Water in Europe
lorrpb
Posts: 11,463 Member
We just got back from 2 weeks in Switzerland, where NO restaurant served water with the meal. You have to purchase water at 4.50CHF per glass. Keeping hydrated was the biggest challenge of the trip. Some places will sell you a liter bottle. What's the deal with that?
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It's horrendous, but it's a way to make money.0
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Wow!! That is crazy! I hope to see someone from there explain why! Jeez, well I hope you had a good time there, other than being dehydrated!0
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I live in Copenhagen and it's not uncommon at all whatsoever. You want water? You better pay. You want extra condiments or bread with your meal? It costs money. And by money, i mean it's usually not worth it.
I love this image because it's just so "nordic-ey" looking. Anyways, if you want water you need to say still or sparking. Still will come from the tap (like the above) and is usually 45kr per bottle. If you order a soda, it's also about 45kr per each and every glass you get.
That's just about $6.92 in USD for one liter of water for the table or one glass of soda.
EDIT: To put the rest in perspective though, It's also about $10 usd for a grande latte from starbucks. It's also about $2 for each and every packet of ketchup you get at fastfood places like mcdonald's and the like (and they also don't have free refills).3 -
Some countries are just weird about tap water too. When I lived in Spain, literally no one I knew drank the stuff (at home or out) even though it was 100% fine to do so in our area. So in restaurants, it's pretty much always bottled and so it's pretty much always something you pay for.
It's just a cultural thing in some areas. I was told by a few more "traditional" acquaintances there that guzzling water during a meal is looked at as a bit gauche for whatever reason, so that's part of it too. Hard to adjust to as a Canadian who is both used to free-flowing tap water at restaurants and not accustomed to the heat and humidity, but when in, um, Rome...2 -
What's the deal with that? Different countries, different cultures, different customs.
Isn't that why people travel?
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You're in a different country. That's what it's called.
And besides, maybe drinking water there is expensive, or not as widely available and sourced the same way it is in the U.S. or any other country that serves free water.2 -
Sometimes there's a reason or history for different customs, something more enlightening than "we can make more money that way."1
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AngelaOStrong wrote: »Wow!! That is crazy! I hope to see someone from there explain why! Jeez, well I hope you had a good time there, other than being dehydrated!
Oh yes,we had an awesome amazing trip!!1 -
You're in a different country. That's what it's called.
And besides, maybe drinking water there is expensive, or not as widely available and sourced the same way it is in the U.S. or any other country that serves free water.
Whilst there maybe areas in Europe that have issues with drinking water, Switzerland is not one of them, its all about making money. Having travelled through many European countries ( being a Brit) restaurants will often assume you want bottled water unless you specify otherwise, the same happens in the UK.1 -
The ironic thing is that they have open fountains all over town that look like a livestock trough with running water, and the water is perfectly safe to drink! That took awhile to get used to too, but they were really cute.1
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In France tap water is free in restaurants and cafés which is great because I drink loads of water
In the UK too, and in Rome there are drinkable water fountains all over the city.
OP, are you American ? Last summer on vacation, in California, tap water was free, whereas they wouldn't give us free tap water in Texas !!1 -
We noticed the same thing in Italy last summer. We always had to order several liters of water in a restaurant, and everyone looked at us like we were crazy. In the home, the only time we saw our cousins drink water was a small (like 8 oz) glass at breakfast. The rest of the day they only drank coffee and wine. We were so dehydrated the entire time, and we still haven't figured out why they all weren't dehydrated.2
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Yes I'm from the US. I've never had a problem getting tap water in Texas or anywhere in us. Some places are more forthcoming with water than others, but it is possible to get it.lululapagaille wrote: »In France tap water is free in restaurants and cafés which is great because I drink loads of water
In the UK too, and in Rome there are drinkable water fountains all over the city.
OP, are you American ? Last summer on vacation, in California, tap water was free, whereas they wouldn't give us free tap water in Texas !!
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I feel like Switzerland is one of those places where you pay a lot for everything. It's because wages are high so it's not a big deal for the locals. In the UK you can always get free tap water if you ask although some places will only serve you by the glass. All you can eat places tend to give you the smallest glasses of water to encourage you to buy drinks as that's where they make most of their money.3
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It's normal.0
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No charge in Ireland and tap water is decent.I drink atleast a litre with every meal.
Choose your destination...more better1 -
Being from Sweden where the tap water is not only free but perfectly fine to drink, I have something of an aversion to buying water - at a restaurant or from a grocery store. I do have to at times, because I usually travel in the warmer months and I get dehydrated, but often I just get the one bottle that I then use to refill whenever I find water (I have mostly travelled in places where the water is fine to drink and if it's not there's a sign).
I have no idea why water costs money in so many restaurants. It's one thing if you want the sparkling (which shouldn't cost money anyway, if the place would just get some kind of soda streamer) but just plain water? I dislike it, but it's a money thing. The worst part is when the cost of regular tap water isn't even listed in the menu (so you think it might be free) but shows up on your bill!
Also one of the reasons when, if I go out to a café and want something hot to drink, I don't order tea (even though I LOVE tea) but instead hot chocolate (I don't drink coffee), as I don't feel like paying about the same amount for a small bag of tea that costs pennies and just some tap water heated up. (Unless it's a special kind of tea place, but most cafés are not.)1 -
Being from Sweden where the tap water is not only free but perfectly fine to drink, I have something of an aversion to buying water - at a restaurant or from a grocery store. I do have to at times, because I usually travel in the warmer months and I get dehydrated, but often I just get the one bottle that I then use to refill whenever I find water (I have mostly travelled in places where the water is fine to drink and if it's not there's a sign).
I have no idea why water costs money in so many restaurants. It's one thing if you want the sparkling (which shouldn't cost money anyway, if the place would just get some kind of soda streamer) but just plain water? I dislike it, but it's a money thing. The worst part is when the cost of regular tap water isn't even listed in the menu (so you think it might be free) but shows up on your bill!
Also one of the reasons when, if I go out to a café and want something hot to drink, I don't order tea (even though I LOVE tea) but instead hot chocolate (I don't drink coffee), as I don't feel like paying about the same amount for a small bag of tea that costs pennies and just some tap water heated up. (Unless it's a special kind of tea place, but most cafés are not.)
Agree with you! I never buy bottled water I do but tea but it annoys the heck out of me to pays several $ for a tea bag! I stay away from hot chocolate because of the extra cals, but do love it!1 -
Places I've been in Europe they are pretty stingy with ice for drinks.0
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Packerjohn wrote: »Places I've been in Europe they are pretty stingy with ice for drinks.
cultural differences, in the USA they're pretty stingy with the amount of drink they use to fill the insterstices in the mass of ice they serve.
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I live in Switzerland, and it is normal to be charged for water in restaurants. It will however not be tap water, but botteled water. If you ask for tap, it will be free but some restaurants refuse (usually unless you buy other drinks too).3
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We just got back from 2 weeks in Switzerland, where NO restaurant served water with the meal. You have to purchase water at 4.50CHF per glass. Keeping hydrated was the biggest challenge of the trip. Some places will sell you a liter bottle. What's the deal with that?
Well, swiss is the most expensive country in europe, therefore never go to resturants. You pay like 25 € for just the seat, in some resturants. I only drank coffee and ate in the morning,breakfast time when I went there on trip. Still I managed to spend 50 euros in 5 days
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We noticed the same thing in Italy last summer. We always had to order several liters of water in a restaurant, and everyone looked at us like we were crazy. In the home, the only time we saw our cousins drink water was a small (like 8 oz) glass at breakfast. The rest of the day they only drank coffee and wine. We were so dehydrated the entire time, and we still haven't figured out why they all weren't dehydrated.
I'd be interested in why this is too. I feel like i'm living in a desert and get water retention if i don't drink enough water through the day, coffee and tea just doesn't have the same hydrating effect for me.
Water is free here in Australia, but you have to ask for it, they don't automatically bring it out. It usually comes out in a big jug. We went to a buffet the other week and their new policy is a gold coin donation that goes to a charity for every jug of water, this is the first time I've ever paid for water in a restaurant.
ETA: Gold coin = $1 or $2 coins.
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I had the same problem in St. Martin (Caribbean island). No tap water served even if you asked for; it had to be bottle water flat or with bubbles. I always ordered a big bottle and took home with me what I didn't drink. My husband and I were in Denmark last year and the water was also bottled. When we travel away from the USA we need to realized that what we take for granted in here, it cost money in other parts of the world.
Even in California with the drought that we had for several years water was served only on request, but there were always free refills. The same for ice tea, coffee or sodas served in the restaurants.1
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