Getting Euros in Advance

If the ATM machine has a limit, it is for single transaction. I have withdrawn as much as 750E at one time. But it was attached to a bank. A standalone ATM in an airport will probably have some limits just to prevent being drained in a hurry. You could do multi withdraws from the ATM or move on to the next ATM. The alternative, of course, is to just bring it from home and pay the higher fee.

This would be one time that I would want to get the cash before leaving the U.S. Even if you could get an ATM transaction of 1200 Euros I wouldn't want to do that, if anyone saw that you would be a huge target, and even if not, I wouldn't want to have that much cash anywhere except in a money belt prior to hitting the streets of Paris.

My experience has been that most ATMs will only allow you to withdraw a max of €300 or so and usually only once/24 hours. Check with Wells Fargo Bank about buying them at home.

Your bank/ local bank.... probably not a credit union should be able to get euros for you (Wells Fargo $ 6.95 S/H fee no matter the amount). I would take euro for personal use also.

When you order Euros from your bank you can specify the denominations - so you can get large bills to pay the rent and don't have to deal with a big stack of money. For your personal use, get some smaller bills to start off with. As somebody else has probably mentioned already, ATMs sometimes have a withdrawal limit per day, even if your card doesn't. Nowadays, my bank needs several days lead time to get Euros for me, so maybe yours does, too. Banks will order foreign money for you even if you don't have an account with them. Also, use a money belt, don't carry that big stash in your wallet.

Wells Fargo tends to have the best currency exchange rate I've found at around 5%, average, over the Interbank rate. There are not S&H fees if you get them at the main WF branch in Seattle (at least there aren't from the main branches in Colorado). Online, S&H is free for orders over $1000. True most ATM withdrawals charge 1%-3% plus and out of system fees that equals ½% - 1%, but as mentioned, ATMs have daily limits. And, BTW, I have had ATM transactions over there refused because they were over my bank's daily limit, but never because they were over the European bank's limit.

"...Wells Fargo $ 6.95 S/H fee no matter the amount." (The website order form says "$12.00", for all orders less than $1000.00 US dollars) There's no reason to have international currency sent to you in the Sacramento region, or many others...you can just go and get it - call first to be sure they have the type you need to purchase; look online to find the WF bank location nearest you that is an "International Teller Site" location. $12.00 in your pocket... Sam, there's a WF "ITS" location on NW Gilman...give them a call to make sure they have the amount you need on-hand; if not, they can probably order it and have it ready for pick-up. WF typically has the best rates for purshasing Euro in the USA. As already noted, your order will be greater than $1000.00 US, so shipping will be free for you, but YOU must be on hand to sign for the delivery; that may or may not be convenient. If you're not a WF customer, their website says you 'MAY' incur a fee...last I knew, this was $5.00...but things change... Purchase a few extra - depending on the number of people traveling with you, maybe 50-100 Euro per person...that's money on hand for taxis, trains, bus fare, lunch...You can also get the denominations you want (at least I can at my bank). Get some 20,00 and 5,00 Euro notes if possible. It'll be hard breaking that 100,00 note for a beer at the ariport...And keep some at the end of your trip to be ready for your NEXT trip ;-)