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TOURISM

Venice promises ‘very soft’ measures to cut down tourist crowds

Venice's mayor on Thursday promised a light touch "without queues" when the city rolls out its new 'tourist tax' in a few weeks, seeking to cut down on the hordes of visitors who descend every summer.

Published: 4 April 2024 18:09 CEST
Tourists crowd the Ponte della Paglia bridge in Venice on June 5th, 2021.
Tourists crowd the Ponte della Paglia bridge in Venice. Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP.

The new plan to lower the number of tourists visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site calls for day-trippers to pay a five-euro ticket to enter the historic city centre and is due to start on April 25th.

Although the new policy was announced in September, the city had not provided details on how it would be implemented, causing speculation that the city could install turnstiles or other drastic measures.

But at a press conference in Rome on Thursday, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro promised “very soft controls” and “without queues”, saying that the city would carry out spot checks on tourists to make sure they are armed with a QR code.

“This is an experiment, and the first time it’s been done anywhere in the world,” he said.

“Our aim is to make Venice more liveable.”

READ ALSO: How will Venice’s ‘tourist tax’ work?

At peak times, some 100,000 tourists spend the night in the city, with tens of thousands other people visiting just for the day.

This compares with a population of under 50,000 in the city centre, which is steadily shrinking.

This year, only 29 peak tourist days will be affected by the new tax, which begins April 25 and continues nearly every weekend from May to July.

Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro addresses media at the Foreign Press Association in Rome on April 4th, 2024. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

“Venice Access Fee”

The “Venice Access Fee” targets only daily tourists entering the old town between 8:30am and 4pm. Exempt are those tourists staying in hotels, minors under 14, and the disabled, among other categories.

For five euros, a QR code can be downloaded from the official website, available in English, Spanish, French, German and, of course, Italian. Other languages will be added.

Residents and their families do not have to pay the fee, while tourists staying in hotels will be provided with a free QR code, the mayor said.

READ ALSO: The Italian tourist destinations bringing in restrictions this summer

Controllers will be stationed in and around the city’s main entrances, notably the Santa Lucia train station, performing spot checks on visitors.

Tourists without their ticket will be invited to purchase one on arrival, with the help of local operators. But they could also risk fines ranging from 50 to 300 euros.

For the time being, there is no limit on the number of QR codes distributed each day: “We need to find the true number of visitors,” Brugnaro said.

The main aim of the project is to discourage day-trippers, who contribute to the overcrowding of the city, world-famous for its works of art, bridges and canals, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

Member comments

  1. Not sure though at only 5€ people will both getting the code, irrespective of spot checks. If there is substantial fine in place, then ‘maybe’ visitors will bother. Surely a QR cde at every entry point to scan would be better, that everyone has to scan. No code no entry?

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TOURISM

‘Not even that ancient’: The harshest TripAdvisor comments about Italy’s sights

From Roman ruins to grand Gothic palaces, Italy’s most popular tourist attractions welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors every year – but not everyone leaves satisfied.

Published: 16 May 2024 09:47 CEST
'Not even that ancient': The harshest TripAdvisor comments about Italy's sights

With its rich cultural heritage and plenty of art and architecture wonders, Italy draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from all corners of the world every year. 

But a quick scroll through the review section of travel website TripAdvisor will be enough to show that some of the country’s most famous attractions aren’t to everyone’s taste.

Colosseum, Rome

It may be Italy’s biggest tourist attraction, but even the Colosseum – the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, dating back to 80 AD – fails to impress some.

“I came. I saw. I left,” wrote one reviewer, saying that looking at pictures of the building and reading about its history will spare you from “a long wait line, a port a john [sic] bathroom, and a big disappointment”.

READ ALSO: Nine tips for making the most of a Rome city break

Others were seemingly not so happy with the overall state of the attraction.

“[It] was a lot more broken than I thought it would be, at £15 a pop you’d think they’d invest in repairing it,” one wrote. 

“Not even got a roof? When they finishing it [sic]?” asked another. 

Milan, Duomo 

Though it is often regarded as one of, if not the greatest example of Italian Gothic architecture, not everyone seems to be impressed by Milan’s Duomo cathedral. 

“The outside is gaudy and tacky as the worst of Las Vegas,” while “the inside is as bad taste as the outside” and not worth the wait, “even if they paid you”, one reviewer wrote.

READ ALSO: Stay away! How Europe’s most popular spots are fighting overtourism

Another said the Duomo was no different than any “old cathedral” found in every European city, claiming that “pigeons watching [sic] is more exciting than this building”.

Speaking of pigeons, one tourist warned future visitors about the aggressiveness of the local bird population, saying that the area surrounding the Duomo is “swarming with thousands of pigeons that have long ago lost any fear of humans” and will “fly directly at your head”, forcing you to “take evasive action”.

Just another cathedral? The famed Duomo in Milan. Photo by Martin Anselmo on Unsplash

Doge’s Palace, Venice

Venice’s Palazzo Ducale is the third most-visited tourist attraction in the country and arguably one of the best-preserved traces of the ancient Venetian Republic’s power. 

But the palace isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – at least judging from its reviews.

“When you go inside, there’s nothing to see except a lot of paintings on the ceilings and high on the walls. The paintings are impressive but very samey,” one reviewer wrote.

READ ALSO: What’s the difference between Italy’s city taxes and new ‘tourist tax’?

“Really boring,” complained another, saying that the rooms were “bland” and “the view never got any better”. 

Other visitors said they were disappointed with some of their tour guides’ choices.

One wrote: “Our guide took pleasure in telling about people being tortured here. It was a bit grizzly [sic]. Personally I would give the place a miss.” 

Tourists sit under the archway of the Doge's Palace in Venice

The Doge’s Palace in Venice, which some visitors found abit “samey”. Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

Pompeii 

Even the Pompeii archaeological site, which consists of the ruins of a city buried under volcanic ash following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, has its fair share of detractors.

A reviewer described the site as being “poorly paved street after poorly paved street of pretty much the same old same old terraced house over and over and over and over”.

Another said: “I really don’t get what the hype is about.

“It’s not even that ancient since they had to build so many structures around it to keep it standing. Even the freaking pillars didn’t make it (some barely did I guess).”

One reviewer even went as far as saying it was the “worst place” he’d ever visited, mentioning he had “too much ground to cover in sweltering heat” and he “should have stayed at the nice beaches of Vico Equense”. 

Trevi Fountain, Rome

A prime example of Italian Baroque aesthetics, the Trevi fountain is one of Rome’s most widely recognised symbols worldwide, but not all visitors are impressed by it.

“It splashes and splashes. It spurtles and flows. It fountains and gurgles and is as romantic as my oldest pairs of smelly socks,” wrote one reviewer, who concluded they felt “let down”.

Tourists around Rome's Trevi Fountain

Tourists around Rome’s Trevi Fountain in March 2024. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

That said, many reviewers expressed appreciation for the fountain’s architecture, but complained that their visit was ruined by hordes of fellow tourists. These complaints are far from unjustified given the attraction’s long-standing overcrowding issues. 

One reviewer suggested that “packing a pair of 8 foot stilts” may be the only way to “ensure a satisfying visit to the Trevi”.

Another called the attraction a “claustrophobia mecca” that’s “nearly impossible to deal with because of the thousands of pushy, sweaty, rude and large tourists”.

Have you seen a surprising review of an Italian landmark? Are there any Italian sights you think are overrated? Let us know in the comments section below.

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