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Where is everybody?

I've been in Italy since May 31, and it's eerily empty. Lake Orta, Milan and Florence in early June; very moderate lines at key attractions, no lines at others, lots of personal space around me at all times. 2 weeks in Unbria, where I didn't expect crowds, but even Orvieto was very empty. Back to Florence at the end of June, and still room to hold a ballroom dance inside the Uffizi mid-morning. Rome last week had no lines at the beautifully renovated, scaffolding-free Colliseum. No one was ever closer than arms'-length to me in Piazza Navona or Trastevere. Got a table for 4 at every restaurant we walked up to without reservations. Now we're in Cinque Terre, which I nearly skipped due to the expectation of elbow to elbow crowds. For three days, we have had four seats together on every train; walk-in tables at regular mealtimes; and half-empty beaches and main drags in town. The heat has picked up in the last week but the crowds have not. I've got two weeks left, in Pisa, Lucca and Rome. I still expect every day that the usual crowds will magically appear, but it hasn't happened yet. And the tourists we do see are more often from Europe or Oceania than North America. Where are y'all?

Posted by
332 posts

Well for what its worth I will be there August 26th ..Happy Traveling

Posted by
15679 posts

Interesting, Nelly! A trip report from an RS member in the CT on 5/27 stated that the crowds were just terrible at that time. Wonder what's going on?

Posted by
244 posts

We were in France for a month in May. I asked myself the same question. In Paris the lines to the museums were short, crowds were very few. I was amazed. I asked our tour guide at the D Day beaches if he had seen a drop off in tourist, he said absolutely! Our apartment rental for 9 days was cancelled 4 days before arriva in Paris! I found a better apartment at a cheaper price. I couldn't believe we found an apartment on such short notice. I also noticed most travelers we met were not Americans. Australians and Europeans are still traveling in Europe. We felt safe every moment of our trip and enjoyed the fewer crowds.

Posted by
25 posts

We were in Rome 6/23-26. Apparently everyone waited until then to show up. Coliseum/Forum were packed and we stayed just off Piazza Navonna and it was packed everyday/evening. FYI, if you want pics, go early in the morning. The 4 days we were in Rome, it was near 100 every day. If you go to the Forum...take water, the only fountain is near the entrance and it is safe to drink.

Keith

Posted by
11613 posts

They are all in line at the Colosseo.

Posted by
32173 posts

Nelly,

That's lack of visitors especially from North America, is a bit surprising. Regarding the Cinque Terre, it's possible you may have just been there "between cruise ships". I suspect the theory that Kaeleku posted could explain the lack of visitors in Europe this summer.

I usually travel in the fall (and will be again this year), and nothing that's happened so far has changed my mind. Hopefully I will also be able to enjoy less crowding in Europe.

Posted by
116 posts

I was in Italy the last part of April. The trains were very crowded in the Cinque Terre with a lot of school kids on field trips. In Florence, the Academia and Ufifzi were moderately crowded. The Vatican was crazy crowded. Enjoy having it all to yourself! Wish I could be there to enjoy it with you.

Kathy
Houston, TX

ENJOY! I have been to Assisi twice. First time was in the middle of week - lovely, no crowds. This past June, we visited on a weekend and what a crazy difference - very crowded. Trevi fountain was packed this past June. The line to St. Peter's church was a cattle herding experience. The line to the Duomo climb in Florence was also much longer than on our last trip. Now, Orvieto was lovely and uncrowded as was tiny Civita Di Bagnoregio. So, I think it's just your lucky timing. My advice is try to visit Assisi Monday - Thursday.

Posted by
10178 posts

I was in Italy for 3 weeks in May. Venice was crowded like Disneyland. Verona wasn't much better. Siena and Florence weren't too bad. One common thing I saw everywhere except a couple of very small hill towns were many groups of school kids, ranging from elementary school to high school. I usually travel in the fall and don't recall ever seeing so many kids.

Posted by
19654 posts

Noticed that. May seems to be "school field trip" time in Italy.

Posted by
16028 posts

Interesting. We did not notice any scarcity of tourists in London in May, but Italy now may be different. All I can say is ---celebrate and enjoy.

Posted by
10178 posts

Sam, I speculated that they were 'end of the school year' field trips. I mentioned it to my German relatives once I arrived there to visit them and they pointed out that many schools don't end until July. All I know is that it stopped us from taking a nice boat ride on a lake, because on this smallish boat it would have been us and bunch of middle schoolers. It would not have been the relaxing experience we were hoping for.

Posted by
2067 posts

Everyone was in Rome, Florence and Paris, and other places along our route when I was there mid June . The crowds were awful.

Posted by
1028 posts

Took a half-empty ferry to Portovenere this morning. Wandered all through the town without rubbing elbows with anyone. Went into Castello Doria at the top of the town - just us 4 and 2 others. All my pictures are empty of random people. So today is not the day the crowds returned. We're heading to Pisa tomorrow, maybe they're all there! Yes, I am enjoying it. In Rome, even the piazza in front of the (closed) Spanish Steps was half empty. The busiest place was in front of the beautifully restored and re-opened Trevi fountain, and even that was tolerable.

Posted by
1929 posts

My goodness, enjoy the relative solitude. I despise crowds to the point that my wife and I travel off-season--and encounter inclement weather at times--just to avoid them.

On a serious note, however--I did read about the UW student murdered in Trastevere in Rome last week. Yes, he was probably inebriated--especially it being his first night there--and if so was easy pickings, no excuse of course for the horrific crime committed. And all we had heard about in the past as far as crime in Rome was the occasional pickpocket on the buses, hardly any violent crime at all, unlike the U.S.

But we're slated to visit Rome in February for 8 nights, and were set to book a hotel right there in Trastevere. But then I thought if there's a potential safety issue with those tiny streets and it being really deserted at night with lack of tourists, especially off-season in February, we might be better off being a little more where the action is. So we're looking at Campo de' Fiori for a hotel or apartment. We can always visit Trastevere--a wonderful area by the way--during the day.

Posted by
35 posts

This is very interesting...we're set to be in Italy for 2 weeks next month and I'm curious to see how the crowds will be then. I will check back to hear what other people say as our departure date gets closer.

Posted by
3940 posts

Wow...enjoy. I had a friend in CT back in March and she loved it - hardly a soul about and the weather was perfect.

I just had one of those 'was there a zombie apocalypse?' moments when we went to Niagara Falls back in mid-May. Last time we visited in 2001 was in July, so it was elbow to elbow. This time, there were hardly any cars (even in the 'burbs!), and not too many people on the 'main drag'. It seemed so...bizarre!

Posted by
10 posts

Im glad to hear the crowds are down..My daughter just arrived in Bologna this morning with her choir. Im hoping she'll have time to see the sites without the crowds :) Sounds like you are enjoying a rare peaceful summer holiday in Italy!!

Posted by
362 posts

The student was NOT murdered. He drowned. He was either drunk and fell in or was pushed by a person he was arguing with.

Posted by
11613 posts

So, if he was pushed, it was manslaughter? A man has been arrested.

Posted by
51 posts

We were in Rome, Florence and Venice from 6-15 to 6-30. I would say very healthy travel volume.

The issue with restaurants was there are just too many of them. The math of sustainability does not work.It simply is impossible.

Every hotel we stayed at was at capacity. That said we had a fantastic time.

Posted by
104 posts

I have several friends that own hotels and they all agree: American tourism is down. The events in Paris, Turkey, etc. have created a moderate level of unease at traveling in Europe. I live in Orvieto, and for Spring Break I hosted my 21 year old daughter and two friends. One friend's father insisted we not travel in France. For what it is worth, I feel 100% safe and secure here in central Italy. I did not feel as comfortable in Rome and don't really plan to return unless it is for a health or business appointment. Naples was also an uncomfortable visit, mainly because I had three friends all suffer from pick pockets at the train station and another was mugged coming out of a restaurant.

The heat is also contributing to stress and tension. We are predicted to see over 100F next week, which is even hotter than last summer which was a record heat wave across Italy and into Switzerland. Some places remain jammed, especially those that are cruise ship excursions. For the Amalfi coast, plan on being up and doing things early in the morning. If the cruise ship is mooring overnight in Naples, restaurants will be crowded but typically evening time is much more sane. Lake Como is as crowded as ever, but it is more of a European vacation spot than a U.S. destination.

If you are headed to Italy this summer, be prepared for scorching temperatures and little air conditioning in restaurants and shops. Those little battery operated personal fans are showing up a lot more frequently at restaurants!!

Posted by
15043 posts

Interestingly, the day after this post was posted, several Italian newspapers, including the largest (La Repubblica, see below), published that tourism has been increasingly steadily in 2015 and the 2016 estimates indicate an ulterior increase of about 3% over the previous year.

http://firenze.repubblica.it/cronaca/2016/07/04/news/toscana_cresce_il_turismo_nel_2016_previsto_un_3_di_presenze-143436361/

That shows that trusting personal anecdotal evidence is not the best way to analyze trends. For example I arrived in Florence on June 23rd and it was rather quiet, including the next day for the St. John's holiday (Florence patron saint), however it was very crowded this week. I guess the bulk of people came in July as before June 21st the weather had been horrible (lots of rain) for the previous 2 months).

I can't even say for sure that Americans aren't traveling to Europe out of terrorism concerns. My Airbus 380 from SFO to FRA was jam packed (and that is a large plane), while my return trip (from FRA to SJC) was half empty yesterday, which, if one trusts my personal anecdotal evidence, might indicate that people are afraid to come to the US rather than the other way around. Of course the Lufthansa flight to the Silicon Valley airport is new so many may not be aware it exists or maybe, given the high number of passengers on that flight from the Indian subcontinent (lots of Indian engineers around here), some Americans may have been spooked by so many passengers wearing turbans and head scarfs, and decided it was safer to fly to SFO.

I don't know, but let's wait for the final figures for 2016 before we draw a conclusion.