So I show up at your bank with $15 and they’ll give me five hundred pounds?
Can you please tell me the name of your bank? 
I think the rate you were quoted isn’t bad, but generally, I have found if you go to a large city like London, Berlin, or Paris there are many places that exchange money and the competition usually results in lower fees.
But the ATM idea is still the best. I am not sure now, but in the “old days”, purchases on your ATM/Credit Card were given the best exchange rate during the month that you used your card. Worked out to be quite a savings.
Oh, and PLEASE photocopy your ATM/Credit Card before you go and leave the copy with someone reliable in the States. Just in case you lose your card or it gets stolen, it is vital you report it ASAP. That way they can also stop payments and issue you a new card while you are still in Europe. A photocopy that can be taken to your home bank by a friend back in the States will make it a lot easier.
And have a jolly good time.
Oh and one other tip: if you don’t regularly travel out of the country, it’s not a bad idea to alert your bank (formally, not just by virtue of doing a currency exchange) that you may be using your card out of the country. I had a card shut down on me once because of “suspicious” activity outside the US. Of course, they tried to call me… at work. Luckily it was the last day of the trip and didn’t cause much hassle, but from then on, I made sure to call them first to let them know I was leaving the country, and to please not treat foreign transactions as automatically suspicious.
But it depends on what rate the bank is offering him. From my experiences living abroad, the WORST exchange rates were given on American Express traveler’s check’s. Trading dollars at American Express offices while abroad was also a sure way to get a significantly lower exchange rate.
From my experience, the cheapest way to deal with currency is to take out money from the ATM. You get the best exchange rate that way. However, look over your bank’s rules on ATM withdrawals from foreign ATMs. My fees were very minimal in this regard., and it was far better for me to take out currency as needed from ATMs than to change currency at home.
I second the suggestion of telling your bank before you leave!
I had problems once on a weekend trip to Reno because I live in Las Vegas and they were suspect at the sudden rash of charges upstate.
[QUOTE=TellMeI’mNotCrazy]
Oh and one other tip: if you don’t regularly travel out of the country, it’s not a bad idea to alert your bank (formally, not just by virtue of doing a currency exchange) that you may be using your card out of the country. /QUOTE]
I do this with both my ATM and credit cards whenever I take a trip so that they know not to shut me down. And now I know to use the ATM instead of bringing a stinkload of cash for the whole trip.