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If you are visiting Barcelona, like any other European city you need to give a little bit of thought about your finances. Obviously you will need to change your money into Euros and as aresult you may find yourself carrying large sums of cash on you at any one time. Depending on how long you are going for you can look into buying travellers cheques. Similarly make sure you have a number of bank cards with your fall back being a credit card in case you have a problem with withdrawing money, you do not want to be left with no means of getting cash.

You will be able to pay with your card if it is a vaguely well recognised one like visa, maestro or amex. You do not get charged to pay on card but you will still be subjected to the exchange rate which is not great.

Barcelona seems to have so many atm machines on every street, if you are in the centre you will be hard pushed not to see at least 4 in your periphery vision. Some banks charge more than others to withdraw money on a foreign card, but it is roughly between 70p and 3 pounds on top of the exchange rate. Again if you are going to withdraw large sums of money at once to make the transactions worthwhile be sure to keep in on your person at all time until you can deposit it in a safe.

The pockets on your trousers are the safest place to keep your cash as there is a very slim chance it can get stolen, especially without you noticing. There is a lot of petty crime in Barcelona, everyone is advised to hold onto their bag at all times and always have it in sight. Thieves are know to cut your straps so always be aware how exposed you are. Having said that there is not an increased risk of being hurt, it is only pick pocketing and stealing which are rife.

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