Paying to Pee in Europe

Traveling accross Europe is somewhat common. It normally turns out to be a great experience and lots of fun times! This being said, there was one thing that really annoyed me during my 7-month stay in Europe, and that was going to the bathroom in touristy places. When in Rome, do as the Roman do- that means- did they have to dish out some cash to pee? The average cost of using the toilet in Italy, or accross Europe is 1 euro. Paying to use the bathroom has become so popular that an online site allows tourist to pre-payfor access to public bathrooms. No, this is not a joke!

Most of us are accustomed to enter any fast food chain or restaurant when we need a bathroom. It’s normally not an issue to use the bathroom without buying some food. But it is quite the contrary in the Scandinavian countries however. You need to pay in train stations, bus stations and the doors at McDonald’s are locked! Yes! When visiting Oslo (Norway) a few years ago, we had to use the bathroom and considering that we had no hostel and we were too poor to pay for food or drinks, toilets were therefore not easily accessible. When we ran into a McDonald’s, it was a no-brainer for us to walk in and head to the bathroom. But to our surprise, the door was locked and we couldn’t use it unless we bought something.

All this to say that if you’re planning a trip to Europe, do prepare a budget for using the bathroom!

I’m glad to pee for free in North America