Treviso: less crowded alternative to Venice

I saw that - and I'm sorely tempted! I've been avoiding Venice because of the crowds and over-tourism. This could definitely work for me!

A very interesting article. Thanks for sharing.

When I looked at the NY Times reader comments, I cracked up seeing that one of the top comments blamed our very own Rick "Steeves" (sic) for ruining Cinque Terre by letting out the secret. So goeth tourism in the 21st century...

It is just not the same. Venice is unique, there is nothing like it. One can visit Treviso in addition to Venice. But I will never recommend to someone to skip Venice.

I can't imagine skipping Venice - it's one of the most unique cities in the world. There are ways to avoid the crowds - or at least minimize their impact on your trip.

eptld, Rick has ruined the Cinque Terre, even he has talked about it and takes responsibility. And that was before cruise ships started docking there which made it even worse.
Rick has fixated on particular places for 30 yrs now (many, but a certain street in Paris comes to mind) and it changes it for the worse some would argue.

The Cinque Terre isn't "ruined." As with Venice, there are ways to avoid some of the crowds and still enjoy it. I just returned from another visit there - as usual, it was the highlight of my whole trip.

Everyone is entitled to their perspective and opinion Andrew. As i said, even RS has talked about it. My family enjoyed many vacations in Venice and the CT starting as far back as 1961 and both are not the same. Nothing is, but some places are now more worse off than others. Mont St Michel is a place i’ve loved since i was 5 yrs old - it has also been ruined by hordes of tourists.

Having only been there once, ca. 1990 -- but hoping to go again in the foreseeable future -- I'm not qualified to compare the "old" Venice with the present one. I do remember that before my first trip there, some wise person told me that the tourist Venice IS the real Venice. Whether or not you agree with that assessment, it helped me keep my sanity while I was there. And I had a wonderful time!

However, when/if I get to go, this time I do think I'd like to spend time in both Venice and Treviso. It's nice to know about another option nearby.

Exactly, if a person hasn’t been somewhere before it got extremely over crowded they can’t see the difference, and appreciating it for how it is now is fine, nothing wrong with that. To say it’s ruined, or not ruined, is subjective and based on a person’s experience. And having options is always a good thing... : )

Ironic that the NY Times - that has run n stories on the wonders of Venice (and the CT) - now is pushing another city. They and other facile media outlets cause the overcrowding as the enablers of the travelers-who-herd.

My husband and I are spending three weeks in Italy, Slovenia and Austria in Sept/Oct. We had planned on three nights in Venice but after reading the NYT Travel article we have decided to go to Treviso instead. I've been to Venice twice (my husband once) and ultimately decided that exploring a different, less popular area would be ideal for us. We love to walk and explore, eat, drink and take in local culture. I'll report back.

Tracie, that sounds wonderful. Looking forward to your news after the trip!

Mont St Michel is a place i’ve loved since i was 5 yrs old - it has also been ruined by hordes of tourists.

....tourists like you? What makes one tourist part of the "hordes" and another "acceptable"?

I dislike crowds just as much as the next person, but the next person also has just as much right to see a place like CT or Venice as I do. I'm pretty happy more and more people are leaving home to see the world and all it has to offer.