Using euro's in London

Some touristy places will take Euros, but they will give you a lousy exchange rate. Its best to use pounds.

That's sort of like asking if you can buy things in Canada using the US Dollar and vice versa. The places that will take it will give you the worst rate possible.

In Britain, changing to the Euro was a political issue. There was an organized "Save the Pound" effort that won and kept Britain from switching to the currency. While there may be some places that accept Euros, $, or Yen, the average place you want to spend your money will expect Lbs.

Just FYI, you can use euros at the shops in the airport, but they will give you your change in sterling. And as everyone else has pointed out, you'll probably get a crappy exchange rate too. However, if the line in, say, the Harrods shop is considerably shorter than the line at the bureau de change, it might be worth it just to save time.

Thanks for all of your responses...we'll buy British pounds before getting to London.