Another Euros question

Most take credit cards, but for the occasional tip, toilet in a station, or a quick coffee or gelato, or a rare cafe that doesn’t take cards, having some cash is a good idea. We would generally have €200 on hand for possible needs and use any fund remaining for needs (meals, souvenirs) on the last day.

We too like to have about 200 euros in hand while in Italy for all of the incidental expenses Laurel mentions.
The best way to get the money is with your debit card at a bank operated ATM after arrival ... although I've generally found that requesting an odd amount (ie 190 rather that 200) ensures that I won't get stuck with four 50 euro notes which can be difficult to break for minor purchases.
All that said, if you'd prefer to have the money in hand upon arrival you can head over to any AAA office and purchase currency from them. There will be a slight premium markup applied so you won't get a great exchange rate but for a minimal amout like 200 euros is doesn't amount to much. BTW, they run the transaction thru Wells Fargo, so if you have an account with them you can purchase your foreign currency directly from them.

Are there some restaurants, shops, tourist sights (especially in the in the Dolomites, Cinque Terre and hilltowns) that don't take credit cards?

Even the tiniest shops take credit cards. In my last three trips to Italy, and Europe in general, I’ve only spent cash thrice for a total of less than €100. I mean it’s good to have some cash on hand but no need to be carrying around large amounts of cash like in the past. In Europe all CC payments in shops and restaurants are Tap and go, no need to insert or swipe. Use bancomats (ATM) to get cash, official ones at banks and not freestanding ones. No need to use money changers as their fees are usually astronomical.

Someone else mentioned tips. Tipping in Italy isn’t a part of the culture and some areas see it as an insult even. All eventuale are included in prices. Good luck and happy travels!

Italian merchants must accept credit/debit cards mandatorily by law regardless of amount since 2023. The only exceptions might be the notoriously dishonest tax dodging taxi drivers who will tell you their POS machine is temporarily not working therefore they can only accept cash. Italians don’t leave tips, but if you are one of the Americans who can’t help themselves and must leave a tip, you will need cash because you can’t add a tip to the credit card bill. You might also consider it more convenient to pay cash for small purchases, like an espresso (just over one euro). Of course if they offer a substantial discount for cash, then take it. Remember however that credit cards give the best exchange rate, therefore if the cash discount is less than 5% it is not worth it.Use the card in that case.

There are still hotels in Italy that require you to pay the city tax in cash. Probably not 4-star and 5-star hotels, I would guess, but definitely some 3-star places.

When I took the Best of Italy tour in 2022 I was doing a trial to see how often I could use Apple Pay. I literally used it everywhere including the 3E gelato I got in Venice. I did need coins when I used the public toilette in Verona (lunch stop between Dolomites and Venice) but that was the only place.

The only times I needed cash were to pay a bar bill at the end of our stay at Hotel Pasquale in Cinque Terre (OMG get a limoncello spritz if you are staying here!) and at the Altarocca Resort outside Orvieto. We were told this ahead of time so I had some cash.

I used to go with the 200E amount but since Covid so many people accept contactless payments that it's easier to do that. I just keep the cash as seed money for my next trip.

I'm also a solo traveler so I had a couple of times on my last non-RS tour where I split a meal bill with another solo traveler. Sometimes the restaurants (France) would divide it up, sometimes they would not so I did have to use cash on those occasions.

If you don't currently use ApplePay or GooglePay, I encourage you to do this now. Practice at your local grocery store, pharmacy, restaurants until it feels natural to you. This is the norm in the places I've traveled in Europe.

Thanks, all! I didn't know about the law mandating vendors to accept credit cards! My husband and I have so far not wanted to use ApplePay; I might change my mind on this, but meanwhile we will just use our tap and go credit cards.

hey hey whmscll
so many different answers and opinions here. I know from my experience I got euros before I left here at Wells Fargo bank. I asked for 200 euros in small bills (20, 10, & 5’s), lasted me 5 days in venice and Amsterdam.. when needed more, used bank ATM and asked for odd number like Robert mentioned. didn’t 100 or 50 E bill.
several years ago, landed in rome with no euros, would just stop by ATM off flight. had 3 flights landed and many went to ATM’s (an OMG moment) long long lines, only one ATM opened, other closed (probably no money). borrowed from friend till getting to rome. never again, the small fee to get from local bank is worth the stress I don’t need
when a small amount use your euros. make sure you inform your bank you are traveling to italy with dates, so nothing gets declined. enjoy your vacation and have a great time, don’t forget gelato and pastries
aloha

Someone else mentioned tips. Tipping in Italy isn’t a part of the culture and some areas see it as an insult even. All eventuale are included in prices.

Yes, but... You may need tip money for help with luggage at a hotel or for a server who has been particularly accommodating a couple of Euros, to buy a bus ticket in a kiosk if the card reader is not working.

As cashless as we like to be, there's always some occasion for which we need it.

Good point, Laurel. Yes, I did strive to leave a housekeeping tip. I would just buy a bottle of water to get some change. I was gone for nearly a month so probably spent 30-50 E on tips.

Do consider ApplePay. It is supposedly more secure than using a CC. I do not know if this is true as I am not a tech whiz. I went to a class at the nearby Apple Store last week and the instructor also reiterated this! You do have to set up password or face ID on your phone for the wallet to work. I practiced at the grocery store and picked a lane that had a young checker who could talk me through it if I had difficulties! I will also tell you that I was not sure I wanted to do this but one of the gals at our local Rick Steves travel group nagged me until I did it. I have not looked back!

This is off-topic, but I also recommend downloading the CityMapper app. It's great for Venice, Florence and Rome as you can mark your hotel as "home" and then easily navigate your way back.

“Do consider ApplePay”
We spent 3+ weeks in España and used:
Paper € once for a sports jersey from a street vendor.
Physical credit card zero times.
Apple Pay (2 iPhone, 1 watch) 100% of the time.

As I mentioned above, Italian law requires all merchants to accept digital payments (debit/credit card, Apple Pay, Google pay, etc.) regardless of amount.. There are times however when hard cash is useful. Occasionally you might need a public restroom where you might want to leave a small tip to the cleaning attendant. In most or all cases, you won’t be able to accomplish that with Apple Pay or credit card. Or a bell boy might bring your luggage to your room, in that case you may not be able to compensate the bell boy with a tip using Apple Pay. Although it is not an Italian practice to leave a tip to a restaurant server, maybe the service was so exceptional that you might feel obliged to leave a couple of euro of tip, in that case you will not be able to add the tip to the credit card slip (there is no line to add gratuity in a restaurant credit card slip, in virtually all restaurants in Italy. I’ve seen it only at the restaurant of the Airport Hilton in Rome and even then the server told me to leave cash because otherwise the extra tip goes to the Hilton company and not to the server. The “imposta di soggiorno” (tourist tax) at hotels is generally payable by card at higher end hotels, but at 2 or 3 star hotels sometimes they ask you to pay in hard cash (they don’t want to pay commission to the credit card company on it). Not to mention the Italian taxi drivers whose POS machine invariably malfunctions and is unable to get the wifi signal (don’t get me started on the Italian taxi drivers).

I'd love to get you started on taxi drivers, Roberto.

Does it stem from the family history with ATAF (I don't really want to use the fancy new name)?

Nothing to do with my father working for ATAF.
But how is it that in Florence to travel from my neighborhood near Viale Europa to the Duomo (5 km) the fare can easily exceed 20€, while from the airport to the same Duomo (7.5 km) the fare is about 30€?

I think 4€ per km (basically $6.5/mile) is a bit excessive by any standard.

If their revenue does not exceed 85,000€ a year, they also are beneficiaries of an advantageous tax regime for small businesses (called 'Regime Forfettario") whereby they pay only a flat income tax of 15% (5% in the first 5 years of activity), instead of the ordinary progressive rates of over 40%, and they can't even let me use a credit card because they don't even want to pay 15%?

So basically they take cards only in the morning (to show some business to the taxman) then they stop because they want to make sure their "official" annual revenue does not exceed the 85,000€ and therefore can continue to pay very little taxes.

Note that Italians who have the typical regular job pay 35% on incomes over 28,000€ and 43% on incomes over 50.000€.