I have spent an unreasonable amount of time planning trips to Europe.
I know how to find a cheap flight. I can get myself through a train station. I’ve figured out how I’m going to use my phone, get money, plug my shit in and fit everything I need onto my back.
But there is one very basic part of traveling that nobody seems particularly interested in discussing.
Eventually, you’re going to have to pee in public.
And bathrooms in Europe are just different enough from bathrooms in the United States that this is actually worth talking about.
Not scary different. You’re not going to need an instruction manual every time you have to take a leak.
But there are a few things I really wish somebody had told me before my first trip.
For starters, sometimes you’re going to have to pay for the privilege.
And sometimes you’re going to walk into a bathroom in Italy and discover an additional piece of plumbing sitting next to the toilet.
Then there’s something I didn’t really think about until I started paying attention to it: accessibility.
Because that adorable 300-year-old café with the tiny staircase leading down to the bathroom is charming as hell—unless you can’t get down the stairs.
So let’s talk toilets.
Wait. I Have to Pay to Pee?
Yep.
This was one of those things I had technically heard about before going to Europe but didn’t really give much thought to.
Public bathrooms aren’t always free.
You may find a bathroom in a train station or another busy public place and discover a turnstile, a machine or an attendant between you and sweet relief.
You pay. You pee.
It’s really not a big deal.
Except the first time, when the American part of your brain is absolutely going to say:
You want me to PAY to use the bathroom?
Yes.
They do.
And honestly, once you stop being personally offended by the concept, there are some advantages. Many paid public toilets are staffed or regularly maintained, and you’re paying a relatively small amount for access to an actual bathroom when you need one.
Take the win.
The bigger lesson for me was simply knowing that this happens.
Don’t assume every public bathroom you encounter is going to be free. Don’t assume every restaurant or café is going to let you wander in off the street and use theirs, either.
You’re not in Florida.
If you’re already sitting in a café drinking coffee, use the bathroom before you leave.
If you’re at a museum and there’s a bathroom, use it.
If you’re at the train station and you see one and you’re thinking, I don’t really have to go yet…
Go anyway.
Because sightseeing gets considerably less magical when your primary interest in a 14th-century cathedral is whether it has a toilet.
What the Hell Is That?
Let’s talk about the bidet.
Because if you’re traveling in Italy, there’s a pretty good chance you’re eventually going to meet one.
A traditional European bidet looks a little like someone installed a very short sink next to the toilet.
It is not another toilet.
It is not a urinal.
And it is not a convenient place to wash your socks.
It’s for washing yourself after using the toilet.
The traditional standalone kind has a faucet and a basin. You use the toilet first, move over to the bidet, adjust the water to a comfortable temperature and use the water to clean yourself.
That’s it.
There’s no secret European technique.
Depending on the bathroom, you may instead encounter a handheld sprayer or a toilet with washing functions built into it. And in plenty of bathrooms, you’ll encounter nothing but a perfectly ordinary toilet.
The bidet is particularly common in Italy, so if you’ve never seen one before, don’t be surprised when your hotel bathroom appears to have been designed for two people to pee simultaneously.
It wasn’t.
And after using one?
You may actually start wondering why we don’t routinely have these things at home.
Now Let’s Talk About Actually Getting to the Toilet
This is the part that isn’t particularly funny.
Accessibility can be very different from one place to another, and it’s something worth researching before you travel if you or someone you’re traveling with has limited mobility.
Europe has plenty of modern, accessible bathrooms. Major museums, airports, newer train stations, hotels and other public facilities can have accessible toilets, elevators, ramps and other accommodations.
But Europe also has something the United States doesn’t have nearly as much of:
Really f*cking old buildings.
That charming little restaurant might have been there long before anyone thought about wheelchairs, walkers or even the idea that perhaps the bathroom shouldn’t be down a narrow flight of stairs.
I’ve encountered plenty of bathrooms tucked downstairs, behind narrow doors or in spaces that would be difficult or impossible for someone using a wheelchair to navigate.
That doesn’t mean Europe isn’t accessible.
It means don’t assume.
If bathroom accessibility matters to you, check the actual place you’re visiting rather than relying on a general idea that a city, hotel or attraction is “accessible.”
- Can you reach the bathroom without stairs?
- Is the doorway wide enough?
- Is there enough room to maneuver a wheelchair?
- Are there grab bars?
- Is there an accessible toilet on the same floor you’re going to be using?
And if the website doesn’t tell you, ask.
That’s not being difficult.
That’s making sure you can pee.
There are also accessible toilets throughout European transportation systems. On trains, for example, an accessible or “universal” toilet is specifically designed with more space and features for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility.
But again, don’t assume that because one train has it, every train does.
When accessibility is important, check the specific train, station, hotel or attraction you’re actually going to use.
And About Train Toilets…
Speaking of trains, yes, many trains have bathrooms.
This is wonderful information to have before you spend twenty frantic minutes running around a train station looking for one.
They’re train bathrooms.
Manage your expectations.
You are not entering a spa.
But if you’re two hours into a train ride between cities and you’ve had a bottle of water and two coffees, that tiny toilet may suddenly be the most beautiful room you’ve ever seen.
One thing I learned pretty quickly while traveling is that bathroom opportunities should be treated a little like charging opportunities for your phone.
If you’ve got one, use it.
You don’t have to be desperate.
Hotel before you leave.
Restaurant before you leave.
Museum before you leave.
Train before you get off.
Because there’s nothing quite like walking out of a perfectly good bathroom and realizing twenty minutes later that you have made a terrible mistake.
It’s Really Not That Complicated
I don’t want to make this sound like finding a bathroom in Europe requires strategic planning and satellite reconnaissance.
It doesn’t.
People live there.
They pee.
You will too.
But it’s one of those tiny differences you don’t really think about until you’re traveling.
You may have to pay.
The bathroom might be downstairs.
There might be a bidet sitting next to the toilet looking like plumbing you somehow missed an entire childhood lesson about.
And sometimes the best bathroom advice I can give you is incredibly simple:
If you see one, use it.
Because eventually, you’re going to have to pee in public.
You might as well know what you’re getting into.