So you’ve prepared everything you need for your stay in Paris, double-checking everything packed in your luggage, going over your itinerary to the hotel, and making sure you’ve got the flight times correctly memorized. But one question remains: how and where am I going to change my money into euros?
As a general rule of thumb, for money exchange in Paris, you should try and avoid changing your money at any train stations or airports so as to not incur any needlessly high fees (specifically, commissions). Instead, visit any of the several money exchangers dotted around central Paris. Keep an eye out for good Google reviews online to verify, at least preliminarily, the legitimacy of these establishments. While you may want to also compare exchange rates, it can be difficult to properly ascertain if there are any additional fees when a lot of the websites out there are only in French.
Here at Comptoir Change Opéra, we have no commissions. The exchange rates marked on our website and displayed at our establishments are the same ones you will get at the counter.
HOW DO MONEY EXCHANGERS SET THEIR EXCHANGE RATES?
A commonly recurring question we get from new clients is about why our rates do not match the ones they may see on Google from a quick search (“eur to usd”, “gbp to eur”, etc.) This is because those rates displayed on Google are interbank rates, meaning the rates at which the banks exchange currencies between them. These are rates that unfortunately no one outside of banks can practice, not if they want their company to be sustainable profit-wise in the long-term.
As a final note, remain cautious of tourist-dense areas during your stay here. Like any other country, these areas will often have people who may approach you to try and sell you a product or a service. That goes doubly for any individual trying to get you to quickly change your money into euros, at what they argue is “an interesting rate”. These individuals may even try their hand at this kind of scam near money exchangers. Changing your money at money exchangers is the only way to make sure the currency you are getting in return is legitimate.
You can find us in front of the magnificent Opéra Garnier at 8 Place de l’Opéra, 75002 Paris, right next to the Lancel store.
•Monday to Friday: 9:15am – 6:15pm
•Saturday: 10:00am – 5:30pm
•Sunday: Closed
Looking for some places to visit around the Opéra sector? Try:
•Opéra Garnier
•Galeries Lafayette (Visit their Le Gourmet store for French gourmet products)
•Lindt shop (whilst not a French brand, they have good quality chocolate products)
•Grévin museum (wax museum)
•Perfume museum
•Cafés
•Big Bus tours (Hop-on, Hop-off bus tours)