There are banks on almost every corner in Rome. Normal business hours are 8.45am to 1.30pm and 2.45pm to 4.00 Monday to Friday; some of them have longer hours on Thursdays and are also open Saturday mornings.

Banks can change cash and travellers' cheques, with a commission of £ 6,000 ( euro 3,09 ) to £ 10,000 ( euro 5,16 ).

Automatic Teller Machines

Most of the banks in the city have 24-hours automatic telller machines. Cards with the Cirrus symbol are accepted almost anywhere, but you may have to look a little harder to find a machine that takes the Star symbol.

The following are just a few suggestions :

Terminal Area : Banca Nazionale del Lavoro ( BNL ), Via Marsala corner with Via Solferino - Banca di Roma, Via Gioberti.

Spanish Steps : Deutsche Bank, Largo Tritone 161. If you have a problem with your Visa or MasterCard, come directly here as it is the main branch for these cards.

Vatican : Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Piazza Risorgimento 27 - Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( Visa, MC, Cirrus, EC ) Via Cola di Rienzo 240

The exchange rate at the ATMs is very good, so the only extra fee you'll pay is whatever your bank at home charges for international withdrawals.