Banks and Bureaux De Change
Almost everywhere banks are the best places to change money and cheques; outside banking hours you'll have to use a bureau de change, widely found in most city centres and at international airports. Avoid changing money or cheques in hotels, where the rates are normally very poor. The main high-street banks in the Republic are Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank. All are open Monday to Friday 10am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 4pm; banks in larger cities stay open all day and are open until 5pm one day a week, usually Thursday. It makes sense to change your money while in the cities since many small country towns are served by sub-offices open only on certain days of the week. Foreign exchange counters are open at Dun Laoghaire, Dublin Port and Rosslare ferry terminals and at all main airports : Dublin (daily 6am-8pm year round, staying open later during the summer); Shannon (daily except Christmas day, 6am- 5.30pm); Cork (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 11am-5pm, closed Christmas day); Knock International (summer daily 10.30am-5pm; winter Mon, Thurs, Fri & Sun opens 1hr before incoming and outgoing flights). In Dublin city, there are several bureaux de change and outlets where you can change money: these include Thomas Cook at 51 & 118 Grafton St, and 4 North Earl St, American Express at 41 Nassau St, and Dublin Tourism's main office on Suffolk Street. In the North , the main high-street banks are linked with British ones: National Irish Bank (associated with HSBC in Britain); Ulster Bank (associated with NatWest) and Bank of Ireland. Main banks in large towns are open Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm, with some opening for longer hours and on Saturdays; outside the cities some may close between 12.30pm and 1.30pm. In very small villages the bank may only open on two or three days a week - so, as in the Republic, aim to get your cash in the bigger centres. Belfast International airport has a branch of Thomas Cook, there's a bureau de change at City of Derry Airport, but no foreign exchange facilities at Belfast City airport. In Belfast itself, you can change money at the Post Office, 7 Shaftesbury Square, or at Thomas Cook, 11 Donegall Place (tel 028/9088 3900). Thomas Cook also have a branch in Derry at Unit 7, Quayside Strand Rd (tel 028/7185 2500).
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