Hi my wife and I are traveling to Rome for a week in September. Are ATM easy to find? Bankomat/BNL. TIA
Mike
ATMs are easy to find. If you are looking for a specific bank, that may add more challenges.
ATMs are everywhere. Every bank will have one at their entrance. Remember ATMs are for the convenience of the locals and not tourists. We just take advantage of the fact the the locals use ATMs. They are everywhere.
BNL (Banca Nazionale del Lavoro) is part of the BNP Paribas Group, a French multinational bank.
Go to GoogleMaps
Zoom on the city of Rome.
In the search box enter: BNL BNP Paribas
Et voilà, all branches of the bank you are looking for will be displayed.
Always make sure it's actually a bank ATM and NOT a third party machine
And find a machine inside an open bank, not one out on the street.
Most banks have a glassed in foyer with ATM’s inside.
Sometimes on a Sunday evening, an atm may be empty of cash, so get your money before then.
Thank you all for your help
Hello,
When you use the ATM, NEVER let it do the conversion for you. When taking out euros, it will ask if you want them to do the conversion, also choose NO - you will save a lot that way. And keep your receipt. All ATM's whether at the airport, on a street in front of a store, as a newsstand, or at a bank will ask you the same thing- always say no.
Unless something has changed recently, that is not our experience. We have found a couple of ATMs over the past few years that will offer to do the numbers in dollar but the majority (our experience) is straight forward. Ask for Euro and that is what you get generally in larger bills. 50 and 100 euro bills in not uncommon if asking for a couple of hundred euro. For some reason many Americans seem to be adverse to large bills -- anything over 20. (I have a theory as to why) Just use big bills at appropriate place and remember there are 1, 2, and 5 euro coins. Use them.
I've never seen a 5 EUR coin. Is that something new? Switzerland has 5 CHF coins.
I think the only €5 coins are collection items, so you wont likely see them.