Beautiful Florence is a Memory

I've heard the same thing from many recent visitors to Florence. Glad I had time there years ago.

So sad. We felt that way about Florence in 2015 when we reflected on our 2003 visit.

We experienced the same overwhelming crowds last May in Florence. Crowds were worse than cinque terre, Venice, or lake Como. We are glad we visited but we have no desire to return to Florence.

In 2022, in Oct, things were tolerable. There is no way I would ever visit in high season.

Yep, we spent 4 nights in Florence this last April, our 3rd time, and Jubilee year or not it was very crowded. We stayed in the middle of the shopping district on via Tornabuoni, and it was fun just people-watching out the window. March/April used to be sane. Look, we still enjoyed it, also got out of Dodge for a day with an Accidental Tourist guide, taking us to Chianti to a castle/winery, then to the guide's parents' home up in the hills in Rignano sull' Arno for a light cooking class and lunch. That made the crowds back in Firenze a bit easier to take.

Bottom line is if you want to go to Florence not in January, you're going to have this type of situation. Reserve your restaurants and museums early, don't assume anything.

I regret that there are readers that have misinterpreted my message. For this, I am sorry.

Hello ladygabbiella, and welcome to the forums,

This is an on-going debate. Are we are ruining places by recommending them and turning tourists onto them so that they "become touristy" and we risk losing the places we fell in love with?

As an example I was lucky enough to visit Cinque Terre in the mid-90s - before the ferry and the cards and the tickets and had the experience people are looking for now and probably can't find. Heck, we showed up in Monterosso in June without reservations. Is it now "ruined" for me? I spent three days in the area and chose not to revisit the towns and "leave that memory where it is" as someone advised.

After I got back from my first, life-altering, trip to Italy I read a bunch of books with people's experiences in Italy and in one a woman returned to find her Italian family roots and stay with them. At one point an uncle goes on and on about how wonderful Rome used to be before they "ruined it" and she suggested maybe she shouldn't go to Rome after all. Paraphrasing:
"You have to go see Rome it's the most amazing place on earth!"
- "But you just said it had been ruined..."
"Oh it's been ruined so many times before it doesn't matter."

Is CT ruined? Yes, but it was ruined by pirates, and war and poverty and now tourism and probably by something else down the road. You can only visit places as they exist now and take them on those terms or choose someplace else. I see it happening right now in towns I really like and I have to remind myself that the building we stayed in is at least a hundred years older than my entire country.

Italy is eternal - we just have this slice of it to enjoy. And the current slice is pretty amazing.

Everyone have great trips,
=Tod

I found Florence to be horribly crowded and noisy in the Fall of 1989. I now stay outside the city and do an occasional day trip for sightseeing and shopping.

Once it was Rick Steves and other travel guide writers sharing "secret" travel spots. Now it is anyone with a phone and an Instagram or TikTok account.

Popular places are popular for a reason and experiencing them often means dealing with crowds.

Hello,

We understand when something comes out in a way that wasn't intended, and it can be a learning experience. Part of travel is learning about different people and cultures, and our place in the world. That can happen during and after your trip.

I've cleaned out what was of concern and the additional commentary. This is also a reminder of Guideline #4 to not post in response to (perceived or real) guideline violations. Posting in response sidetracks the thread and it's easy for the intended discussion to be lost, which was happening here. It's part of how we can all do our best to stay on topic (#1). Thanks to everyone for their attention here.

Now, back to the discussion. Crowds are definitely a thing to contend with in certain parts of Europe at certain times of the year. And, fwiw, it's been a point of focus since before the pandemic to add content across our guidebooks with advice about how to either avoid the crowds or plan ahead to make sure the crowds don't affect your sightseeing.

Agree it is disappointing and frustrating when a destination we love has morphed into something less enjoyable. A storekeeper in Florence told me that the less crowded season is now limited to January through early March. I’m going back in January and hoping for the best.

As world population grows, median world per capita income grows, more and more people will want to visit popular tourist spots. Publicity by "influencers" on the media (whether it is Rick Steves, Stanley Tucci, or less known influencers on Instagram or TikTok) is exacerbating the situation. However I see no reason for giving up on an entire country altogether.

As you get out of places like Florence, Rome, Venice, Cinque Terre, Amalfi Coast, and a few others, you will be able to enjoy a lot of Italian destinations that are just as beautiful (or even more so) but have very manageable crowds, even in high season. There are thousands of such places, not necessarily totally undiscovered, but not at all overcrowded to the point that they are not enjoyable.

Now, I understand that if you have never been to Florence or Venice or Rome, and you go to Italy, you want to visit those at least once. But a lot of 'foot traffic' is also caused by 'returning visitors' who've been to those places multiple times. There is really no reason to return to those places if there are many more to visit that you haven't seen before.

I visit Florence every year because of family and friends, but I don't go downtown Florence anymore, unless I absolutely have to, and just for the time strictly necessary to take care of business I might need to take care of. My friends who live in Florence do the same. They go downtown if their workplace is there, or also to take care of business, but otherwise they avoid the historical city center like the plague. When I ask them to suggest a restaurant they always suggest a place out of town or at least out of the city center. None of them go to restaurants in the city center anymore (they like to drive to restaurants too, and you can't do that in the ZTL).

The historical center of Florence has become like Las Vegas, where the local Las Vegan residents haven't been to the Strip for years and avoid the Strip like the plague.

Roberto, that is really interesting- thanks for sharing. I find that is quite a contrast to London, where we are in central London pretty much every weekend as are most of the people we know here. I suppose it's a much bigger area that can better accommodate crowds. But it makes me a bit sad people from Florence can't enjoy their historic areas!