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Hello, and welcome back to Everyday Science.
I’m currently planning what supplies to take on a family holiday, and the question came up of whether the tap water is OK where we’ll be going – a French island. I reassured my children that the water will absolutely be safe to drink – but it may well taste a little different.
The norms around drinking tap water versus bottled water certainly vary across Europe, as shown by an Italian court case this week. Restaurants were found to have no obligation to provide the free stuff, unlike in the UK.
But in the majority of Europe, municipal water is safe from harmful microbes and chemicals. So, why is it so common to dislike the taste of water from a different region to your home?
