Travellers cheques

[Nigelt]

Has anyone used euro travellers cheques recently?  last time I took some over to France in 2000, I had a lot of problems changing them.  Either banks wouldn't change them or charged astronomical charges.  It always used to be the case that when changing French franc cheques you were charged the commission in the UK when you purchased them, and then when you cashed them in France you were given the face value with no commission taken off (as it had already been paid)

From memory, La Poste charged X amount per cheque and some others would charge per transaction.  I wonder whether it was because it was during the introduction of the euro. 

I prefer to take travellers cheques because it can be easier to budget on holiday this way.

Any experiences?

Nigel T