Almost all of continental Europe uses one family of round-pin sockets. If you are travelling from the US, UK, Australia, India or Japan, a single adapter gets you through France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Croatia and the Nordics.
What "a Europe adapter" means
It is a passive plug with two round 4.8 mm pins on the wall side — physically a Type C or Type F plug — and your home socket on the other. It carries no electronics, so it does not change voltage.
The three exceptions
- United Kingdom and Ireland — Type G, three rectangular pins, completely incompatible. Separate adapter.
- Switzerland and Liechtenstein — Type J. A Europlug fits; a Schuko plug does not, because the Swiss recess is narrower. If you are carrying Schuko gear, you need a slim adapter.
- Denmark — Type K. Same story: Europlug yes, Schuko no.
Italy's Type L looks like a third exception but usually is not: most modern Italian sockets are "bipasso" and accept a Europlug alongside the three-in-a-row Italian plug.
Voltage: what actually changes
Europe runs at 230 V / 50 Hz. Coming from North America (120 V), Japan (100 V) or parts of South America, that is a different voltage class:
- Phones, laptops, camera chargers, toothbrushes — marked 100–240 V. Adapter only.
- Hairdryers, curling irons, kettles — usually single voltage. Adapter plus converter, or leave them at home.
Coming from the UK, Australia, India or New Zealand the voltage matches (230–240 V), so it really is just the plug shape.