attendants in restrooms

Certainly a Euro coin is more than enough. It depends a little bit on the services provide and I generally leave a .5 coin. Some restrooms will have a charge but that should be obvious and it is generally a Euro. It is always a good idea in Europe to have a handful of coins in the range of maybe 5E.

I have been in restrooms where the fee was anywhere from 40cents to one euro. It will be posted if it is a required fee. If it is not the turnstile type that Jeff mentioned, there is often a small table with a dish on it in which to put your coins. If there is no required fee, I tip about 40 or 50cents depending on the cleanliness of the facility, for just a "basic visit" in which the attendant has not done anything specific just for me. Once when I wasn't feeling well the attendant was helpful, getting me a damp cloth for my face, etc., and I tipped her well. Another time I visited a truly dirty facility and I got the attendant's attention (who wasn't busy; she was just sitting there), pointed to the dirty stall, and left no tip at all. One time my husband didn't see anywhere to put the coins so he tried to hand a tip directly to a woman in the men's room, only to find that she was there as a helper to a gentleman who was disabled and had no connection to the facility at all. She was understandably a little startled at first, but after it was sorted out they had a laugh. But I wouldn't go around handing money to random people in restrooms...

I'm not sure about Spain, but in every other part of Europe where I have seen restroom attendants, what you're paying them isn't a tip, but a mandatory fee to use the facility. The fee is clearly displayed, and usually varies from €0,40 to €0,70.

I've shared this story before in previous threads. It's been a few years, so perhaps times have changed. When I was in France (pre-Euro) the fee was slightly different depending upon the, um, need you had to relieve. I only had to "go #1" so I paid X francs (I forget the sum) and proceeded to head toward a stall, which happened to be the nearest vacant toilet. The female attendant followed me into the men's room and scolded me. She assumed I was trying to cheat the system and do something more than I had paid for. We're talking about 20 cents American in difference here. I'm cheap but I'm not THAT cheap! She waited and observed to make sure I used only a urinal and didn't try to sneak into a stall again. No lasting permanent mental damage, but the episode never leaves my mind when the restroom attendant question comes up on this site.

When I first travelled around France the attandant definitely got a "tip" and not a fee. For that she (always a she) sometimes provided soap and a towel. Usually it was just a way of avoiding the evil eye