When referring to beds for two people in Europe, Rick Steves and others always use the phrase "double bed". Are all European double beds about the same size? And do they correspond in size with an American-style double, or queen size, or king size? When traveling in the US, we always seek out queen-size vs. double beds, as we like the roominess of the queen-sized beds. If anyone has any ideas of the size of European double beds, I would appreciate it.
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
John, a double bed is similar to two twins put right next to each other. You usually get two 100cm x 200cm, two 90cm x 200cm or 90cm x 190cm mattresses. 200cm x 200cm is exactly the size of a US king, 180cm x 200cm is US queen size. French beds are different, there you usually get one mattress sized 140cm x 200cm or 160cm x 200cm.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17430 posts
John---it depends on the country. As Andreas said, in some countries (Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark in my experience), a "double" bed is two twin-size beds pushed together, with separate covers. The rule there is "mind the gap". In France and Italy, you may get a single-mattress bed (letto martimoniale" in Italy) which is usually equivalent to queen-size in the US. As I recall, the beds in the UK and Ireland were a bit smaller.