First time traveling to Europe - CC questions

[bourgogne]

I can understand if this is ones first time of doing a tour but I bet you will fly solo next round.  there is way too much to see and the only way to find your special places is to do it yourself imo.  paris is a jewel of a city, my favorite city by far and I have hit most.  london is also great but paris is very special.  food, wine and art like no other.  need weeks just in paris alone, I spend 1-2 days in the Orsay alone.  cannot wait to hear what you liked best, please do report back.  if there is one wine bar to recommend I would have to go with L'Avant Comptoir in the 6eme, fantastic place and energy.  Jardin du Luxembourg is a must as well as the Palais Garnier that I already mentioned.  putting how you might feel about mr allen for the moment, nothing will put you in the mood for paris faster than midnight in paris, I love this little film.  even thought you are not doing spain Vicky Cristina Barcelona is also good for getting in the mood.  the trick is to shift from being an american in the us and view life as they do.  wait until you have the bread and pastries there and the croissant's.  my god, the croissant's!  I could go on and on, its the reason I keep going back.  you will never look at american the same way again

[Anonymous]

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 Another thing to consider is, when asked if you want to pay in the local currency or the USD, I found it was almost ALWAYS beneficial to use the local currency when using my CC for transaction's. It seems that when you pay in USD you are paying the exchange value that the vendor determines (often this exchange value cover's the fee's of exchanging currency) while if you use the local currency you come out ahead.

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Yes, this is very important.  Never pay in dollars.  I should have mentioned it in my earlier list.

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Right, and I'm pretty sure you can switch "almost ALWAYS" to "ALWAYS"   (unless there is a huge dollar fall in the few days after purchase).   The issue with Dynamic Currency Conversion is that the merchant is setting the rate, and they do this so they can make a profit.

The one good thing about using Amex abroad (with no FTF) is that they don't support DCC so it is not an issue.

[Anonymous]

Paris is an absolutely amazing city, and you will definately enjoy it! The food is great, wine is great, scenery...I could go on all day about it. Although the first couple times we went to Europe we were on a "pre-planned touristy trip" the last time we went we didn't plan at all and I think I enjoyed it much more. Not having a pre-set schedule and getting to simply wander the cities at our own pace was great. You will enjoy it either way though!

I recommend doing research before you go to maximize your experience, research places to eat, thing's to see, and I always like to pay close attention to what the locals like to do. My first time to Europe was an eye-opening experience and I wasn't sure what to expect, the first place I visited was London and I remember thinking, wow they're driving on the wrong-side of the road, and you order food at the bar when in a pub rather than being "waited on". And I realized, none of this is wrong, it's just different than what I am used to, and it made me enjoy thing's more by simply appreciating the differences in our cultures.

Amsterdam, is also a fantastic city and is so full of life. I was there in November on my honeymoon (last leg of the trip after spending two weeks in Europe in multiple countries) Amsterdam is like no other city I have been to, in a good way. There is so much energy there, so much life, and the people are SO friendly! I actually had some of the best Chinese food I've ever eaten there..lol. We enjoyed sitting in a bar in the heart of the red-light district by a canal and just people watching.

You will have a great time! It's funny, I have many friend's and co-worker's who had never been out of the country, and they went on a trip to Europe and now they all have the travel bug, and can't wait to go back.