Overtourism is unfortunately a thing in many touristic locations everywhere and Venice does not escape it either. Still, this blog post is on a mission to educate you about being a considerable tourist which does not annoy locals and the environment. It is completely doable for you to be like that. But what is all the annoyance felt by the locals whilst they observed the tourist’s behaviour?
Keep reading, this blog post will introduce you to 9 of them.
- Don’t ask for a way to non-existent locations in Venice
- Don’t ask if you can drive in Venice
- Don’t ever swim/bungee jump in Venetian canals
- Don’t ask if Venice has opening and closing hours
- Don’t ask if Venice stands on the sea – or if Venice is an island
- Don’t ever walk into religious buildings in inappropriate attire
- Don’t ever ride on a vaporetto without a ticket (even worse, don’t argue with the ticket controller)
- Don’t sleep or lean on the pozzo or any other public monuments
- Don’t expect anyone to find your destination just from the street name and number
- Don't ask if you can find any lemon dishes in Venice/Veneto
Don’t ask for a way to non-existent locations in Venice
This week Reddit had a couple of very interesting threads started by a user (attention – it is in Italian only). Reportedly, the user has been writing their dissertation and looking for some “stupid questions” asked by tourists. Yes, they needed responses from the locals who had to endure those “silly” questions on Reddit.
As a non-local, I picked up a couple of “absurd” questions which I also find bizarre. Most of them were about locations that are NOT found in Venice at all. It seems to me like those tourists mixed Venice up with other Italian locations.
Where’s San Pietro? — San Pietro is this one, the seat of the Holy See and the Pope. Unfortunately, Venice has no function to host the highest institution of Catholicism (if I did the research correctly).
The St. Peter’s Square in Rome where the Pope meets the huge audience – unfortunately not in Venice
Where’s the gondola? — A couple of Redditors reported being asked this at Piazza San Marco (also St Mark’s Square) in Florence, which does not have canals where you could hop on a gondola. The gondola tours do take place on the Arno river but not at the Square itself … Same same but different… If you think about it, Venice’s St Mark’s Square is also not directly connected to gondola piers actually.
This is the St Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco) in Florence – no gondolas around. You have to get to the Arno river for that. Photo: Tripadvisor
This is the St Mark’s Square in Venice, which is kind of known as a gondola city.
Don’t ask if you can drive in Venice
The second most common theme in those Reddit threads was anything that had to do with cars – it looks to me like they are first-timers to Venice and didn’t know it’s a car-free city.
Just like: “How can I drive from here (somewhere in the mainland like Mestre) to Piazza San Marco in Venice?” Or the other way around: “Is there a bus back from Piazza San Marco to the mainland?” — probably a tired tourist was looking for a bus once they were at St Mark’s Square. Unfortunately, you’ve got to ride on the vaporetto (water bus – a public transport.) or a gondola if your feet are too tired.
“Can I carry my bicycle in Venice?” — Nah. Cycling is also not allowed, unfortunately. You have to walk around in Venice, my friend.
The main mode of transportation is water-borne like boats and gondolas pictured here. Otherwise you just need to walk around.
Don’t ever swim/bungee jump in Venetian canals
Do yourself a favor not to swim/jump in the canals
Please never do this. It is a criminal act – chances are you will get caught by the Carabinieri (the local police) 100% and get heavily fined for “disturbing morals” in Venice. Your health will also be damaged by the very contaminated water – some even say you would be swimming with human body waste in Venice – you don’t want that, right? Recently a couple got arrested for swimming in the canal to “complete their honeymoon in Venice.” I am pretty sure you wouldn’t like a police escort to celebrate the very end of your unforgettable honeymoon either.
Another unwise tourist once sky-jumped off his hotel room window straight into the contaminated canal water, only to be addressed as an “idiot” by the mayor of Venice back then. Needless to say, this tourist got heavily fined for his phenomenal skyjump into the canal.
Save your adrenaline for somewhere else. Venice isn’t renowned for bungee jumping or any other adrenaline-kick-inducing activities. Don’t ever risk getting caught and fined.
Don’t ask if Venice has opening and closing hours
An authentic local scene in Venice. A boat functions as a (improvized) local market and a transport.
I know this is a valid question if you are visiting Venice for the first time ever – but this is not quite valid for locals, who often get asked this. By asking this question you give away the impression that your whole idea of Venice is like Disneyland, or any amusement park you could imagine. But for the locals, the whole purpose of Venice is to live and work (not leisure, as you do on your vacation).
The point here is that Venice is a city just like your hometown, and it does not have opening and closing hours.
The same logic applies to another “funny” question along the lines of: “Where is the exit?” — well, I would only ask this if I thought Venice was a medieval-themed amusement park or something (which it is not!). If you want an exit and if you are tired of getting lost in Venice: simply follow the friendly indication/signposts to Piazzale Roma (public transit depot – not for trains) / Fondamente Nove (vaporetto hub to many Venice locations) / Ferrovia (you can catch trains here). You might be thinking, wait what do you mean by that?
Well, you just have to look up while walking around Venice – don’t keep staring at your phone and maps. Store them in your bag or pockets. Then you’ll find one of those signposts with arrows pointing to the respective locations, always in black or red letters on yellow or white backgrounds – see the pictures.
Follow them all the way to wherever you want to go, and you will eventually get out of Venice. If you don’t believe this tip, just try it once – and maybe thank me later once you manage to leave Venice finally.
Follow this signpost to Fondamente Nuove if you’d like to exit Venice via sea
Follow this signpost to Ferrovia or Piazzale Roma if you’d like to exit Venice via land.
Don’t ask if Venice stands on the sea – or if Venice is an island
The first inhabitants in Venice, fleeing to the safety around 5th century. Photo: Alberto Sanavia
Probably a curious and observant tourist once asked this question, which also confuses the locals who were expected to answer it. Well, Venice is a collection of artificially constructed land in the lagoon since the 6th century. Back then, the first residents of Venice fled attacks from invading tribes and chose to build their refuge completely from scratch in the lagoon.
Hence, the city’s foundation is 100% not nature-borne: it consists of Istrian stone, a thick layer of wooden rafts driven into the ground, and then all the houses built on top of that. Buildings, bridges, and so on would be added one by one over the centuries.
How was Venice constructed? Look here. Photo: r/europe on reddit
Hopefully by now you understand that Venice is not your normal beach resort island created by natural activity – it is a human-constructed landmass that has survived countless climate changes and has been maintained by Venetians for more than a millennium. Nobody will discourage you from asking the “is Venice an island” question, but now you know why it sounds strange to locals and long-term visitors with some knowledge of Venice.
Lands marked by pink and magenta were Venice in 6-7th centuries. How small were they as compared to Venice in the 21st century.. Photo: Wikipedia
Don’t ever walk into religious buildings in inappropriate attire
A dress code’s warm welcome into Santa Anastasia church. Photo: https://paulmarina.com/
You may have booked your vacation in Venice in the middle of summer – and if you happen to be there during a heatwave, I get it, it’s very hot everywhere. You leave your hotel in a skimpy outfit. You find a church, and decide to go inside to escape the burning heat. You’re so tired, all you want is to go inside and stay there a couple of minutes.
Little did you know, you would encounter the unwelcoming gaze of locals who just wanted a serene and peaceful atmosphere during their prayer times.
What went wrong? Your outfit – stylish off-the-shoulder top and shorts. While this look is perfect for hot weather in Venice, it is not suitable for religious site visits. All the churches in Venice’s tourist districts have signs showing what modest attire looks like.
For all visitors, this means covered shoulders and arms, and skirts or trousers at least knee-length (longer is even better).
I know church-approved outfits may not make you fashionable, but they will make you at least decent in the eyes of the locals. If you want to enter their houses, then follow their rules. Once again, Venice is not an amusement park where you can walk in wearing bikinis – people live here, and respect is expected.
Don’t ever ride on a vaporetto without a ticket (even worse, don’t argue with the ticket controller)
Photo: lizawin of Pixabay
At certain vaporetto (waterbuses) stops, you can technically hop on board even if you forgot to buy or validate a ticket in advance. In such cases, please go straight to the ACTV staff on board and buy a ticket from them – yes, as long as you are honest with a simple “I just forgot to have a valid ticket,” they will gladly accept it and leave you alone. Most of them are laid back and chill.
But don’t take advantage of their laid-back nature by purposely boarding without a ticket. Even worse, don’t get into a heated argument or insult them if you are caught without one. I once witnessed this on a vaporetto heading toward Ferrovia.
A tourist started arguing with the ticket controller, even though the controller offered the tourist a chance to buy the ticket normally. The argument lasted much longer than it should have, and everyone on board was stranded. Because of this unexpected delay, I missed my connecting train from Venice to Rome.
So don’t do this to yourself, or to innocent and honest fellow tourists who did buy their tickets.
Don’t sleep or lean on the pozzo or any other public monuments
Hello world, my name is pozzo. Nice to meet you, but don’t lie on me or vandalize me. Treat me nicely.
I know the heatwave will demotivate you and force you to take a break – but please don’t lie down on the street or on a pozzo (the traditional well in Venice). I’d like to repeat: Venice is not Disneyland, and locals (still) live here. Pozzi are part of the city’s history, and locals respect them.
Don’t treat them like public benches or mattresses you can lie on at will.
Students sit everywhere in Venice – but they do have decency not to lie just everywhere.
Perhaps somebody placed plant pots all over the pozzo so that nobody would sleep on it?
Don’t expect anyone to find your destination just from the street name and number
You might be used to finding places by giving people just the street name and number – but unfortunately, that doesn’t really work in Venice. Sure, you might find a number that looks like it belongs to your restaurant, accommodation, museum, etc. For example: Dorsoduro 1556.
But in Venice, Dorsoduro is not the street name – it’s the district name (sestiere). And chances are, another location in Venice could have the exact same number combination.
If you happen to have a picture of your destination, show it to locals when asking for directions. Chances are they will recognize it instantly and guide you with instructions like: “Go straight until you see the regional hospital, at the hospital turn right, then continue until the flower store and turn right again.” That will work much better.
Don’t ask if you can find any lemon dishes in Venice/Veneto
It is a signature dish in Southern Italy, especially Amalfi Coast. Photo: sharonang of Pixabay
Recently, a fellow tourist posted a question on r/venezia asking where in Venice they could find a food spot that serves a lemon pasta dish. Unfortunately, the original poster (OP) was subjected to nasty comments by locals who felt offended by this “strange” question.
But what constitutes “strange” is totally subjective. The OP simply wanted to try their favorite lemon pasta while in Venice—an innocent question seeking city tips. There was no intention to mock anyone.
Some locals who read the post took it too far. Not only did they respond with unfriendly remarks, but they also began arguing among themselves in Italian about whether marketing gimmicks were influencing tourists like the OP. By “marketing gimmicks,” they meant the promotional campaigns from the Amalfi Coast that popularized lemon-based dishes.
I’m not a local either, but I understood why the question might seem unusual. I once spent Christmas with a local family at their home in Veneto and asked whether lemons were a thing in the region. They said no and explained that lemon trees don’t grow there—they’re more common in Southern Italy, like the Amalfi Coast.
So I replied to the OP, explaining that lemon trees don’t grow in Veneto. My comment was met with, “Yeah, why can’t I find lemon pasta here even though you can eat Chinese food?” The OP clearly didn’t want to give up on their beloved lemon pasta.
If you love lemon pasta like the OP, you have all the rights to ask where in Venice you can eat the delicious one. Chances are still that you would get a strange look or get frowned upon as it looks to us like this question sounds strange to locals. So ask any lemon dish request at your own lisk.
Leave a Reply