I am a Canadian with Canadian dollars so my experience may be a bit different from Americans but we did find costs extremely high in Britain.

We were in England and Malta in November - December for 2 weeks. This trip we weren't in a country accepting euros. Malta takes Maltese Lira and one upscale restaurant menu was priced in both ML's and euros.

Take a look at this cost of living calculator for the US, UK, etc.:

http://www.ex.ac.uk/trol/scol/index.htm

It seems to indicate that costs haven't gone up much in the last few years (2000) in the UK, Italy and France compared to the US and Canada. But earlier, it is a different story. We all say here in Canada that a pound spends like a dollar.

Frankly if I didn't have to go to Britain for a family event, I probably wouldn't have gone there last month. I know that my dollar buys more in France and Italy, for example. That's why the Malta trip - to get away from the high prices in Britain!

That's not to say that there aren't wonderful things to see in Britain, that the museums are treasurehouses, that London has a never-ending palette of things to see - but I have been there before several times and I can't afford to spend too much time there. Offset by the high costs of accommodation and food are the free museums. Hurrah!

While I was in Britain, I read a newspaper article about the high personal debt of individual Brits. So that explains it!

Last, I have to say in spite of the effect it seems to have had on prices, I love the euro because it makes it much easier to comparison shop for destinations.

That matters to me - I want to get the most for my travel dollars (the most sights, the most culture, the most interesting, the most quaint!)

Frances Toronto, Canada