I’m hoping to have some Euro coins with me when I land in Milan for a 2 week vacation. I use a credit union and I am already asking a relative to request currency from her Bank of America account for paper Euros. I don’t think they will provide coins.
I know I can get a few coins here and there in Italy but was hoping I could get a roll of Eurooins. Has anyone done this and if so how/where? Thanks.
No need whatsoever. Get your Euro bills (ahead of time or at the ATM when you get there), then go to a bar at the airport, buy an espresso using your euro bills, and they will give you change in coins. If you need more, go to another bar (or even the same bar) and do the same again. Then repeat as many times as you wish. Within one hour you will have plenty of change and, after so many espresso cups, you will be fully awake in spite of the jet lag.
You made me laugh. Yes I will follow your suggestions if necessar. I am traveling with a family of 3 and hoped to avoid going from place to place making small purchases so I have coins to use a restroom . As shocking as it may seem…I …don’t drink…coffee, tea etc so the caffe scene is not as appealing to me as if I longed for the famous Italian espresso or cafe. I’m probably worrying about nothing—but fear of restroom shortage is real !
If you are in a rural area, perhaps you might need coins to access a restroom,
but in major cities, I think they have converted over to tap with card to pay for
restroom access.
Also, you can obviously get currency from an ATM once in country. Lots of
posts about this topic on the forum.
I doubt you'll be able to get coins since you can't convert coins back into US currency. Only bills.
As noted, most toilets I've had to pay for in the past couple of years take credit cards. Mostly contactless.
You could always ask your hotel for change.
See if you can exchange one of your Euro bills for coins at the exchange at the airport? If that does’t work, you could try a bank in Milan. The hotel suggestion is a good one.
What makes you think you need exact change to pay for a restroom? If there is one place where they have an abundance of coins available and are actually very happy when you want to pay a €1 “purchase” with a €20 bill, it’s paid restrooms. Gives them a chance to off load some of their coins. They will probably even be happy to exchange a €50 bill for 50 €1 coins.
Getting some cash from BoA is fine. It will cost you something less than 1.5% more than using some Italian bank ATM's. If all you are getting is a few hundred hours nothing wrong with spending a couple of dollars for peace of mind.
The cash only pay toilets if you did encounter one will probably be 2 euro at most (probably). So if you have found a couple of 1 euro coins or a 2 euro coin you have the first emergency covered. You can build up to 3 emergencies pretty quickly ..... even at the airport if you change planes in the EU; each of you buy a snack with a 10 euro note.
Have a great trip.
I am always in search of toilet coins as I always seem to come across toilets when the credit card and change machines are down.
This is what I did when I was in Austria this past March. I stopped in one of the many grocery stores and bought a bottle of water and paid with a 20 Euro bill and kindly asked if the cashier had enough coins to pay my change back in all coins. I explained with a laugh that I like to make sure I have cions for the toilets. She happily obliged and I got all my change back in coins. I still have coins leftover for future trips.
I am aware that Americans buy rolls of quarters for the washing machines, rolls are not a thing here. If you could convince somebody to sell you a lot of one € coins it would be in a plastic bag. Careful that somebody hasn't slipped in old pre-Euro coins or foreign ones. Really it is a solution in search of a problem.. Really.
Nigel; at least in the Netherlands, rolls with coins are definitely a thing. It’s how shops get their small change. In the Netherlands certain ATM’s are outfitted specifically so you can withdraw money in the form of rolls with coins. With the exception of €0,01 and €0,02 coins, all coins are available at these special ATM’s.
I agree with you however that this really shouldn’t be an issue. Just go to a paid restroom with an attendant and they’ll be more than happy to exchange a €20 bill or even an €50 bill for small change.
Have traveled many of the usual, and less usual, spots in Italy over the last 10 years, to be honest I do not recall ever paying to use a restroom, as plenty of free ones (at restaurants, museums, etc.) are available. Yes, at a train station, maybe, you might pay, but I do not recall a challenge every time I had to go. You can come up with lots of small purchases (a bottle of water, a snack, something from a bakery) that result in a few coins to have on hand. Plus, anymore, if they charge to use a restroom, they also take credit card as tap.
As someone mentioned, currency exchanges in the U.S. only exchange bills, no coins. If you know anybody who as been to Europe, ask them if they have coins left over. Otherwise, you’ll need to get coins when you’re over there.
Buy a sandwich, candy bar, soda, juice, piece of fruit, whatever and break a bill. Believe it or not, coins can accumulate quickly and next thing you know, you’ll have 20€ worth that you need to spend.
I'm with Paul, I haven't had many occasions to use a paid toilet, I think, it's great to pop into a bar and buy a cornetto or coca and use theirs.....MAYBE the fully flushing room toilet at the Colosseo stop in Rome? And definitely during the Tour de France last year in Nice, the closest was a very popular and easily accessible public toilet....but that was more of necessity of quickness than I couldn't find a bar to buy something from and use theirs.....
I don't know how familiar you are with coffee shops in Italy, but the reason people here are saying you can "pop into a bar" is that it really is that quick --- typically, you or someone in your family orders juice or sparkling water or whatever at the counter and drinks it right there, standing up. Simultaneously, you ask to use the toilet. So, it isn't a long process of sitting at a table, ordering, getting a check, paying, etc just so you can use the bathroom. I am right with you in your concern about finding a toilet and maybe needing a coin for it --- I am still a bit nervous about it before every single trip, but it always works out.
I'd probably make a couple of purchases in the Milan airport, just to have a few coins to start with.
Gee, I've never had a problem getting coins in Europe. In fact, I've had quite the opposite problem, I accumulate too many coins. But then, I travel mostly in Germany, and there, cash is more commonly used. Since I'm not familiar with the coins, I tend to give out notes instead of figuring out what coins to give out, and I get back more coins. Pretty soon I'm carrying around five pounds of coins.
And the euro coins are so easy to understand. They're based on 1, 2, 5. Small copper coins for 1, 2, and 5 euro cent, 10, 20, and 50 brass (light brown) coins, and 1 and 2 euro coins with with brass or silver centers. Actually restaurants tend to round everything to the nearest 10 cent, so unless you go to grocery stores, you might not ever see the 1, 2, and 5 cent coins.
But the solution I finally found was to hold the coins in my curled hand, like a roll of coins, so I could see the edges. The 1 and 5, despite being very small, both have smooth edges, but the size difference is obvious. The 2 has a circumferential groove around the edge; almost looks like two thin coins stuck together.
The 10 and 50 have continuous notches, but the 50 is noticeably bigger. The 20 only has only a few, 7, notches spread out around the circumference.
Lastly, the two euro coin has continuous fine milling around the edge; the one euro coin has intermittent fine milling.
The 2 euro coin and the 50 cent coin are almost the same size and could be confused, but the 50 cent coin has those continuous big notches around the edge.
I have some euro coins at home, brought back from a recent trip. If you were in Denver, I would just suggest you come out to one of our monthly meetings, and I would sell you some. But I've never heard of a San Diego group.
Okay, I have 20 euro in 2 euro coins and 10 euro in 1 euro coins. This should be sufficient for 15 to 30 trips till the loo. Feel free to drop by and pick them up.
I travel all over Europe a fair amount, and I can not remember the last time I encountered a pay toilet - it's probably been 10-15 years since I came across one (and as a man of a certain age, who likes to stay hydrated and also enjoys a beer now and then, I use bathrooms often - probably more often than the OP...I know, sorry, TMI). While I'm sure there are still some pay toilets around somewhere, they are rapidly vanishing. I bet these days plenty of tourists have never seen one.
It sounds like the OP is concerned about their first few minutes upon arrival in Italy - that is, in a major airport. There are free toilets in every major Italian airport, just like at home.
You're going to end up with a pocket full of coins soon enough just from organic spending, without forcing yourself to jump through hoops to start your trip with a roll of coins.
I'd suggest you cross this off your list of worries - honestly, it's not a real-world concern.
You will rarely encounter the need for a pay toilet if you use the toilet each time you’re in a museum or in a cafe. My small hotels are usually very central, so I stop in it during a break, if needed. I am usually using coins to buy a gelato a few times during the trip because I rarely need a coin.
My biggest challenge when I go to Europe, including Italy where I go at least once a year, is not to have too few coins, but to get rid of those I constantly have in my pocket. The smallest euro bill denomination is 5€, so, if you are like me, and often make small purchases under 5€ using cash (like an espresso, a bottle of water, a gelato, a glass of anything) you will accumulate so many coins on an average day, that you'll want to get rid of as many as you can as often as you can. I wish you lived closer to me, so that I could download some € coins to you. No matter I hard I try to get rid of them, I always end up coming back home with too many euro coins on me.
I travel all over Europe a fair amount, and I can not remember the
last time I encountered a pay toilet - it's probably been 10-15 years
since I came across one ...
Paid in Vienna and in Hungary in the last 30 days.
Some public toilets require a euro or so in Italy, for example at Florence SMN station. Other locations have a cleaning lady which collects it, so it's not an automatic gate system (some of which accept digital payments). I wouldn't worry about that. You will have plenty of coins with you after a day in Italy, if you make small purchases in cash. And if you need a euro, just go to the closest bar and buy something small with a 5 or 10 euro bill. Just carry some euro bills with you and don't rely exclusively on digital payments like Apple or Google pay or cards, because sometimes cash is helpful to have.
Hi there, many fun posts in this thread & lots of easy, good ideas!
Another place we needed coins in Italy was to plug those meters inside churches to light up frescos (and painting, usually Caravaggio). I'm still bummed we ran out at one church in Rome.... So I will be heading to a bar with my E20 note to get some change next time! I would say Germany (this May) and Rome, (Dec 23) both required about the same amount of cash, for example at the gift shops inside churches.
Pay toilets are definitely a thing nowadays, every one I used recently in London wanted me to tap and pay (even in a public park).
And at the Munich train station, it was definitely pay to pee. I first saw this many years ago in Swiss train stations, where in fact there were two prices and entrances depending on ... well, use your imagination. I don't know if there is accommodation for someone who starts out at the lower price point and then ...
