Changing Cash

[Banyuls]

[b]Hi
Does anyone know where I can get a decent exchange rate on Sterling cash into Euros I don't mind going into Barcelona if I can get non-tourist rate [/b]

[Kate]

This thread might be useful
http://forum.anglophone-direct.com/ftopic13402.php

[martyn94]

This thread might be useful
http://forum.anglophone-direct.com/ftopic13402.php

I am afraid that it probably isn't (it's mostly by me, about transfers bank to bank). I think the best advice is "don't start from here". Assuming that you have a French bank account, or know someone who has, can you wait until you can pay your cash into a UK bank, or persuade someone with a UK bank account to transfer the same amount on your behalf (or to pay it into your sterling account if any, and transfer it yourself) and then use the cash to reimburse them idc? (Either seems easier, if possible, than going to Barcelona, even if that seemed likely to help much, if the amounts involved are enough to make the trip worthwhile.)

If not, you will inevitably get a worse rate for cash, though others here may know where it's least worse.

But I find it hard to make much sense of this without knowing the amount at stake (which I really don't want to). If it is so much that it is worth going to Barcelona to get a slightly better rate for notes, it's likely to be worth going back to the UK to get a better rate again bank-to-bank. If it is just that you find the rate-for-notes painful, you might as well just bite the bullet. "Tourist rates" are not low just because you are a tourist and they saw you coming: selling notes for notes is fundamentally more expensive and risky than transferring bank to bank, and you are always going to pay for that.