Holy Crap! Europe is overloaded with tourists!

You say Europe and then speak about Italy. Why not say ITALY is overloaded with tourists?

Europe is a continent.

Going to Europe during the summer months is amateurish.

EUROPE IS A CONTINENT.

Because he didn’t just name Italian cities, r1. Barcelona is in Spain and Paris is in France —which are both in Europe.

The amount of money that tourism brings to Italy must be astronomical. Tourists are EVERYWHERE in Italy. It's not just a few cities, it's really just about every city, the towns, the coasts, the islands.

He’s naming the cities that always attract ridiculous amounts of tourists. Is he new to earth?

PS all those cities are Mediterranean. Funny how people flock to those and not the Anglo parts lmao

I’ve been to Europe often throughout my life. I’ve never seen as many tourists as I’ve seen post-pandemic.

It’s nuts how everything is just jammed with tourists.

[Quote] You say Europe and then speak about Italy. Why not say ITALY is overloaded with tourists? Europe is a continent.

You seem to have a reading comprehension problem

I hear Romania is the new “must see” place

R9 again. Non-Anglo

Honestly, European cities just run together. With globalization, they all look alike. The magic is gone.

How are Asian cities doing? I want to try Africa but haven’t a clue where to start

[Quote] again. Non-Anglo

What else is “Anglo” except for Great Britain?

R11 that’s actually very false. Spoken like the uneducated person you are.

[Quote] EUROPE IS A CONTINENT.

Thanks, Capt Obvious!

R12 retarded question. Every city you named is from Mediterranean land. None from Anglo or Scandinavian.

Go in November. The weather is cooler and more condusive to exploring and fewer other tourists. But there is no time in Europe when tourists aren't a hindrance.

Just landed in Helsinki. Huge crowd at the airport and huge line at my hotel check-in. Visiting several Scandinavian cities, so we shall see.

[Quote] retarded question. Every city you named is from Mediterranean land. None from Anglo or Scandinavian.

What’s wrong with that? They are European cities. I’m sorry I havent been to every European city.

What I do know is that, compared to my previous travels, I’m seeing bigger tourist crowds in the cities I been to.

If I mention London and Oslo, will you suddenly say “you didn’t go to Greece so your insight is wrong!”

I do want to see the Baltic cities but do I really need to see another palace, church, garden, blah blah blah?

How about Starbucks, KFC, and McDonalds?

R18 nothing wrong with it but they aren’t the same as places like Poland and Scotland.

The typical spots are always overloaded. Paris, Rome, Venice, London (for the Yanks who can’t handle a foreign language at all), and the castle parts of Bavaria. People go where they can Instagram their face next to a landmark. You see it every summer. Hordes of fannypack Yanks shouting in English about the train to the Eiffel Tower, or how much something costs in “real money.”

They never go to rural Norway, or Graz, or Malta, or Vitznau. Their friends have never heard of it, and there was never a Disney movie filmed there.

Yokels.

[quote] I do want to see the Baltic cities but do I really need to see another palace, church, garden, blah blah blah?

Yes. Record video so that if you don’t enjoy it at the level you should while you’re there, you can do so watching afterward.

They have discovered Sicily because of The White Lotus. Before COVID, it was Iceland. Where will it be next?

Enjoy yourself r17. I think you will and feel the urge to return.

I love Scotland r21 but I am biased as it's part of my heritage. Poland is too homophobic.

[quote]I love Scotland [R21] but I am biased as it's part of my heritage. Poland is too homophobic.

Have you been to Poland? How were the people homophobic to you?

There was a time those cities and countries would be grateful for the tourist dollars. Now they hate us all.

r22 Or maybe those countries culture are boring?

The first two weeks of September in less touristed regions of Italy like Liguria, Puglia, or Sicily are absolutely gorgeous. And hardly any tourists.

Poland is great. And much better if some Americans are afraid to go there because Dan Savage tweeted “Poland = Mali”.

R25 Please don’t be one of those dolts who wanders around Scotland saying “I’m one-quarter Scottish, if you go back eight generations!”

R28 You’ve never been, so how would you know?

I love how r22 and his ilk think all Americans are all yokels. There are plenty of educated and cultured Americans who travel throughout Europe.

There are also plenty of European yokels in Europe.

People are a lot alike in a lot of places.

Are they predominantly American tourists? Or are they other Europeans?

Probably a lot of Europeans who might normally visit the US are staying away.

(Also, why does everyone go to Barcelona? I liked it, but there are plenty of other European cities that are just as impressive and don't get as much traffic.)

Too many summer tourists in Greece.

Is it SUCH a gay thing to shit all over certain places in Europe (that nobody else has a problem with) because they're just not fabulous or la-di-da enough for the "discerning" gay.

"Oh, Barcelona. Well, it's alright. I guess. "Florence? I went a couple of times and it was alright, I guess. Rather common in places, I thought."

That is 100% right out of Priss Gay Stereotype 101.

Outside of the Nordic countries, I think visiting Europe in the summer is not wise. Crowds, unexpected heat waves with NO AC, prices are higher - long lines for everything.

April/May or Oct/Nov is best. Except for Nordic countries - they only have like 8-10 weeks of good weather anyway.

If you are going to do one European vacation, which many people do, of course you are going to go to the big, touristy cities. Really, fly to Europe and go to rural Norway instead of somewhere you have heard about your whole life?

With that said, it is more crowded. Recently went to Bologna where I went to grad school, it was absolutely packed. The shop keepers said it was the new flights from the cheap European airlines.

I've been to Poland and the people we met were lovely

R38 - there have been cheap airlines in Europe for 25 years now. I don't think there's all of a sudden more flights to Bologna. Unless there's been some sort of resurgence in Bolognese.

What about Nice? And the Isle of Greece?

R17 I hate to be that person but just to save you the embarrassment of being corrected by a local - Helsinki is not a Scandinavian city. Finland is a Nordic country but is not Scandinavian.

It literally doesn’t matter, r42.

Really? "Literally"? It probably literally doesn't matter to you R43 but I know from experience that it is important to the Finns.

I assume that you're one of those people who thinks that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are part of the country of England?

You're a fool for going to Italy in the middle of summer, OP

R43 Better have a beefy ass, because he's a complete shit-for-brains.

R32 While there are plenty of educated and cultured Americans travelling in Europe - and indeed on this thread - some of your compatriots, especially on this thread, really do reinforce the stereotype of the clueless American tourist bumbling his way around the world with no idea where he is, shouting to make himself understood and complaining that the Starbucks tastes different and not understanding the currency and who cares about the differences between countries?

Scan upwards here and you'll see a few classic examples.

Happy trails - travel is my passion and I can't get enough of it.

I flew into Helsinki, rented a car, and set out to drive up Western Finland to Oulu. Spent a couple days in Tampere and almost a week in and around Jakobstad before reaching Oulu. My Swedish is pretty good so I felt comfortable in the Swedish speaking west coast (though everybody told me that I had a strong Stockholm accent). Not to worry, almost every Finn speaks understandable English. I encountered no Americans after I left Tampere and a few tourists from other Nordic countries. But we tourists were not many at all.

This was one of the most relaxing true vacations I’ve ever taken. The museums I visited were uncrowded albeit smallish. I saw incredible scenery — rivers, lakes, the sea, ancient ruins, small towns — that I hope to remember forever. I left the rental car in Oulu and took a train back to Helsinki, spent a couple nights there before flying home. I had been to Helsinki many times before, and Turku twice, but this time I got a real feeling of acquaintance with Finland. Highly recommend.

March in Paris is perfect for hours of brooding in a café.

[quote] Have you been to Poland? How were the people homophobic to you?

Nope. Homophobic democracy does not get my gay money.

I don't go to Florida either.

I only singled out Poland because it came up in a post including Scotland, three of my grandparents were born there. If it went as homophobic as Poland I would reconsider visiting my ancestry.

I have several friends who have been to Poland. They see their remaining Polish relatives as extremely racist and homophobic.

Many North Americans of Polish ancestry are well known for their racism and homophobia.

r42 Don't even bother, these things don't matter to most here, they call Melania Eastern European all the time.

They love lecturing us on how to divide our regions based on their outdated Cold War views, but they'd probably bite my head off I referred to Washington as a Midwestern state, even though everyone there speaks English and shares mostly the same culture with all other states.

r51 What country are you from??

You were expecting them to explore Ukraine, perhaps?

I think it's rural Poland (and rural Hungary, Slovakia, etc.) that are very conservative and homophobic. Warsaw would be totally different. Rural people are conservative and homophobic just about everywhere.

R22 Malta?!

Malta is the EU’s shithole. There is no reason to visit Malta, unless you’re a poor Brit on a package deal.

Do they give a big greasy breakfast?

Even in Italy in the summer there are regions not that full, i was in Umbria two years agor at the end of July, beggining of August and it was mostly empty with the minor assumption of Assizi. Dozens of gorgeous, hilly towns with lots of art, good food and great views. In more than one place we had the museums mostly to ourselves.

Conversely went to Florence last November and it was packed tourist hell.

^exception, not assumption

I just spent two weeks in Greece. Fly into Santorini or Mykonos, stay 1-2 nights to take the obligatory photos, and then take a ferry to a smaller island without an airport. The food is great (honest and simple), the prices are good, and it’s easy to find a beach without crowds - with a little adventure, you will have beaches to yourself. This style trip is good if you want to relax. You know, take a break.

France has dozens of fascinating cities that are not overrun with foreign tourists. All of them have interesting museums, beautiful architecture, good food, gardens, patisseries, etc. Paris is so fucking overrated it's ridiculous.

I'm spending my summer in the mountains around the Balkans. Beautiful and not crowded at all.

R6, since when was Paris on the Mediterranean? And WTF are the "Anglo" parts of Europe?

Bloody Americans.

[quote]I just spent two weeks in Greece. Fly into Santorini or Mykonos, stay 1-2 nights to take the obligatory photos, and then take a ferry to a smaller island without an airport

Or don't. Go where you want to visit, not to a place for no better reason than to take an "obligatory" selfie in front of something "iconic," while whining, "It's sooo crowded."

A selfie is a selfie is a selfie, and unless the person looking at it is on the photo, he has already moved on, the thin wedge of white stucco and blue sky in the background having gone quite unnoticed.

I completely agree, 62. But you have to fly in to somewhere, so I am saying, if you must ….

I did have one night in Mykonos (can’t avoid due to flight) and the “people watching” was fantastic. I got pizza because I knew the Greek food would be terrible.

The selfie shit is beyond annoying. Instagram is one of the worst things that has happened to our society imho.

I do not understand this endless need for a selfie. I've perhaps taken 2 in my lifetime and have no desire for any more. I don't need a picture of myself to show that I was someplace to remember/document it.

I've had an instagram account for 6+ years. It has 10 or so pix of my dogs. Unless you are an OF 'model' advertising your hourly rate, I see no need for an Insta feed full of nothing but you doing things.

And don't get me started on the people who need to take a picture of what they are served in a restaurant....

[quote]And don't get me started on the people who need to take a picture of what they are served in a restaurant....

These people should be shot.

Honestly, at this point tourism is so blown up that the best time to see Rome or Paris or Barcelona is as off-season as you can get. It’s so overrun in the summer and there’s a 1 in 4 chance of a punishing heatwave.

We did a January getaway to Paris and while the outdoor scene was badly missed, we had an enchanting time otherwise and there was so much more room to move in general.

Also for a spacious and remote European summertime experience, if you just want escapist scenery and don’t require much amusement: the eastern edges of the Northwestern peninsula of Iceland. After three days up there I came away feeling so peaceful and inspired.

Global warming is really affecting Europe. The weather has been unbearably hot all summer. Don’t think it will get cooler in future years.

I found remarkable solitude and stark natural beauty in Patagonia. Much more so than even the most far-flung parts of Norway or Iceland.

But it's not Europe.

[Quote] Are they predominantly American tourists? Or are they other Europeans?

Depends on where you go. Florence, for example, was full of American tourists, while Milan had mainly European tourists.

While the big cities are tourist hell, the small cities usually don’t have that issue and can be pleasant to visit. That said, they don’t have as many things to see either.

Americans are still better tourists than the Chinese.

At least we generally wait in line, obey the No Smoking signs, and don't shit in the lavatory sinks.

Now, my well traveled friends are turning to the Balkans—Serbia, Bulgaria, etc

Chinese are pigs. Yeah, go ahead and call me racist. They are PIGS. There are signs outside the Louvre in Mandarin instructing them not to piss and shit on the museum grounds.

PIGS.

[quote]Now, my well traveled friends are turning to the Balkans—Serbia, Bulgaria, etc

Gorgeous countries. Surprisingly high quality of life.

R75 I was in Basel and Lucerne some years ago, just as the Red Devils were starting to discover the Alps in large numbers. All of the public toilets had this laminated sign - presumably provided by the canton health authorities - depicting a person standing on a toilet and defecating from an upright position. It had a big red "x" over it. The caption below was printed only in Chinese. I don't know what it said, but it told me all I needed to know.

At the Rheinfall, there were similar signs tacked to the railings that depicted not chasing the swans, not smoking, and not throwing trash into the falls. Again, only in Chinese.

In Lucerne, you saw why the signs were necessary. The Chinese tourists would CHASE the swans on the water's edge and try to grab them to take photos and rub them for luck or some Confucian bullshit. I guess swans are a good omen in China, and worthy of animal abuse. Cops and locals were nearby to tell them to stop.

r77 they are a menace everywhere they go.

R78 Worse in Hong Kong. They stay in the cheapest hotels, and steal everything that isn't nailed down. Towels, bedsheets, the steam trays at the breakfast buffet. I thought that was just a Homer Simpson joke, but I no-shit watched a Mainlander pick up the entire tray of scrambled eggs and carry it back to her table.

They go to Europe for photos - usually shoving their way to the front of any crowd - but they go to Honkers to SHOP. They load up on perfumes, electronics, couture, etc.

Same thing you see when Brazilians come to Miami with five empty suitcases.

[quote] All of the public toilets had this laminated sign - presumably provided by the canton health authorities - depicting a person standing on a toilet and defecating from an upright position. It had a big red "x" over it.

I went to a college with a substantial international student population, which is where I first learned that many cultures in Asia and India will stand on the toilet to squat and 💩.

[quote] I no-shit watched a Mainlander pick up the entire tray of scrambled eggs and carry it back to her table.

Whoa, it's like the travel version of Sows At The Trough!

R80 Or the green room at "The View."

r31

[quote]Please don’t be one of those dolts who wanders around Scotland saying “I’m one-quarter Scottish, if you go back eight generations!"

I don't dispute that this happens (nor do I do it), as I've run across the complaint frequently; but I'd like to better understand this sentiment by natives of a country (it seems to happen in all countries) who are evidently dismayed by the pride visitors take in their ancestral link to the country. The natives don't want to hear about it because, what?, (a) it's boring; (b) the visitor seems to expect special treatment; (c) the frequency of its happening eats up too much of life; (d) I don't care about my native country, why should you?; (e) all of the above; (f) other (specify)? I'd think it would be a refreshing step up from the likes of, "Nice day, isn't it?" and "Could you tell me where the nearest public restroom is?".

My one relevant personal experience with this was at a cathedral in East Anglia where I had asked a passing ecclesiastic about a particular item in the architecture, and he followed his answer with a discerning look and a question, " . . . Was your family perhaps from around here . . . ?" On learning my surname (which has a specific association with the lay of the land there), and that they had emigrated several centuries ago, he said, "Oh, yes--we still have many of that name here. Welcome back!" This was very charming and memorable to me and seemed agreeable to him, hence my mystification that others don't have this cordial and mutually pleasant attitude.

I agree about some American compatriots but let's not kid ourselves that other countries don't have their own boorish tourists. Brits, yikes. Chinese, appalling.

^^Germans, when they've been drinking. Holy shit.

[Quote] Now, my well traveled friends are turning to the Balkans—Serbia, Bulgaria, etc

Many say, however, they aren’t ready for a mass or tourists yet. There aren’t enough quality facilities, restaurants, hotels

This thread has really brought out the prissy, Midwestern pedants.

OP, aren't you of course one of the tourists overloading Europe yourself?

You're part of the problem you diagnose.

[quote] Many say, however, they aren’t ready for a mass or tourists yet. There aren’t enough quality facilities, restaurants, hotels

Are they going to build more hostels, like the movie “Hostel”? Travel to Eastern Europe would be like Deliverance.

Skip Europe.

Try Asia, Africa, and South America.

You can thank me later.

[quote] Try Asia, Africa, and South America.

And be eaten or sacrificed to their pagan gods?

[quote]...but I'd like to better understand this sentiment by natives of a country (it seems to happen in all countries) who are evidently dismayed by the pride visitors take in their ancestral link to the country. The natives don't want to hear about it because, what?, (a) it's boring; (b) the visitor seems to expect special treatment; (c) the frequency of its happening eats up too much of life; (d) I don't care about my native country, why should you?; (e) all of the above; (f) other (specify)? I'd think it would be a refreshing step up from the likes of, "Nice day, isn't it?" and "Could you tell me where the nearest public restroom is?".

R82: Mostly (a). It's a fucking bore if you live in a place like Ireland or Italy or Germany to have your cities flooded with American tourists who think they have brought a gift to "their ancestral land" in the form of themselves, eager to embrace their quaint fucking cousins living in stone houses, maybe under thatched fucking roofs, hoping for an inviattion to enhjoy some home cooked corned beef and cabbage or gabagool.

The Americans never understand that talk of genealogy about people the American visitors never knew let along their Irish barman or taxi driver couldn't give a fat fuck about. Or prattling on about the St. Patrick's Day parades back in the States or the most famous pizza parlor in Toms River, New Jersey as if these things were somehow of interest to the natives who have heard it all (in one ear and fast out the other) a thousand times from someone really talking, as if to a class of slow and unruly 9-year-olds.

If you're an American who strikes up a genuine conversation with a real Irishman, or real Italian, or true Scotsman, at some point they will probably indicate some degree of curiosity about what brought you there to be, by chance, in their company. That's the time to say, "I've always been curious to visit, in part because some of my ancestors immigrated from here a century ago, so that pushed it up the list a bit."

*The Americans never understand not to talk about genealogy as their intro...

Some tips for Irish-Americans visiting Ireland

No one wants to go to the US especially our neighbors to the north who would normally visit places here. Thanks Orange man.

If a foreigner traveled to the U,S. and said they had ancestors who were Americans, they would be warmly embraced.

At least with NYC, tourists generally sticks to areas where NYers can avoid—Times Square, Statue of Liberty, etc

I hate that restaurants in Europe now expect tipping because of stupid American tourists actually demanding to give tips

R95: Not if they fucking unloaded with this important news to every taxi driver, waiter, barman, hotel desk clerk, car rental agent, and stranger at the next table at a cafe.

Context, R95. You wouldn't get a stranger's hug straightaway and an invitation to tell your tale to every stranger you encountered, "let's dit down then so we can have a proper listen to you -- and spare us no detail now, we want to know everything about those American ancestors of yours!".

[quote]No one wants to go to the US

Tell that to the hordes of migrants who are coming in daily.

Well, the poor ones want to come to the US, not the ones with money

When I traveled a million years ago, it was a great delight to “blend in” with the locals.

Visit out of the way hill towns in Italy only reached by the bus (what an experience that trip was! The drive was fabulous!) or traveling across the south of France on a train (gorgeous!) or hopping a crappy ship transport in Naples.

Those are great memories I have. Also being the only American in customs at some tiny airport near Toulouse. That was wild. At the time, my Italian was passing so I was able to explore more than I could otherwise.

I loved exploring off the beaten paths. And I have always wanted to visit Romania, Poland and Estonia.

Maybe one day.

Europe is overloaded with tourists!

And Hell's Kitchen is full of whores!

I want to go on a Baltic cruise. That way I can see all of them in one trip.

They're all over NY and LA r100

r91 Thanks! Yes, I see: It's the babbling presumption and self-importance of insensitive tourists. Bummerville!

The poster who suggested visiting Europe in the dead of winter has some good advice. It's not as crowded then. Summertime is a clusterfuck now.

[quote]If you're an American who strikes up a genuine conversation with a real Irishman, or real Italian, or true Scotsman,

So there are fake ones?

[quote] No one wants to go to the US

The US got 74 million visitors last year, more than any other country except France or Spain.

Let's see this year's numbers in 2026.

[quote] Enjoy yourself [R17]. I think you will and feel the urge to return

I’m curious as to what you are implying.

Winter may be too cold to enjoy Europe. Consider spring or fall

Gee....everyone kept saying Italy's tourism would tank with the election of Meloni....

[quote] Winter may be too cold to enjoy Europe.

The average high temperature in January in Lisbon and Barcelona is 59. In Rome, it’s 55 and Athens it’s 56. I suppose if one lives in South Florida it may seem too cold.

I’d love to go to Venice, maybe even in the off season but I’m afraid of serial killer dwarves.

That's always a problem, r114. Even in the off season you have to watch out for those killer dwarves.

The other benefit to Venice in Winter is that it doesn't smell as bad.

R116 is a another person who has never been to Venice.

“ No one wants to go to the US”

Who cares. We are hundreds of millions. We entertain ourselves. We create our own forms of music. We invent our own sports. We write lWe keep ourselves happily entertained with just our domestic market. So if the world doesn’t want to come visit, we will be just fine.

Run along R117 - try and get a response out of someone else if that's how you get your kicks.

Nice Isolationist post R118. No wonder Trump was elected.

Venice in the winter can be very, very wet. The vaporetto stops can be closed due to flooding, San Marco Square floods, and the people there seem to be in piss poor moods when it’s like that.