Water on your travels
Countries
The first question on holiday is often: can I drink this? Twelve answers, with a traffic light, hardness and what the locals do.
All twelve countries on the world map, Europe in detail on the left.
DrinkableWith caveatsDo not drink
Twelve profiles
Traffic light, hardness, price and what locals do
Strictly controlled, different from region to region
Germany
Spring water from the Alps
Austria
The land of fountains
Switzerland
Acqua del sindaco and the Nasoni
Italy
Drinkable, but not tasty everywhere
Spain
The carafe is the law
France
Safe, chlorinated, cheap
Portugal
Mainland yes, islands mostly no
Greece
High-quality karst water
Croatia
Officially drinkable, in practice from the bottle
Turkey
Only from the bottle or the machine
Thailand
Garrafón instead of the tap
Mexico
| Country | Tap water | Hardness | Bottled water |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Drinkable | soft to very hard, mostly 8 to 20 °dH | 0.19 to 0.90 euros per 1.5 litres |
| Austria | Drinkable | soft to medium in the Alps, hard in the east, 4 to 20 °dH | 0.30 to 0.90 euros per 1.5 litres |
| Switzerland | Drinkable | medium to hard on the Swiss Plateau, soft in the Alps, 5 to 20 °dH | 0.80 to 2.00 francs per 1.5 litres |
| Italy | Drinkable | hard in Rome and central Italy, soft in the Alps, 10 to 30 °dH | 0.25 to 0.60 euros per 1.5 litres |
| Spain | With caveats | soft in Madrid, hard on the Mediterranean coast and in the Balearics, 3 to 40 °dH | 0.25 to 0.60 euros per 1.5 litres, 5 to 8 litres for 0.80 to 1.50 euros |
| France | Drinkable | hard in Paris and the north, soft in Brittany and the Massif Central, 5 to 25 °dH | 0.20 to 0.70 euros per 1.5 litres |
| Portugal | Drinkable | soft in the north, medium to hard in Lisbon and the Algarve, 3 to 18 °dH | 0.20 to 0.50 euros per 1.5 litres |
| Greece | With caveats | medium in Athens, hard and salty on the islands | 0.30 to 0.80 euros per 1.5 litres, 0.50 euros for 0.5 litres at a kiosk (price cap) |
| Croatia | Drinkable | hard, karst and limestone, 12 to 25 °dH | 0.50 to 1.00 euros per 1.5 litres |
| Turkey | Do not drink | hard in Istanbul and Anatolia, 12 to 25 °dH | 0.30 to 0.60 euros per 1.5 litres, 19-litre container for 2 to 4 euros |
| Thailand | Do not drink | soft to medium, 4 to 12 °dH | 0.20 to 0.40 euros per 1.5 litres, vending machines 0.03 euros per litre |
| Mexico | Do not drink | hard in Yucatán (limestone), medium in Mexico City | 0.40 to 0.80 euros per 1.5 litres, 20-litre garrafón for 1.50 to 2.50 euros |