Welcome to my rant about Venice. I think it’s important for me to be honest and share my thoughts on destinations that I did not enjoy. Many people like to only show the best sides of popular travel destinations. Venice really is one of those places that you either love or hate. So let’s get down to the details…why do I dislike Venice?
Venice is expensive. Switzerland is also very expensive but it provides value for money, whereas Venice really doesn’t. You can argue that going outside of the tourist areas is cheaper but the value still seems bad. I paid €20 for a 1-day ticket on the local bus boat. The food is also expensive and has to be the worst food I have ever tasted in Italy.
Venice is overcrowded with tourists. I had to queue everywhere for around 10 minutes just to get a photo because there were armies of 50-100 tourists all crowded around trying to get the same photos. This was on a Tuesday during the first week of December, so it wasn’t during peak season or on a peak day of the week. I can only imagine what the situation must be like during spring and summer…no grazie.
Venice is a tourist trap. The city felt like a theme park designed for tourists. Almost every shop is a souvenir shop selling the same mass-produced souvenirs. Maybe I’m wrong for saying that because every city has hidden gems that the locals know about. But something about the city just felt like a tourist trap.
The Venice canals stink. Haha! okay, I will admit that I’m being a bit dramtic with this one. Yes, the canals do smell but it’s not that bad. You will occasionally get a whiff of a gassy smell from some canals but it goes away after a few seconds.
The locals are quite rude. I have been to Italy around 8 times and Venice has to be the place with the least polite people. Every city in the world has different types of people, but I have generally found most Italians to be quite friendly and polite. Rome…was hit and miss as I did come across some hostile people, but nowhere near as bad as Venice. As someone from a touristy city, I do understand that dealing with crowds of tourists can be irritating sometimes…but the people in Venice just seemed permanently angry.
I could be wrong with some of the points I’ve raised, but I can only comment based on what I’ve experienced, so someone else may have a different opinion. Exploring the city in the future with a local may also change my perspective. I do love Italy, but don’t feel any urge to return to Venice anytime soon. Feel free to check out my time in Milan or the Lazio region.
Ciao 😉
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