Convert CAD to EUR Canadian dollar ↔ Euro Free Online Secure
Type an amount in Canadian dollar and read it in Euro at once. The page uses the European Central Bank's reference rate, and tells you which day that rate is from.
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Common amounts — Convert CAD to EUR (Canadian dollar ↔ Euro)
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The last thirty days
Where these codes and rates come from
The three letters in EUR, USD or JPY are not an abbreviation someone invented for a website: they are ISO 4217, a standard in which the first two letters are the country's own code and the third is usually the initial of the currency. The figures on this page come from the European Central Bank, which publishes one set of reference rates each working day, around 16:00 Central European time, agreed between the central banks of the Eurosystem. They are a daily snapshot meant for statistics and accounting, not a live trading feed — which is exactly why they are the same number for everyone, rather than whatever one bank happened to quote at one moment.
Where you meet an exchange rate
You meet an exchange rate four or five times a year without thinking about it: booking a trip, paying an invoice issued abroad, buying from a foreign shop, reading a salary offer in another currency, or checking what a card charge really cost. In all of these the reference rate is the honest middle, and the price you actually pay sits a little to one side of it. Knowing the middle is what lets you see how wide that margin is.
Questions people ask
Is this the rate my bank will give me?
No, and no page can promise one. This is the European Central Bank's reference rate: the midpoint published once a day for statistics. A bank, a card scheme or an exchange office adds its own margin on top — usually between half a percent and three percent, sometimes more at an airport counter. Use this figure to judge the offer you are given, not to predict it.
How often does the figure change, and what happens at weekends?
The European Central Bank publishes once each working day, in the afternoon, Central European time. There is no publication on Saturdays, Sundays or TARGET holidays, so on those days the page shows the last working day's rate and says which day it belongs to. The chart alongside is one year of the same daily series.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
A Canadian in Europe: the first week in euros, what things cost and how to avoid paying twice for the same coffee
Every summer, hundreds of thousands of Canadians board planes in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and land in Paris, Rome, Lisbon or Frankfurt. The flight is the easy part. The harder part begins at the airport, when the first coffee arrives with a price in euros, the cash machine asks a question about conversion, and a week of hotels, trains and dinners has to be fitted into a budget set in Canadian dollars. The euro is used by more than twenty countries, which makes it by far the most convenient currency for a trip across the continent, but it also hides a trap: the rate you are offered at a counter, a hotel desk or a card terminal is almost never the rate that banks use between themselves. This page shows that reference rate. Use it to Convert CAD to EUR with the daily reference rates published by the European Central Bank, in which the euro is the base currency and the Canadian dollar is quoted against it; the page prints the date of the fixing under the result. The amount you type never leaves your browser.
Using the converter
Canadian dollars in, euros out
Type your trip budget and Convert CAD to EUR, then write the date beside the answer, as it belongs to the figure.
Type an amount in Canadian dollars and the page shows the equivalent in euros and cents, together with the date of the fixing used. A Canadian dollar is worth roughly two thirds of a euro, so the answer is about two thirds of the number you typed. Fixings are published once on each working day; on weekends and public holidays the page repeats the last one and says so. A table of round sums and a graph of the last thirty days sit beneath the box. If you need the opposite direction, from euros back into Canadian dollars, open Convert EUR to CAD.
A reference, not a quote
Whenever a counter promises a good rate, Convert CAD to EUR first and divide their offer by the result.
The number on the screen is the midpoint of the market, with no provider's margin added. Whoever serves you will keep a slice, and the slice is the true price of the exchange. To measure it, divide what you are offered by what this page shows: 0.99 is excellent, 0.97 is common for a travel card, and anything under 0.95 invites a second quote. The sums in this text assume an invented, tidy rate of sixty-seven euro cents to the Canadian dollar. It is not a forecast and not today's price, so replace it with the live figure whenever a decision depends on it.
The euro in a nutshell
Coins, notes and countries
The euro has been in circulation since 2002. Notes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200, and coins in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents plus 1 and 2 euros. Each country mints its own coins with a national design on the back, but all of them are valid everywhere in the euro area. More than twenty countries use it, among them France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland and Greece. Some European countries you may want to visit, such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and Czechia, keep their own currencies, so cross-border trips can mean changing money more than once.
Entry rules for Canadians
Canadian citizens can visit most of Europe for up to ninety days in any hundred-and-eighty without a visa. The Schengen area, which covers most of the euro countries, treats the whole zone as one for that limit, so days spent in France and Italy count together. Europe has been preparing a travel authorisation system for visa-exempt visitors, and its start date has shifted more than once, so check the official government pages before you book. Your passport should be valid for at least three months beyond the day you leave.
Time and distance
Most of the euro area is six hours ahead of Toronto and nine hours ahead of Vancouver, with a small shift in the weeks when clocks change on different dates. For a quick check, Convert EST to PST shows the gap between the Canadian coasts, and Convert CET to EST covers the step across the Atlantic. Distances in Europe are in kilometres; Convert km to mi turns them into miles, and Convert °C to °F gives the temperature in the scale you grew up with.
What things cost
Cities and coffee
For a coffee, a lunch and a dinner, Convert CAD to EUR and compare with what the same meals cost at home.
Prices vary widely, and the south is often cheaper than the north. A coffee at the bar in Italy costs 1.2 to 2 euros, but twice that if you sit at a table in a tourist square. In Paris a coffee on a terrace costs 3 to 5 euros, a croissant 1.5 to 2.5, a lunch menu 15 to 25 and a dinner 30 to 60. In Lisbon and Madrid, the same meals cost a third less. Berlin and Amsterdam are in between. At the invented rate, a 4-euro coffee is about 6 Canadian dollars, which many Canadians find reasonable. Convert CAD to EUR for the whole list before you leave and you will see where the budget has room.
Hotels and apartments
A double room in a decent mid-range hotel costs 110 to 200 euros in most big cities in summer and up to 300 in Paris or Venice. Apartments rented through platforms are often cheaper for stays of four nights or more, particularly in southern Europe. Hostels with private rooms charge 50 to 90. Many cities add a tourist tax of 1 to 7 euros per person per night, usually paid at the hotel and not included in the web price. Ask before you book, and then Convert CAD to EUR for the final amount including the tax.
Trains, planes and metros
A rail pass is a big purchase, so Convert CAD to EUR for the pass and for the single tickets before you decide.
Trains between major cities are fast and comfortable but their prices vary widely: a booked ticket from Paris to Lyon can cost 25 euros or 100, depending on the day. Regional trains and buses are cheaper. A rail pass for several countries can pay off for long itineraries, but compare it with point-to-point tickets first. City metros cost 1.5 to 3 euros per ride, with day and week passes for visitors. Budget airlines connect the cities for 30 to 90 euros, but add luggage fees and airport transfers.
Museums and monuments
The Louvre, the Colosseum, the Prado and the Anne Frank House all charge 15 to 25 euros per adult, and advance booking is usual for the most popular sites. Many museums have free hours or free days each month, and some cities sell passes that bundle several sights with public transport. A family with children under eighteen often pays less or nothing, so ask at the ticket office. Convert CAD to EUR for each entrance fee and you can compare the pass price with single tickets.
Paying in euros
Cards first, cash second
Before you withdraw cash, Convert CAD to EUR for the sum you need so that you do not take too much.
Contactless cards are accepted in nearly all shops, restaurants and public transport in the euro area, though a few small places still prefer cash, especially in Germany and in rural Italy. Carry a small reserve of notes for markets, tips and public toilets. Cash machines of European banks give a better rate than exchange booths. When a machine or a terminal asks whether you want to pay in your home currency, refuse and pay in euros. The rate it uses is its own and is almost always worse than your card issuer's.
Tipping and service
Tipping is not as large in Europe as in Canada. In most countries, service is already included in the price, and rounding up the bill or leaving a euro or two is plenty. In Spain and Italy, a service charge, coperto, may be added for sitting down; this is normal. In Germany, round up by about ten per cent. Plan for tips of 5 per cent rather than 18.
Tax refunds on shopping
The refund looks small on the form, so Convert CAD to EUR for the amount and see whether the queue is worth it.
Visitors from outside the European Union can often reclaim the value-added tax on goods bought in shops that take part in the refund scheme, provided that the purchase exceeds a minimum amount and that the goods leave the union unused. In France the minimum is about 100 euros in one shop on one day; elsewhere it differs. Ask for the form at the till, get it stamped at the customs desk at the airport before you check in your bags, and then send it or claim at a counter. The refund is a few per cent to about a fifth of the price.
A week, with figures
Seven days across three cities
Suppose a couple spends a week split between Paris, Lyon and Barcelona. Six nights in mid-range hotels at 150 euros come to 900. Trains between the cities cost 180 for two. Meals at 90 euros a day for two total 630. Museums and attractions add 200, local transport 70, and small shopping and souvenirs 150. The total is 2,130 euros, which at the invented rate is about 3,179 Canadian dollars, not counting the flights. Convert CAD to EUR for each line, and you will know where the budget is tightest.
Where to save
The biggest saving lies in lodging: moving a night from the city centre to a district ten minutes away by metro cuts the price by a quarter. Lunch menus, which many restaurants offer on weekdays, cost half of the dinner price for the same food. Picnics from markets and bakeries are delicious. Booking trains early, avoiding airport taxis and drinking tap water in restaurants all add up.
Where not to save
Travel insurance is not a place to economise. Healthcare in Europe is good, but visitors without a European card pay in full, and a repatriation by air costs a fortune. Confirm that your policy covers medical care and cancellation. Keep digital and paper copies of your passport and cards in separate places.
Eating and drinking like a local
Breakfast, lunch and the long dinner
Meal times in Europe differ from Canadian habits, and the difference is more pronounced the further south you go. In France and Germany, breakfast is light, with bread, butter and coffee, and lunch is the main meal between noon and two. In Spain, lunch starts around two or three in the afternoon and dinner after nine in the evening, and many kitchens are closed in between. In Italy, a restaurant that opens at six for dinner is aiming at tourists. Adapt to the rhythm and you will eat better and pay less, because the menu of the day, offered at lunchtime, is the best bargain in Europe.
Table etiquette and bills
In most of Europe the waiter does not bring the bill until you ask for it, since hurrying a guest is considered rude. Raise a hand, catch an eye and say the bill, please in the local language: l'addition in French, il conto in Italian, la cuenta in Spanish, die Rechnung in German. Splitting a bill is usually done at the table, and in some countries it is awkward to ask for separate payments. A glass of tap water is free in some countries and charged in others; ask for tap water if you do not want bottled. Each time you plan to dine out, Convert CAD to EUR for the menu prices and compare them with what you would pay at home.
Wine, beer and coffee
Wine in southern Europe is often cheaper than water in North America. A glass of house wine costs 3 to 6 euros, a bottle 15 to 30 in a restaurant, and 5 to 10 in a shop. Beer is cheapest in Germany, Czechia and Spain, at 3 to 5 euros for half a litre. Coffee comes in small cups: an espresso in Italy, a café crème in France, a cortado in Spain. If you want a large coffee with milk to take away, the choice is smaller than in Canada, and chain shops charge more.
Staying connected and safe
Phones and plugs
European sockets take two round pins, and the voltage is 230 volts, so Canadian plugs need an adapter, and some devices need a converter. Most modern phone and laptop chargers accept a wide voltage range, so only the plug shape matters. Check your mobile plan before you leave: roaming in Europe can cost 10 to 15 Canadian dollars a day, while an eSIM or a local SIM with data costs a fraction of that. Hotels and cafes offer wireless internet, but avoid banking on public networks.
Pickpockets and common sense
Large European cities have pickpockets, particularly on crowded metros, in front of famous sights and near stations. Keep your wallet in a front pocket, carry your bag across your body and be wary of strangers offering help at ticket machines. Do not leave valuables in a car or on a restaurant table. If you are robbed, report the loss to the police for the insurance claim and call your bank to block the cards. Emergency services in Europe can be reached at 112.
Health and pharmacies
Pharmacies in Europe, marked by a green cross, can advise on minor problems, and pharmacists often speak English. Carry prescription drugs in the original packaging with a letter from your doctor. In an emergency, go to a hospital emergency room; the cost for visitors can be large, so travel insurance matters. Tap water is safe to drink almost everywhere.
Living in the euro area for longer
Studying and working
Canadians who stay longer than ninety days need a visa or a permit. Student visas, working holiday programmes and skilled-worker permits each have their own rules, which differ by country. Tuition at public universities in much of Europe is low compared to Canada, from a few hundred to a few thousand euros per year, but living costs are real: 800 to 1,500 euros a month, depending on the city. If you receive income in Canadian dollars, Convert CAD to EUR monthly and keep a spreadsheet of the rates used, which helps with taxes in both countries.
Sending money
Transfers between a Canadian bank and a European one can take several days and carry fees of 15 to 50 dollars plus a margin on the rate. Specialised transfer services are often cheaper. Check the amount that arrives, not the advertised fee, and compare it with the figure on this page. Large transfers are subject to verification, so keep the documents that explain the origin of the money.
Other conversions
If the trip goes on
Travellers who continue to Britain can use Convert CAD to GBP, those who cross to Switzerland Convert CAD to CHF, and those who head to Poland Convert CAD to PLN. For the Canadian dollar against the United States dollar, see Convert CAD to USD.
A habit worth keeping
Write down the rate and the date each time you change money or pay a large bill. At home a quick look at the note tells you what the trip really cost.
Mistakes to avoid
Paying in dollars abroad
Decline the terminal's conversion, and later Convert CAD to EUR at home to check what the statement shows.
When a European terminal offers to charge you in Canadian dollars, it applies its own rate. Pay in euros and Convert CAD to EUR afterwards to check the statement.
Exchanging at the airport
If you need cash at arrival, Convert CAD to EUR and demand the final sum in writing from the booth before you hand over money.
The booth with the biggest signs usually has the worst rate. If you need cash on arrival, use a bank machine.
Trusting an old rate
A rate from last month can be several per cent out. The date beside the result is there for a reason, each time you Convert CAD to EUR.
In short
The only thing fetched from the network is the table of daily rates; your amount stays in the browser and no account is needed. From the first coffee in Paris to the last train to Barcelona, one habit pays: Convert CAD to EUR, read the date and weigh every offer against the figure on this page.