Money Spending

Preferred Form

Large shops, petrol stations and hotels are most likely to take credit cards but Germans are still a cold cash society, so expect to pay with paper. The plethora of ATMS will kindly oblige you with adequate Euros.

Changing Your Money

All the major international brands of plastic - MasterCard, Visa and American Express - are becoming more widely accepted, but don't assume that you'll be able to use your card to pay for things; inquire first. ATMs are ubiquitous throughout Germany and you should have no problem accessing your credit or debit account back home. Foreign currency, including travellers cheques, can be exchanged at banks and special exchange shops in large towns.

Tipping

Restaurant bills always include a service charge (Bedienung), but most people add 5% or 10% unless the service was abhorrent. At hotels, bellhops are given about €1.00 per bag and it's also nice to leave a few euros for the room cleaners. Tip bartenders about 5% and taxi drivers around 10%.

Money Tips

It's easy to spend lots of money in Germany. If you've got some sort of rail pass and restrict yourself to cheap takeaways or prepare your own food, it's possible to get by on less than €50.00 a day. Those with more capacious wallets, wishing to eat at mid-range restaurants most days, to travel freely by public transport and to stay in mid-range hotels with fluffy duvets should count on dropping at least €100.00 a day.

Currency Notes

Euro notes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500. It is often difficult to get change for a €500.00 note.

Currency Coins

One euro is divided into 100 cents or centimes. Coins of 1, 2 and 5 centimes are copper-coloured; coins of 10, 20 and 50 centimes are gold-coloured; 1 and 2 euro coins are gold-and-silver coloured. It's a good idea to keep a supply of various coins for parking meters, laundrettes, tolls etc.