As I heaved my snowboard bag out of the trunk, onto my back, and across the Denver airport, I debated if the effort was worth it.
14.01.2025 - 00:17 / lonelyplanet.com
Jan 13, 2025 • 5 min read
Italy's monuments have weathered millennia of history but mass tourism brings fresh challenges. Recent summers have brought viral videos of tourists swimming in Venice's canals, carving names into the Colosseum and using Renaissance fountains as personal swimming pools.
Italy has responded by introducing tighter restrictions across the board. After a three-month restoration project to remove mold and calcium deposits from the Trevi Fountain, Rome introduced a daily visitor cap of 400 people in December 2024, down from about 12,000. The coins that are tossed into the fountain (around €1 million/US$1,020,526 annually) are still being collected to feed those in need through the charity, Caritas, but the days of unrestricted access to the 18th-century monument are gone.
It's not just Rome, all across Italy new rules are being introduced to manage overtourism and crack down on disruptive behavior. Engaging in activities like swimming in Venice’s canals or sitting on the Spanish Steps in Rome can lead to fines or even a temporary ban from the area (known as Daspo). Even lingering too long in Portofino's main square could see you hit with a fine of up to €275 (US$280), while smoking outdoors in fashion capital Milan comes with a fine of up to €240 (US$245) after a ban was introduced on January 1, 2025.
If you’re planning a trip to Italy and don’t want to be the person who could offend – or worse, commit an offense – simply respecting the country and its citizens should be enough to keep you out of trouble. That said, even the most well-intentioned visitor might slip up from time to time. With that in mind, here’s a quick brief on what not to do on your next visit to Italy’s top tourist destinations.
1. Visit the Trevi Fountain in Rome without queuing. A daily visitor cap was introduced in December 2024 with entry restricted from 9am to 9pm (last entry at 8:30pm). The entry point is at the central staircase and the exit runs through Via dei Crociferi on the monument's left side.
2. Wade or drive in the Trevi Fountain. The activity is banned and you could risk a hefty fine.
3. Sit down on Rome's Spanish Steps.
4. Drag strollers, scooters or wheeled suitcases up the Spanish Steps.
5. Take a photo inside the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.
6. Eat on the streets of Florence’s historic center – Via de’ Neri, Piazzale degli Uffizi, Piazza del Grano and Via Della Ninna – from noon to 3pm and from 6pm to 10pm daily.
7. Feed the birds in Piazza San Marco in Venice.
8. Don’t treat historical sites like your home. In 2019, two German tourists were fined €950 (US$969) and immediately asked to leave Venice after they were found making coffee on a portable stove beneath Rialto Bridge.
9. Sit or lay down in front
As I heaved my snowboard bag out of the trunk, onto my back, and across the Denver airport, I debated if the effort was worth it.
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Compared to the designer-swathed slopes and luxury boutique-lined streets of more widely known Alpine destinations like Gstaad and St. Moritz, Austria’s mountain towns are refreshingly low-key. “There are very luxurious places here,” says Alice Liechtenstein, an Italian-born design curator who relocated to the east Austrian hills two decades ago, taking up residence in her husband’s ancestral castle, “but it’s not ritzy glitzy.” Instead, Austrian resorts center on serious skiing and deeply traditional culture — which, for Austrians, are practically one and the same. “Skiing is our version of football or baseball,” says New York-based sommelier, restaurateur and winemaker Aldo Sohm, who grew up outside of Innsbruck. “It’s who we are.”
It’s a cloudless December day on Lake Como, the kind that would make anyone want to stay in bed and stock the pantry. Ever since we overtook Lord Byron—the unromantic hydrofoil ferry, not the Romantic poet—the only fast-moving object that skipper Giorgio Cantaluppi and I have spotted is a cormorant, cresting the ripples in the direction of George Clooney’s villa, wingtips skimming the water.
I've visited more than 65 countries and consider myself an experienced traveler.
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January brings new beginnings—and new deals—to the travel world. We're seeing the unveiling of new cruise routes, new restaurants, and note-worthy hotel openings—plus an influx of new discounts and promotions across the board. This month the deals spread far and wide, from 60% off group trips to South Africa to discounted rates to the Maldives; there is something out there for every type of traveler. Plus, Wave Season has just started so you can save up to 30% off on tons of cruise deals.
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