Tipping

The old tipping question. If service charge is include then no unless the service was exceptional then you might leave an extra Euro or two. I generally tip about half of what I would in the US - around 10% or the change from the payment.

Most French restaurants add a service charge. It should be listed on your bill, although perhaps in small print rather than in the actual addition. Then you can reward good service at your own choice. There can be arguments about where that tip actually goes, but that's true in many other places.

Common for Europeans? 0 - a couple of euro. Tips in the US are a significant part of a waiter's wages. That's not so in Europe, where they are paid more of a base salary.

It is very common to provide a few extra euro to the waiter (directly, NEVER leave it on the table), especially if they gave you good service. Don't feel guilty if you don't leave anything, especially if the service was subpar.

Sondra , in most of Europe the locals only tip a few coins ,usually round up the bill ( so bill is 5.40 for coffees,, leave 6) . In a nice full service restaurant some locals will leave a few euros for a meal.. so maybe 5%-10% max.. and not for a cafe lunch meal. for a nice meal at a nice resto)
Round up a few coins is the norm.

Tipping is not the norm in Europe but Americans are muddying the waters a bit,, many still tip( saying "they feel funny not tipping" and hence in some very touristy places the waiters are starting to expect Americans to tip!!) Please go by local customs.. you are doing no one a favor by over tipping. The waiters do get paid a living wage there.. not 3 or 4 bucks an hour like at home.
No one will refuse to take your money though so if you insist...

The Europeans don't consider it a gratuity, per se. They round up the bill to the nearest euro; it's just considered "tacky" to keep the small change. Understand that this has been the custom since the French Franc was 16¢, the German Mark was 69¢, and the Italian Lira was, uh, 1 wheelborrow per $US. Now that the Euro is about 2 Mark, the Germans are rather put out about rounding up to the even Mark (1 euro).

I was told by my German hostess, in no uncertain terms, that I was only to round up to the nearest euro. She was aghast when I said I added a euro, then rounded up. But that's the minimum that I do. I add 50 cent, then round, so I end up giving 0,50€ to 1,50€. If the bill is bigger, I often add one or two euro. The waiter always seems pleased.

Once, in Rothenburg, right on the town square, our bill came to about 23€±. The smallest notes I had were a 20 and 10 euro note, so I gave the waiter 30 and said "fünf und zwanzig" (25)(Not dreißig. I did say zwanzig at the time. When I wrote this I was thinking of the 30 I gave him). He went off, I assumed to get change, never to return. I hunted him down and emphasized "fünf und zwanzig". I got the change. I think he heard my American accent and figured I would be a big tipper, but 7 euro on a 23 euro bill, 30%?

But just for the record, minimum wage for tipped wait personnel in this country is $2.13, but if that and tips does not equal minimum wage, the employer has to make up the difference, so essentially, you are sometimes tipping the employer. If the employer adds a "service charge", often 20%, that goes right to him. He only has to pay the waiting staff minimum wage.

If you said "fünf und dreißig," maybe he kept the change because he was expecting another €5.

Tipping in each country is different, so it is best not to lump all European countries together.

In Germany, if you see a service charge on the bill, this money is going to the restaurant, and not to the server. This is not a tip. The company uses this money to help pay for health insurance, vacation pay, etc. I constantly run across people who think that service charge is the tip, and that they don't need to tip at all in Germany.

Rounding up is ok, but make sure you aren't stingy about it. If your bill was 98 €, you wouldn't round up to 100. Tipping in small villages is not the same as tipping in a big city. The servers do depend somewhat on their tips, as rent is expensive in the city. Though they get a fair wage, it isn't the world. I usually tip 5-10% depending on how good my service was. If it was crap, I don't tip anything. If they have been friendly, helpful, and have brought me tap water without moaning and groaning about it, they get the 10% tip.

I agree with Jo, in 2014 Germany a rounded 5-10% tip is appropriate. I usually figure out what 10% would be and try to round down as to get back convenient change.

Pay with your credit card and leave 0%. The credit card slip won't even have a line for the gratuity.
The practice of tipping servers is not followed unless it's extraordinary service and in such case you would give it directly to the server (it goes to her/him not to a common tip fund like in the US). If you pay cash you might round up to the closest Euro if you don't like the change.

"(it goes to her/him not to a common tip fund like in the US)."

Where did you get that idea. My two daughters worked for many years as waitresses at several different restaurants. None of them ever put tips in a tip fund. At the most, if the waitresses did not clear the tables themselves, they were required to share the tips with the bus boys. Even if they were not required to, it was the smart thing to do as it ensured that their tables would be cleaned up quickly. If anyone ever told my daughters to put their tips in a tip fund, that person would be told to take a long walk of a short pier.

After reviewing expense sheets from recent trips, I find the my "tips" are within 5%-10% of total food expenses (generally lunch, dinner, and beverages). However, the total food expense is somewhat inflated because it includes, for instance, a sandwich and drink purchased over the counter in a train station, essentially fast food, where one would not ordinarily tip. On those trips I was traveling alone, so the bill was smaller and the rounding a bigger percentage.