I have been reading about the new (proposed?) moves to restrict the passage of tourists along certain streets in Venice, the idea being to allow locals to go about their business better.
Details are sketchy though, so I don't know what the practical impacts are. Has anybody read more, or actually visited since the restrictions were put in place?
Just heard a feature on NPR. Seems they are monitoring the situation but turnstile-type “gates” are in place to route people down less crowded calli so the main routes to Rialto and San Marco are not so jammed. Locals are said to be upset but NPR was unclear as to why the locals are upset with this particular set up except perhaps that it reduces freedom of movement.
We have been told for ages that “locals” are. a rare breed in Venice, that they have mostly moved to Mestre. What gives?
So what happens to the businesses on the Strada Nova and the Merceria. How am I going to get to Micky D's or Victoria's Secret?
Huh....we will be going to Venice in Sept so I will definitely be researching this. Thanks for posting.
Here's a link to previous thread on subject: venice tourist restrictions With ongoing link to CNN story with more details.
This was specific to the ongoing May 1 holiday (4-day) weekend.
Anyone with a Venezia Unica card will be treated as a local.
The restriction applied to this week only because of the huge influx of tourists due to the holiday week (Wed 4/25 and Tue 5/1 are holidays).
They placed turnstiles at the bridge between Piazzale Roma and the Station, and at the start of the Lista di Spagna. When there are too many tourists, only residents and Venezia Unica card can pass, all others have to go around using the adjacent calli (streets) across the grand canal.
It’s been implemented because the Mayor was bored, and one morning he got up and while shaving he thought of a way to get himself on the news while annoying people and make his miserable life more interesting.
The problem is the cruise ships. They flood the city (hmmm, is there a pun in there?) from 10am to about 5pm. As a very frequent visitor to Venice, I use that time to get lost in some wonderful alley ways and neighborhoods, or just take a riposo. I was talking with a resident last summer - he says the complaint of the businesses is that the cruise ship tourists don't spend any money. Why would they? Their meals are already paid for! They have so many ports to visit that even their souvenir purchases are going to be minimal. The most the city can hope for is the tax levied on the ship. The most the businesses can hope for is a bottle of water, a gelato and maybe a small trinket. Of course, I don't complain when, in the evening, I don't have trouble getting a good table at a local favorite trattoria.
The obvious answer is to vastly reduce/restrict/prohibit cruise ships - they really do ruin this beautiful city.
Norma, NPR said 50,000 people still live there. I was surprised.
That is surprising, Laurel. I would have guessed ten or fifteen thousand.
lol Roberto at the Mayor comment ;)
The obvious answer is to vastly reduce/restrict/prohibit cruise ships - they really do ruin this beautiful city.
They are also ruining CT, Rome, Dubrovnic, Catalonia and just about anywhere they stop. As mentioned in the link, cruise ships regularly disgorge 6 times the population of the old part of Dubrovnic when they are in port.
The sheer numbers are bad enough, but the mentality of some (not all) of the cruisers that make matters worse. If they will be in the port of call for just a day, as happens in Venice and Rome, they are stressed and in a hurry. That tends to make some pushy and aggressive.
Some friends asked us to join them on a Rhine river cruise. I was appalled by the behavior of some of the cruisers, both on and off the ship. Many dressed like slobs. Some were loud and boorish, often fueled by booze. We'll never do a river cruise again.
Do you recommend buying the Venezia Unica card? For vaporetto/airport bus? For tours? For museum admissions? Besides the advantage of access “like a local” are there other advantages? Disadvantages?
As always, thanks for your advise and help.
Just have to get rid of the d... tourists. Won't affect us because we are travelers but will increase our enjoyment since the rest of the undesirables will be gone. And ban cruise ships - who needs them. And maybe reduce the frequently and size of trains. Don't need to bring all of those extra people to Venice to hinder my enjoyment of the city.
The mega cruise ships are indeed the problem. Too many tourists at once, thousands of them. It’s like a flash flood. Also I don’t believe they contribute much to the local economy. They don’t sleep in hotels and they probably prefer to eat their prepaid meals onboard. I’m not even sure many get on gondolas, given the short time available.
The only significant contribution is the docking fees and other fees paid to the company that manages the cruise port.
The solution is greatly increase those fees, especially for large ships, and also increase the price of both transportation (including vaporetti) and museums for all all non residents, including Italians from other regions.
Someone has to tell me why visitors should be subsidized by local taxpayers and pay those low prices for transportation and museums.
It costs over $100 to visit Disneyland theme parks, why should a museum cost under 10€? Taxpayers are paying for those museum staff and that is not right. Same is true for the price of buses, regional trains, and vaporetti.
The price of transportation is subsidized by local taxpayers living in the region. Why? Those low prices should be subsidized for local commuters not for tourists.
The price system could take care of crowds better than turnstiles.
I know Frank. I wish everyone else that doesn't deserve to see Venice, Florence, Rome, CT......... once in their lives would just stay home so that I can enjoy my trip.
Who has a good idea to help solve this problem? As more and more people on the planet want a view of these important and historical cities it will only get worse. Maybe they will need to start selling a limited amount of tickets to each city each day that you don't need to purchase if you have a hotel reservation? Need some civil engineers on the job.
Sorry Roberto, we were typing at the same time.
I would agree to your plan and would be happy to pay a higher fee for the pleasure of going to the museums and using transportation.
Roberto, it seems to me that, at least as far as the vaporettos go, the tourists subsidize the residents. Residents who have the Venezia Unica Card, formerly called an imob, pay 1.50 EUR per ride, tourists pay 7.50 EUR per ride. Even the traghettos have one price for residents and another higher one for tourists.
It costs over $100 to visit Disneyland theme parks, why should a museum cost under 10€?
Maybe Europe should take a page out of Disney, Universal Stuidios and other major them park's play book. They won't readily admit it, but they charge what the market will bear and use high admission prices as a method of crowd control.
We took our 18 year old grandson to Universal Studios Hollywood, since it has been on his bucket list. It was the first time I've been to a theme park in at least 25 years. I found Universal Studios tiered approach to admissions interesting. The basic entry fee is about $100 per guest. However, you can pay $170 to get in the express lane for all the rides (one express trip per ride). If you really want to go all out, you can pay $350 which gets you the VIP pass. That includes a private host and lunch, plus going to the front of the line for every ride. Maybe European cities could adopt a similar policy.
Luckily we avoid a lot of the crowds by traveling in the off season and by getting off the beaten path as much as possible.
I readily admit I'm an old fart and a snob. Travel in Europe is far different from our first trip in 1966, when I had to take a coat and tie to wear to dinner. Life all around is coarser now. Actually, maybe it is not. It's time a read Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad" again.
Travel in Europe is far different from our first trip in 1966, when I
had to take a coat and tie to wear to dinner. Life all around is
coarser now. Actually, maybe it is not.
Pretty sure it's not much different for youthful backpackers who've been doing it on a shoestring for a long time? My mom and a group of friends cycled across Europe the summer after college graduation in 1953. Bought Raleigh bikes in England and stayed in hostels everywhere, back when part of the cheap stay was pitching in on cleaning and kitchen duties. Shipped themselves and the bikes home with the last of their $. Mom said she had nothing but change in her pocket when they docked in the States. I can assure you that they weren't wearing posh frocks on that trip or eating in places which required them! :O)
http://blog.hihostels.com/2013/10/cold-showers-cycling-and-girls-1950s-hostelling-at-its-best/
I've a fondness for many of the young people we've seen and met on our trips who were clearly having a very big time on small budgets. The size of packs some diminutive ladies can shoulder is impressive as well!
I’m not sure the tourists subsidized the local transportation in Venice, Sam.
The Veneto Region contributed €16 million to the ACTV in the FY2016. That money comes from local taxpayers. It is possinle of course that the reason is that 1.50€ paid by locals is too little to pay for public transportation. This is unfortunately the ageless conundrum that public transit authorities have to deal with worldwide.
Perhaps, Venice can learn from the small country of Bhutan. Bhutan requires all visitors to pay $250 Per DAY for a special travel permit and the visitor has to book a travel "package" through a nationally licensed travel agency.
Bhutan saw Nepal plagued with backpacker types who want to eat street food and sleep in parks, etc.. It was creating many problems. (I imagine sanitation being among them.)
Venice could require a Visitor's Pass to get on the Island. These fees could help pay for so many maintenance matters.
What a shame if young people on a budget and students traveling abroad would not be able to afford public transportation and museum entrance fees. While I have seen student entrance fees at some locations, I have not seen "young people" fees. I traveled quite differently 35 years ago compared to how I am able to travel now. I am glad I was able to have access to affordable transportation and cultural locations when I was on a tight budget and I would wish the same for young travelers today.
Pretty sure it's not much different for youthful backpackers who've been doing it on a shoestring for a long time? My mom and a group of friends cycled across Europe the summer after college graduation in 1953. Bought Raleigh bikes in England and stayed in hostels everywhere, back when part of the cheap stay was pitching in on cleaning and kitchen duties.
Kathy, your story reminded me of our trip in 1966. We weren't backpackers, but I remember seeing campgrounds on the shores of the Rhine filled with colorful pup tents. I'm sure there were some American Youth in the group.
Back in 1966 we wrote letters home instead of using FaceTime. We took American Express Travelers Checks - no credit cards. There were no Euros - we had to get Francs, Marks, Pounds and Lira Our bus or train stopped at frontiers and officials checked our passports. We encountered far fewer English speakers. Deb bought a pair of sunglasses from a street vendor. The exchange was fun to watch, especially when she was converting the price to dollars in her head and haggling with the vendor. Of course he made a show of the successful transaction and took the opportunity to hug a 14 year old American girl!
We really can't compare modern problems with past ways of traveling. So much has changed! I am sure the number of visitors to Venice has skyrocketed since the 1960's. That creates all kinds of new problems. I would not be opposed to a place like Venice charging tourists some basic access fee like $10-15 per person, particularly if the day trippers are not staying at a hotel. Hotels could collect fees from their guests. It costs communities a truckload of money to maintain sanitation, infrastructure, and historic preservation.
