950 euros for a coffee!

[whoof]

Be careful where you brew up.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49054042
I've eaten my own sandwich near St Mark's square. Good job I want collared.

[Bonefishblues]

I think they had a lucky escape, from what I hear - they could have gone to a cafe on St Marks Square to buy one and lost their house...

[mercalia]

email that story to Farage, it will give him ammo for his justification for Brexit.

Are there signs telling you what you cant do , in English. Must be a very lengthy read?

Venice part of Italy aint it? One place I dont want to visit with its open sewers hmm canals

[whoof]

email that story to Farage, it will give him ammo for his justification for Brexit.

Are there signs telling you what you cant do , in English. Must be a very lengthy read?

Venice part of Italy aint it? One place I dont want to visit with its open sewers hmm canals

Before I went there I was told that the canals were open sewers and it stank. This may have been the case in the past. When I was there It was over 30 degrees and out didn't smell at all, I took off my shoes to cool my feet in the canal and saw a crab and a small flat fish not exactly signs of highly polluted water.
I also bought a coffee at a cafe in a quiet square within 2 minutes walk of St Mark's for 1.25 euros. Walk a few minutes from the busiest areas and outs quiet and very beautiful.
It's also not expensive if you stay and eat in the right places.

[PDQ Mobile]

email that story to Farage, it will give him ammo for his justification for Brexit.

Are there signs telling you what you cant do , in English. Must be a very lengthy read?

Venice part of Italy aint it? One place I dont want to visit with its open sewers hmm canals

Said the man who watched loads of UK media!

Before I went there I was told that the canals were open sewers and it stank. This may have been the case in the past. When I was there It was over 30 degrees and out didn't smell at all, I took off my shoes to cool my feet in the canal and saw a crab and a small flat fish not exactly signs of highly polluted water.
I also bought a coffee at a cafe in a quiet square within 2 minutes walk of St Mark's for 1.25 euros. Walk a few minutes from the busiest areas and outs quiet and very beautiful.
It's also not expensive if you stay and eat in the right places.

Said the man who'd actually been and spent time there!

[Pyranha]

We were there last month, when a tourist was charged for taking a bike into the city - and for being shirtless. There are signs telling you some of these laws. Bikes are welcome on some of the other islands, and we hired a tandem on Lido for an afternoon. In the city a bike would be more of an encumbrance than anything else, given how narrow and busy some of the 'streets' are.

[whoof]

We were there last month, when a tourist was charged for taking a bike into the city - and for being shirtless. There are signs telling you some of these laws. Bikes are welcome on some of the other islands, and we hired a tandem on Lido for an afternoon. In the city a bike would be more of an encumbrance than anything else, given how narrow and busy some of the 'streets' are.

We cycled to Mestre where we camped. There was a bus for Venice that left from right outside and took 10-15 minutes. Venice is reasonably compact and walking is the best way to get about. If you walk out to Arsenal and get the ferry back it's empty when you get on and you can get a good spot. It the makes a good value way of getting a tour of the Grand Canal.

[al_yrpal]

As more and more people can afford to travel to tourist destinations this sort of thing will happen more and more. Venice is particularly unpleasant. Even 10 years ago there was a 30 minute queue to get into St Marks. With all those massive cruise ships it must be even worse. London next....

Al

[Bonefishblues]

As more and more people can afford to travel to tourist destinations this sort of thing will happen more and more. Venice is particularly unpleasant. Even 10 years ago there was a 30 minute queue to get into St Marks. With all those massive cruise ships it must be even worse. London next....

Al

I think most Londoners would welcome a queue as short as 30 minutes to get into the capital every day

[Cyril Haearn]

No need to visit Venezia, there are at least a hundred other beautiful historic towns in Italia, where one might even meet italianpersons

[Sweep]

I think most Londoners would welcome a queue as short as 30 minutes to get into the capital every day

I can pedal into it from south London in 30 mins.

I do several times a week.

[Sweep]

On the original topic, Venice sure has changed - for the worse.

I well remember as a student traveller sleeping outside the station on the steps right by the grand canal. With lots of other backpackers.*

In the morning, at dawn, or just before, the carabinieri in their military khaki with their rifles just went around gently waking us up/giving us the nod.

We then all left within 15 minutes or so so we didn't spoil the view for new tourist arrivals.

All very civilised.

I think that fine outrageous.

Many Italian fines are outrageous.

And thereby hangs a tale or two about the place.

I very much doubt the germans were doing any real harm or causing a fracas.

They could just have been told to move on.

It's even possible that it didn't help their case that they were German.

They were doing far less harm than the large ships that are still washing the place away. And have been doing for decades. While the folks on the ships are pandered to for the bucks they bring in.

I am afraid modern Italy and a fair few Italians are becoming seriously anal.

And {FFE - family-friendly edit } it appears that the authorities are seeking a law to make it a finable offence to be carrying alcohol around sealed in bottles/cans inside a shopping bag if they judge you to be brutta figura.

If someone thinks I'm being a little englander or that the story is not as the BBC reported it, by all means educate me.

I'll be going elsewhere in Italy with the bike to chill and make my coffee in the open air.

And sod any jumped up official who tells me I can't.

I understand that we have a forum member who is pedalling around Italy - if he hasn't been ejected (again) maybe he would care to comment.

* have also slept in Florence station at least twice - pretty sure that isn't allowed any more.

edit - I see the bizzare robot prude has been at my post - very dirty mind it has.

[Bonefishblues]

I think most Londoners would welcome a queue as short as 30 minutes to get into the capital every day

I can pedal into it from south London in 30 mins.

I do several times a week.

You aren't most Londoners, clearly, you're a breed apart, a commuter sans pareil, an uber-commuter. I, indeed I'm sure we all salute you

[Sweep]

I think I'd have a stiff coffee and spare your open mouthed emoticons while you drink it - dribbling isn't nice.

[1982john]

On the original topic, Venice sure has changed - for the worse.

I think the point of the fine is to send a message to potential tourists we don't want 'backpackers / cycle tourists' etc only the rich and wealthy.

Now, we can all whine about it but it's their choice. They voted for this democratically. So, we have a responsibility if we go to a new country to abide by their rules (I'm sure we would expect the same for tourists here).

Places like Venice can have such elitist rules because it's already got more tourists than it can handle. Places like Birmingham (my city) it would not be advisable to hold such rules.

It has nothing to do with the EU as someone earlier up mentioned as I imagine the Swiss have some hefty fines ie driving.