Colmar is only 30mins away by train/ 50mins by coach so itās worth a short visit! They also have a really high density of Michelin starred restaurantsā¦ Itās definitely worth a day trip.
āWe chose Colmar for its geographical location, close to Germany and Switzerland, and for its cache,ā explained Wang Tian, āāchef and producer. At this time, the LavandiĆØres bistro in Colmar was converted into a gourmet Chinese restaurant.
Colmar does seem like a bit of an obscure choice though the first season was based on a lovely beach in Thailand
Some areas of france has not adopted contactless as well as us Brits, but where contactless is available Apple Pay seems to be available with no limits. Monzo generally accepted everywhere with no problems (although some businesses do not like card payments under ā¬10).
Just back from Paris, didnāt have any major issues. Survived with card 90% of the time. Few things though:
Contactless could be hit or miss, one min my card wouldnāt work, but my wifeās wouldā¦ then vice versa
Some ATMās point blank refused the card and would spit it back out.
Whilst other ATMs would give you their rate for GBP to euro with no option to ignore it
Can I bump this up by asking if anyone has recently visited France and used Monzo ?
Did you have any issues ?
I had an issue years ago (before Monzo) with buying petrol from a 24/7 pump, it wouldnāt accept the cards we had (it could have been the petrol station, it wasnāt an Auchan or Carrefour pump, has anyone recently Monzo at a 24/7 pump. A way round it is to fill up when I see a manned pump a d pay cash.
Used the card to buy tram and bus tickets from the ticket machine without issue. Also used it in restaurants, shops and cafes in Nice and Monaco without any issues.
Monzo or Starling/ Halifax Clarity card are my choice of cards to use for spending abroad, I took Monese and N26 and despite getting the MasterCard FX you canāt add receipts like with Monzo.
I wouldnāt bother, unless you have some lying around already. You can always withdraw some at a cash machine once there if you feel better having some euros on you.
My experience in south-east France this summer was that paying by card and contactless was as wide-spread as the UK. So in most places, but not all market stalls etc.
It is very widespread, Iām sure I saw some stall holders with a machine that may have done contactless but I never tested it. Car park machines also use it and also updated so you enter your car reg too.
Oh yes, there are plenty of stall holders that have iZettles or other portable contactless & chip readers. Itās just not 100%, so if youāre going to the market, you definitely want to take some cold, hard cash with you.
Iām visiting Disneyland Paris later this month and have used my monzo card for all card transactions every time Iāve been to France previously (multiple trips since about 2017), but have gotten into the habit of exchanging some currency to carry with me before leaving the UK as I like the security of having both cash and card in case the worst happens/emergencies etc. Also thereās often random little drinks/snacks stalls that only take cash and itās easier for me and my partner to sort the bill out in restaurants when paying in cash.
I always hunt about to get the best exchange rate I can, but now Iām wondering if it would be just as good to withdraw from an ATM with my monzo card when I get there due to the mastercard rate? Any advice appreciated.
If youāre going to Paris, finding an ATM shouldnāt be an issue. The MasterCard rate has always been the best rate Iāve gotten vs any currency exchange Iāve tried, so on most of my trips to Europe I just bring my Monzo + other fintech bank cards rather than exchanging money beforehand. Iāve done this for 10+ trips with no problems, even in cash-heavy countries like Croatia.
ATM withdrawals within the EEA are free, so you donāt have to worry about limits. But some ATMs may charge for withdrawals (not a charge by Monzo), so see if you can avoid those. This thread is pretty helpful.
Of course, you may wish to keep some cash on hand if you feel like there will be instances where you wonāt be able to access an ATM before you need cash. I usually just keep whatever euros I have left over from my previous trip (ā¬20-50) in case I want to buy food or drinks at the airport or coach interchange upon arrival.
I still have 200 left over from my last trip to Europe in 2012. Just hope the notes havenāt changed, like the UK ones have!
Trips to Ireland, Holland (Amsterdam), and France (Paris) before the summer, should clear most of that, although I plan to use Monzo for most purchases, where possible.
Thanks, thatās helpful! I have about ā¬40 left over from a trip to Spain last summer so I think Iām going to go ahead and use my monzo card to withdraw however much cash Iāll need when I arrive in France.
If you travel there by train, there are several EUR ATMs at St Pancras station (next to the piano), so you can withdraw currencies at the MasterCard exchange rate (same you would do in France).