The new currency for Europe – the euro – has made traveling in Europe much easier for Canadians. The euro is the currency for twelve European Union countries: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland.

The new currency came into use in January 1, 2002 and offers two main benefits for Canadians traveling in Europe. The first benefit is that traveling is easier in the euro area. You no longer have to change currencies every time you enter a new country or worry about having money that you can’t use.

The second benefit is that countries outside the euro area have adopted the euro as their official, national or de facto currency. This means that you can use your euros in such diverse places as Monaco, the Vatican City and Andorra and Kosovo.