bills for when you do need to buy that €1 bottle of water.

Great suggestions; greater anecdotes! I visited the Cathedral (?Basilica) at Saint Denis this morning and walked past a currency exchange place. I went in, expecting to be shown the door or charged for the service. But NO. A very kindly gentleman gladly changed my 100 Euro bill for 20s and 10s and wished me a bon journee!! He made my day, as did your responses.

This question and discussion comes up frequently. For some reason many Americans seem to be adversely opposed to using large bills. I don't know whether it is cultural thing, or common to certain areas. It is rare to see anyone in the US use a $50 bill. (I really dislike my local ATM that dispenses 10, $20 bills when I take out $200.) We have never had any problem anywhere in Europe including Italy is cashing large bills. Someone I will be asked if I have something smaller but a "no" or proper shaking of the head produces the necessary change. Now I am not going to give someone a 50 euro note for a two euro item but a 10 or 15 euro item is fine. I try to use the hundred note in a restaurant or somewhere that the bill in the the range of 40 to 60 euro. I see locals, or at least other non-Americans using 50 and 100 euro notes all the time in Europe. Now, if you are using your credit card for all major expenses and your euro for nickle, dime stuff then you could have a problems. Never had anything close to Barbra's experiences.

In the UK a lot of shopkeepers are unwilling to handle £50 notes due to their value and the perception that they are frequently forged, so it isn't just a US thing.

Grocery stores, restaurants etc. Purchase your groceries for a week and two dinners ought to give you enough smaller change over the next week or so.

The situation with £50 notes in the UK is a bit of a catch-22
- Cash machines (ATM) do not dispense them, the highest denomination in the machines is £20.
- Therefore shops do not see them very often
- Therefore when they get one they double-check it.
- Therefore some people do not like to have them, because they get checked.
- Therefore the banks do not but them in cash machines, because some customers do not want them.

IMHO, The solution is for banks to put them in the machines, therefore they would circulate more and be more acceptable. But banks are trying to get you to use cards, which they make money on, so it is a against their interests to give out larger denominations.

In other European countries, machines give out €50 and €100 (and CHF 100 and 200 in Switzerland), and these are accepted without problems.

I have heard £50 notes called "tourist money", because in many areas it is mostly tourists who have exchanged money who have them.

My experience is anything bigger than a 20 is a problem and sometimes people aren't happy about accepting 20's. The Metro machines in Paris say they accept 20's but I've run into problems there if I don't use 10's or smaller.

I've found some ATM's let me choose the notes I want, so I use those and choose tens. LCL and the ATM's at Carrefour stores are the ones I remember.

I've heard about using self-service lanes in Grocery stores. You pay by plugging in your bill. That may be your best bet. I wouldn't feel comfortable using a 100 to buy a single breakfast, but I would use it to pay for a 50 to 60 euro dinner bill for two.

Barbara, in my over 50 trips to Europe since the Euro became the currency, I have never experienced where a shop or restaurant has refused any cash no matter what size the bill. Sure, some may have asked if I had something smaller if I was paying with a 50 or larger. Sometimes they have to go find change. But this is no different than in the US when using larger bills to pay for things. And no, I have never attempted to pay for a €1 bottle of water with a €100 or larger bill. I always seem to have coin to cover those types of purchases.

A little off-topic, but it's worth remembering that you get your best exchange rate with a credit card (assuming your card does not add currency conversion fee). Next best is ATM.

Most of the places for your larger purchases (restaurants, hotel, etc.) and tourist sites will take credit card or large bills. But it's still good to have some 20s and smaller for the smaller places that don't take cards.

We always bring back about 100€ (a 50 and smaller bills and change) to save for our next trip. (You never know whether the ATM at the airport will have a problem when you first arrive. That's all we need to get us to the hotel. After that, we use ATMs for about 300€ at a time as needed...which is not often during a 10-12 day trip.

One more thing: Never use a change shop, and never say "yes" if the vendor or ATM asks you if you want to pay in your home currency. Always choose Euros. Otherwise they will do their own conversion (at a poor rate) before charging you in Euros. When you pay in Euros, the conversion is done after charging you by your card company at the best rate.

SS

Agree Barbra b/c I looked closely at what was offered too at ATMs. However, I always say no to DCC due to the risque of a bad rate--only the bank rate is sure.
One note about the above post: if you use your CC to withdraw cash at an ATM, it's treated as a cash advance, which triggers CC interest starting the date of the withdrawal.

During several trips to Paris, I never had any difficulty using € 100 notes in restaurants or grocery and department stores. The Métro clerk at a ticket window early in the morning back in 2011 did require exact payment to purchase a carnet, as he did not have change yet and he refused to let me pay more and skip the change. Fortunately another customer helped me out.

Never had a problem in France or Germany with 100 Euro bills, even on smaller purchases.

.... you get your best exchange rate with a credit card (assuming your card does not add currency conversion fee). Next best is ATM. ...... Absolutely false. The exchange rate is the same since the exchange rate is determine by the network. Now, since exchange rates vary almost minute to minute it is possible to use a credit card in the morning and a debit card in the afternoon and have slightly different exchange rates -- probably in the third or fourth decimal point.