Austria

bargaining

Bargaining is not common throughout Austria except at flea markets. It may be okay to ask for a discount, but accept No as an answer.

prices

The prices are comparable with Western European countries, and a bit higher than the USA. The general sales taxs of 20 % is included in prices but lower sales taxes applies to certain services and mainly food. A can of Coke will cost you about 55 cents, a good meal €15. Prices in tourist areas Tyrol, Vienna, Salzburg, Zell am See are a lot higher than the averages. B&B accommodation and restaurants in towns and rural areas are quite cheap.

shops

Shops are generally open from 8AM to 7PM on weekdays and Saturday from 8AM to 6PM and closed on Sundays except for gas station shops expensive, shops at railway stations and restaurants. Be aware that paying by credit card is not as common as in the rest of Europe or as in the United States but all major credit cards Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club are accepted at almost every gas station and at bigger shops, especially in shopping malls. In smaller towns and villages you normally find one or two small shops or bakeries, which carry nearly everything, called "Greißler", although they are under threat from bigger shopping centers.

atms

ATMs in Austria are called Bankomat. They are wide-spread and you will find them even in smaller, rural villages. Many shops and some restaurants too offer the service to pay directly with an ATM card. The majority of ATMs accept cards from abroad. All Bankomats in Austria can easily identified by a sign showing a green stripe above a blue stripe. It doesn't matter which Bankomat you use; the transaction fee is always zero excluding any fees charged by your own bank.

currency

Austria has the euro EUR, € as its currency. Therewith, Austria belongs to the 23 European countries that use the common European money. These 23 countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain official euro members which are all European Union member states as well as Andorra, Kosovo, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino and Vatican which use it without having a say in eurozone affairs and without being European Union members. These countries together have a population of 327 million.

One euro is divided into 100 cents. While each official euro member as well as Monaco, San Marino and Vatican issues its own coins with a unique obverse, the reverse as well as all bills look the same throughout the eurozone. Nonetheless, every coin is legal tender in any of the eurozone countries.

The best rates for changing money are offered by banks.

The legacy currency, the Schilling, can still be exchanged for euros indefinitely, but not all banks may offer this service.