Trick to getting water in Europe?

Don't know where you are from but it would be very, very uncouth. Think about !! Would you take a McDonald sandwich into a restaurant? I have never had problem getting water in a restaurant. Ask for it. Ice is another issue since the serving of ice with beverages is not common. This is called adjusting to local customs and culture. Try it, it might be beneficial.

PS You might read - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/water-please -- Basically the same question.

You can certainly fill your water bottle at the sink in a restroom of a restaurant, museum, helado/gelato shop, department store, etc. and drink from it when you are out and about, or when you buy food to go and eat in a park or other public area. But when seated at a restaurant, just order a bottle of water or other beverage.

I'd not bring my own bottled water to a restaurant. We would just buy a liter of water for a couple of € when traveling in Spain.

When you arrive to Paris, you can refill your water bottle at a public drinking fountain,
or ask for a carafe of water when ordering meals at a restaurant.

I don't understand what you mean with being "impossible" to get water and ice in a restaurant... all of them do sell water and ice is more than not often available, moreover taking into account from Jun to Oct this is a hot and humid city. This of course is not to say that very small hole-in-the-wall eateries might not have ice but cold drinks they do.

Three comments:

1.) You wouldn't take any food product into a restaurant: firstly is socially uncouth and not accepted (at least here in Catalonia), and secondly the restaurant can legally ask you not to. In fact, some businesses, ie. cinemas and theatres (and also some restaurants) have signs posted indicating it's not allowed to eat food not ordered in the premises. While in truth the measure is specifically targeting 'solid food', it technically also includes drinks, as they're within the "food" category.

2.) Most public fountains (>90%) offer drinkable water -those that don't (normally located in trails in the hills around the city) have clear signs indicating so. HOWEVER... the coast of Catalonia has very hard water so it's treated to make it drinkable (health-wise) but taste-wise isn't that great as contains a lot of calcium. You'll notice that when you wash your hear or when you do laundry (and not use decalcifier). So you know :))

3.) There are plenty of supermarket and convenience stores literally everywhere. Bottled mineral water cost less than 50 cents for a 2 litre unit... (NOT so in the small convenience stores in Les Rambles or around busy tourists sites, there they sell soda cans and 1 litre water bottles at 2€ and more!)

lastly, since we're talking fountains and drinking water...

Did you know that legend says that anyone who drinks from the Canaletes Fountain, at the top of Les Rambles next to Plaça Catalunya, will fall in love with Barcelona and return to the city time and time again? Well, you know now so what are you waiting for? LOL! The fountain is one of the symbols of Barcelona, a meeting place for locals and visitors alike where people also flock to celebrate the victories of the Catalan team, Futbol Club Barcelona, a.k.a. Barça. The followers of Barça have gathered here since the early 20th century. As long ago as the 1930s Barça fans, known as "culers", flocked to Les Rambles to find out their team's scores. These would be written on a blackboard right in front of the offices of the newspaper "La Rambla", which stood on this spot. The name Canaletes dates back to the 14th century, and refers to the water channels that brought water down from the Collserola Ridge to Barcelona. Later on, in the 18th century, a university known as the Estudis Generals was built on this site and the water jet was used to create a fountain. The demolition of the university at the end of the 19th century resulted in the construction of the Canaletes fountain in its present form: an iron monument comprising four water spouts which are surmounted by the shield of Barcelona. The fountain is crowned by a streetlamp with four arms.

Picture: http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Deschenes.Barcelona.Ramblas2.jpg

PS... ah yes, it's common practice among many restaurants located in very crowded areas -especially in the centre- that restrooms are reserved only for customers. In some (ie. many fast food eateries, the restroom door needs a code which is printed on your receipt, so as to ensure only customers use it). The reason, while ethically debatable, is very obvious: the sheer amount of people passing thru the area and the health requirements imposed on restaurants generate a sizable added cost on staff. Having said that, some very busy restaurants -especially some fast food places- do certainly not keep up with those requirements, I can assure you that!.... so in short kholl25, not all restrooms are "open" to non customers to fill up your bottle.

Getting tap water in a restaurant is often impossible (I have heard varying reports on the legality, some people have told me it is illegal, some say it is just culturally inappropriate to serve tap water. Maybe this varies by region? I don't know, but the end result is the same - you will often have a very hard time getting tap water in a restaurant in Spain).

Ice has never been a problem. Any restaurant with a bar has ice and will bring it to you if asked for the bottle water you bought from them. Bottles are cold anyway. My experience, I am sure there are variations.

Buying a bottle of water in the restaurant doesn't seem all that expensive to me. I seem to remember it being about 1 Euro? Given that a glass of wine is 3 Euros there and like $10 at home...it all works out for me. Free water, expensive wine at home. Paid (cheaply) water, cheap wine in Europe. Actually, given my wine habits I come out waaaay ahead on this deal ;)

As far as bringing your own bottle - don't. I mean, if I am out touring and have a water bottle with me, it will be in my bag in the restaurant, but I don't drink from it while in the restaurant unless it is an emergency.

Ah sorry guys, if you were referring to "tap" water that's indeed correct Mira, serving tap water is not allowed in Catalonia.

I'm currently traveling in Spain, but I haven't gotten to Catalunya yet. I've taken advantage of the menu del dia several times, and water was included then. I made my peace with paying for bottled water long ago, but I still don't like to do it when the local water is perfectly drinkable. I think I've generally been charged 2 euros for bottled water, in amounts ranging from about 0.3 to 0.5 liters. That's in restaurants; bars are cheaper.

I always order agua sin gas, sometimes remembering to specify "fria". If I omit the adjective and the server doesn't ask, I sometimes get free tap water at room temperature. "Fria" has always produced cold bottled water.

When you get to France, then the law there requires restaurants to provide water if you request "une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plait." Public taps can be found somewhat randomly in parks and market streets, etc.

In Paris locals pretty much all drink tap water; many restaurants have chilled carafes of water they bring to the table on request. This is bog standard. There is never a reason in France to order bottled water in a restaurant even high end ones.

In Italy that is not the custom. The water is fine. Fill your bottles at fountains etc but in restaurants you order bottled water. I always order it with gas because I once observed a restaurant filling its bottles at the town pump. I think that is rare, but I am not paying for tap water.

In restaurants buy bottled water in places that don't serve tap water. Get your hydration needs met otherwise by buying water in stores or better yet just filling your bottles from the faucet. IN apartments I half fill the bottle and freeze it and then top it off. I slip one of those terry cloth bath mitts over the bottom to absorb condensation. and put it in a plastic bag and carry it in purse or messenger bag and half cold water all day. IN Rome there are public fountains to refill the bottle. IN Paris there are dozens of public fountains called 'wallace fountains' to fill your bottle or you can fill it in the hotel or apartment sink.

And yes it is in appropriate to carry your own drinks into a restaurant.

Update: all my comments above were referred specifically to the city of Barcelona and/or the greater region of Catalonia. I'm pointing this out because I just realized your question was more generically referring to "Europe". My mistake, sorry.

I'm not sure where you are walking, but we've found stopping to rest and including a nice cold bottle of water when we do, to be one of the joys of travel. At restaurants we always buy sparkling water. We never carry water with us. We feel that being forced to stop is a good thing for the pacing of our daily excursions.

For our room we have both sparkling and still, which we buy at a market. In spite of the good quality of tap water in many locations, I usually use bottled water to brush my teeth. My digestive system doesn't seem to think that most tap water is meant for it unless it is boiled for tea or coffee. Even when I lived in Germany, I only brushed my teeth with tap water and used bottled water to drink. That's probably where I picked up my addiction to sparkling water.

On our trip to Istanbul, Greece and a bit of Italy in 2014, I was surprised to find little refrigerators in every room we rented, even the cheapest and most humble. So we were able to keep our "at home" water cold. On my trip this year to the UK, I was also surprised to find that only one of my rooms had a little refrigerator in it. Of course the apartment I rented in London had one, as have all the other apartments we've rented. But as far as rooms, it's been a mixed bag in all the other countries we've visited.

This is one of the kinds of questions that puzzle me. Doesn't everything you get in a restaurant cost more than it does in a grocery store? Compared to the total cost of any trip, the cost of buying bottled water in a restaurant is nothing.

I've never been to Spain, so I can't answer that one. But every other part of Europe I have never had issues with getting tap water in a restaurant at no charge. Most have served the tap water in a carafe or bottle with a stopper and the water was chilled and more was provided quickly and without question as the bottles were emptied. I still find ice to be difficult to get though with mixed drinks rarely having more than two or three cubes and never in the chilled water or sodas served in restaurants (except for those American fast food places that have installed the self serve drink machines).

Sometimes I did order sparkling water just for a change, and it was only a couple Euro a liter bottle in most places. England is where I have paid the most per bottle for sparkly water on my trips.

Ice cubes are as common as straws in Spain. Even in winter, most cold drinks are served with several large ice cubes.

If not drinking beer or wine, I just order bottled water.