I don’t normally recommend coming to Paris with money to exchange if you can help it, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. I’ve listed some exchange bureaus in the touristy areas of Paris (you can NOT exchange money in local banks), but their rates are pretty horrible.
Yesterday someone I met had $2000 to exchange into euros. The official rate was €0.74. The agency at Rue de Rivoli (near BHV) was paying €0.65 plus tacking on a 4% commission (BTW, there is always commission, it’s just sometimes hidden in the exchange rate).
She may have been able to bargain on the commission if she hadn’t given up her $2000 all at once, but I did manage to talk the jerk at the desk into giving her smaller bills (he tried to give her two 500 euro bills, which no one in Paris will accept). After everything, she got just over €1200. Not great.
When I got home, I checked with a few other change bureaus, including the one in Chinatown I usually use, and all of them would have saved her €200. It pays to look these places up before arriving if you know you’ll have cash, or to call around to find out what the rates are at different bureaus. Here are three recommendations (anyone want to add to this?):
MultiChange Paris (8 agencies in Paris, including ones open daily at Place Vendôme, Arc de Triomphe, and the Marché aux Puces St Ouen). You can also order your currency online.
Puccini SARL (the one I use in Chinatown at 20 ave de Choisy, 13th, M° Porte de Choisy, tel 01 45 83 58 00).
Yes Change (1 Rue Rouget de Lisle, 1st, M° Concord or Tuileries, tel 01 42 60 00 35; make sure you tell them at the bureau that you want the “Yes Change” rate from their website)
When in Paris bring cash with you for emergencies ONLY! Learn to use your credit/debit card and if in need of cash draw from the ATM. DO NOT attempt change cash in a bureau unless it is a bank or at the airport upon arrival. All forex independent bureaux in Paris are no go. You dont have to negociate exchange rates for foreign exchange, officially it is a non negociable item unless the sum is important. Keep safely away from all forex bureaux in Paris. I am amazed that Paris mayor is doing nothing about it and allows them to run a daylight robbery business unhindered.
Thanks for all those sharing of experience ;-)after a few phone calls ( couldn't find ANA Change's number) to change some € in cash toward $, Marush atChange Magenta: 77, Blvd Magenta 75010 (Metro: Chateau d'eau or Gare de l'Est) 01 42 46 56 93gave me the best rate and he even rounds up the amount at the end 😉 athat's a first in Paris
Thank you for this. I used MultiChange on St. Germain, and they were better than airport and most other places I checked. So definitely, thanks.
Ladies and Gentleman just to inform you that so many money exchange here in Paris charge a huge percentage of commission something from 6% – 9%, but we dont charge any kind of commission and we give the best rates here in Paris. Our address is 44 Boulevard de Clichy 75018 Paris. Its near Pigalle Metro station. If you walk from Pigalle station towards Moulin Rouge it will be on the right hand side.Thank YouANA Change
I changed $800 nz at Travelx at the airport in Paris, got $400 euro, was surprised how little i got,, a week later changed the same at yes exchange and got $499, almost $100 euro more, a fairly sizable difference with not a lot of movement in the exchange rates. I see it has dropped a fraction today to $495 on their web site, so i think i can back up many comments on here saying that yes exchange seems to be a good option if you have to exchange cash, but it would have been better to use ATM's
+1 for Rue Vivienne,few exchange places ,and differences between them as well.just shop around!
I checked several exchange places in Paris and the big ones take 10-12% range on the exchange rate. I did fine the small simple non branded places take around 3%range on the exchange rate.The one i used is in 'sarl Niki Gold 27, rue du four 75006, Paris' he took a 3% exchange rate.Anyway i recommend to check several places before…
Hi Mille, Thank your for your message, however you have misinformation (being French doesn't always mean you know better than the tourists), the Banque de France does not exchange money. It says that on their website: "Devises : la Banque de France n’assure pas de service de change de devises."NO BANKS will exchange money for tourists in France (most do not even have windows to withdraw money, you have to use the ATM). Only "bureaux de change" and some luxury hotels will do this.
Hi,Sometimes french system is really complicate. If you have to exchange some money during your stay in France, my advice is to go to the "Banque de France". Except the exchange offices in the airport or in the touristy areas, it's the only bank allowed to do it. https://www.banque-france.fr/la-banque-de-france/organisation/implantations-de-la-banque/region/ile-de-france.html The opening schedules are not very convenient, the employees will probably not speak english but… it can be a solution when you are in France and you have to exchange money.French way of life… =)Really sorry for my poor english.
Hi First Time Traveler, I would bring 100 euros with you if possible (your bank can usually order it in advance), then just use your credit/debit card to withdraw money once in France. Exchanging currency always costs more than getting it from an ATM.
Is it best to exchange currency in America before going to Paris? This is my first trip out of the country and I have no clue about changing money in Paris.
I always go to 66 avenue des Champs Elysées and send my friends there.The boss is Fred. Tell his name and they will give the best price in paris. You can compare and negotiate with him.The office is in the gallery of Tiffany at the beginning. Good place. Clean. and cheap
Check the dollar euro rates on www.changemagenta.frThey are situated 77 boulevard magenta in paris. 5 august 2015 i got 92 euros for 100 dollars
Hello!I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for posting http://www.yes-change.com on your page. You just saved me like $300 in exchange fees.Good article!Dave
My friend told me about Comptoir Change Opéra on rue Scribe http://www.ccopera.com who she says has the best rates & doesn't take a fee.
juste look at http://www.cen-change.comthe rate is near of real rate. The lowest of paris.You can reserved your rate with website until 2 Days.Near of "Gare de l'Est".
I'm in Paris right now and have some GBP to change. thanks for the info and will check out the places mentioned and let you know which one is better off in 2013
Be sure to AVOID AT ALL COSTS 'CHANGE MASTER', 25 BD SAINT MICHEL. They asked me a commission of 10 euros on a sum of 40 pounds… That's a real robbery!
Thanks to this article, checked out yes-change's online rates and found them comparable to that of xe.com/ucc and then when checking out other money changers en route to yes-change's office by The Tuileries, am confirming that yes-change was a good option to go with. I had £300 to change into €uros, and the money changer along Rue de Rivoli offered me €293 initially, and then when I asked him if he was serious about the dismal exchange rate, was told about service change/commission etc and then asked when I wanted to change my £, and when I told him, well, today, was offered their "best rate", which was €311 for £300 and was told that I wouldn't be able to get any better than that anywhere — said no merci to that, continued walked another 3 minutes and turned the corner into Rue de Rouget de Lisle, and at yes-change's office, got an extra €30 for doing just that – ending up with €344 for £300 as of Nov 23rd 2011.
As of October 2011, Yes Change (1 Rue Rouget de Lisle, 1st, M° Concord or Tuileries, tel 01 42 60 00 35) still provides the best exchange rate that I could find in Paris. They also provide excellent service and are very cordial both on the phone and in person. Thank you for the lead!
THANKS IT IS VERY INFORMATIVE
Despite this article being written 2 years ago, I can vouch for "yes change" being a great place to still exchange currency. I went to western union [don't laugh] near Norte Dame, and got exactly 300 euros for 500 Australian dollars. I thought this was low, I then did some searching, I found this article, and decided to try out your advice. From yes change I got 357 euros for 500 Australian dollars. 57 Euro more!! I can't believe I just threw my money away earlier in the day. Merci beaucoup!!!!
66 avenue des Champs Elysées. ParisGalery between Mauboussin and Bennetton.Net price. And good prices of course !!!
Merci. I was searching on foot in vain near Montparnasse. Your post helped me find one minutes away! God bless!
The place in chinatown as reccomeded (Puccini SARL (the one I use in Chinatown at 20 ave de Choisy, 13th, M° Porte de Choisy, tel 01 45 83 58 00).) was still the best deal in Paris as of Oct. 2010. The place at Galerie du Claridge in Paris 74 rue Champ Elysees was only the best exchange in THAT area. But I didn't like the hard sell or attitude of the attendant. He made me feel uncomfortable because he bartered with the exchange rate. The Chinatown location had a better exchange rate and I felt safe doing business with them. In Venice and Barcelona the exchange rate was not as good. Rome had equal rates accross from the train station Termini ( Western Union). One more point rural exchange places vs big city exchange places did have a better rate but double check on the internet before you go.
I’ve always liked BNP’s ATMs because they are not complicated to use with my debit card. Now I have read of another benefit: they are part of ATM World Alliance and charge no fee. Is this true?
THE best exchange bureau I’ve found over 18 years is on Rue Rosiers at Marche Clignancourt. Trust me they are the lowest.
Coming from the UK I went to the travel agents and got a Travel card, which I put money onto before I went to Paris, you can use it at any ATM or shops, it has a visa sign on it..I was charged such a minimal amount to use it…no charge at a ATM..This was a EURO travel card and if I was going elsewhere I think I could get one for America and worldwide..excellent choice, I was very pleased with it.
The best exchange rate (at least, from what I saw/tried out) is always on rue Vivienne, a small street full of exchange agencies near métro Bourse.
Having done alot of overseas travel and been to Paris many times, my advice is simple. Do not bring cash to Paris or anywhere else. Instead,draw euros directly from an ATM.But choose that bank with care, because many banks add a 1%-3% exchange fee in addition to the fee that’s built into the exchange rate. I use a Fidelity Investments ATM card, no fee. I’ve read elsewhere that Capital One doesn’t charge a fee but lots of complaints about their customer service.During our last two trips to Paris in 2006 & 2007, we operated entirely in cash, drawing several hundred euros from ATMs every day or so. By the time we returned to our hotel, the ATM transaction was posted to our account & we knew the effective exchange rate.At the hotel, we made periodic cash payments on our account, always making sure we received a printout of the account showing the new balance.All told, in 2007 we spent US$4,300 over 17 days. At 3%, that’s US$129 in our pocket, not the banks.
I’m American and I usually just bring my debit card with me. I have BankOfAmerica as my back who has a deal with one of the major banks in France so all I pay is the conversion rate. The conversion rate at the bank is typically close to the foreign market exchange rate and no where near those booth exchange rates.