My wife and I went to Europe in October of 2000 before the Euro was introduced, specifically we spent a week in London and a week in Italy. But what we found was that everything in Britain was a lot more expensive in terms of real cost, and in Italy, everything was a lot less expensive, and given that one US dollar was equal to 1/2 a British pound, but 2,000 Italian Lira, I wasn't too surprised. But having not been back since, I'm curious what effect the conversion to the Euro has had in this area? Obviously the Euro is much stronger against the US dollar now, so it would be more costly going to either country, but I guess what I'm wondering from anyone who lives in Europe or travels there regularly, is there still a large disparity between costs between countries on the Euro relative to one another, or has that equalized? For example, two entrees & 1 bottle of wine in London ran $90, 2 entrees, 2 appetizers, 1 bottle of wine, 1 bottle of water & 2 deserts in Florence ran $25.
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Curious about costs of traveling to Europe relative to the pre-Euro days.?
- Thread starter jammie
- Start date
voicefromparis
New member
Prices have gone up since the euro was introduced. London is still more expensive than anywhere else generally. You will be lucky to eat at McDonalds for two people for the equivalent of 25$ USD. There are always disparities between areas and countries. I do believe that they are less noticible now. Used to be that Portugal was cheap, not so as much anymore.
Prices in the Euro zone increased dramatically in the fist year or so. For example, something that cost 5 German Marks on December 31st should have coost 2 1/2 Euros on January 1st. Instead it cost 3 Euros. The prices increased over the next year so that an item that cost 5 Marks quickly cost 5 Euros. It didn't affect large purchases like automobiles as much, but did affect everyday items.
Prices will never be equalised as every country in Europe has a different standard of living and a different tax system. Eating out in London is hugely more expensive than eating out here in Spain. Italy is less than the UK but more expensive than Spain. A good bottle of wine in England will cost about 5 pounds, but here in Spain I could buy three bottles for that price. However, Germany and France will be dearer than Spain but cheaper than the UK. Fuel costs are very expensive across parts of Europe, but even though Spain is in the euro, fuel here is about 20% less.
The big benefit for countries who have the euro is, there are no exchange rates whilst travelling through countries. There are also no customs to drive through, every border is open. None of that applies to the UK.
In the UK mortgage rates have been much higher because they didn't join the Euro currency,
The big benefit for countries who have the euro is, there are no exchange rates whilst travelling through countries. There are also no customs to drive through, every border is open. None of that applies to the UK.
In the UK mortgage rates have been much higher because they didn't join the Euro currency,
Prices will never be equalised as every country in Europe has a different standard of living and a different tax system. Eating out in London is hugely more expensive than eating out here in Spain. Italy is less than the UK but more expensive than Spain. A good bottle of wine in England will cost about 5 pounds, but here in Spain I could buy three bottles for that price. However, Germany and France will be dearer than Spain but cheaper than the UK. Fuel costs are very expensive across parts of Europe, but even though Spain is in the euro, fuel here is about 20% less.
The big benefit for countries who have the euro is, there are no exchange rates whilst travelling through countries. There are also no customs to drive through, every border is open. None of that applies to the UK.
In the UK mortgage rates have been much higher because they didn't join the Euro currency,
The big benefit for countries who have the euro is, there are no exchange rates whilst travelling through countries. There are also no customs to drive through, every border is open. None of that applies to the UK.
In the UK mortgage rates have been much higher because they didn't join the Euro currency,