Touring in London, you need to have pounds.
If you think every country in the European Union accepts Euros (€) then you are wrong. A number of countries that are new entries to EU or for economic reasons have not adopted the standard European currency. Do check the currency of each country before you embark on your great European tour. It could save you some time and trouble when you are stuck with no local currency in your wallet. Quoting my own example here:We were travelling to Budapest (Hungarian capital) for 2 days. We assumed that since Hungary is in EU for a long time, the Hungarians should be using the €.
We went around the day before our trip looking for money changers that carry Hungarian Forints but it proved to be mission impossible as banks were shut. So we carry on our assumption that we should have no problem paying in Euros.
We reached the capital pretty late (before midnight). We hopped into the first cab we saw (we did ask the taxidriver for a quotation in euros before we got in). When we reached our destination, the taxidriver wanted us to pay in Forints! We panicked and started a "chicken and duck" conversation with the taxidriver who couldn't speak much English. Though we convinced him that there was no money changer available at that time of the night and we had to pay him in €, the trouble did not end there. We were stuck in the same situation the next day with another taxidriver.
To save you from being stuck in the same situation, I've posted the list of countries in EU here. Those countries that do not use Euros, I have indicated their national currency in parentheses. Do a little homework before you start your journey. Bon voyage!
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Latvia (Lats)
Lithuania (Litas)
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Poland (Zloty)
Portugal
Romania (Leu)
Slovakia (Slovak Koruna)
Spain
Sweden
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