I'm an avid cruiser and I've spent 35 nights sailing across three different Princess Cruises in the past year and a half.
18.09.2023 - 15:35 / travelandleisure.com / Luigi Brugnaro
UNESCO has once again spared Venice from its list of world heritage sites in danger, declining to add the famous Italian city after initially drawing the ire of the group due to the effects of climate change and over-tourism.
Members of UNESCO ignored recommendations at a meeting in Saudi Arabia last week to add the lagoon city to the infamous list and instead praised Venice’s conservation efforts, The Associated Press reported. They especially touted the city’s long-awaited plans to charge an entrance fee for day trippers next year.
“Great victory at UNESCO!!.. Venice is not at risk,” Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “The world has understood all the work we have done to defend our city, some of the opposition in Venice still hasn't!”
Brugnaro called the earlier report recommending the city be considered endangered “misleading.”
Venice has been on UNESCO’s radar for years and was spared the same fate in 2021. Following that, Italy declared the waterways around the city a «national monument» and banned large cruise ships from passing through its canals. The city also made plans to introduce its day trip tax, but continually postponed its implementation before finally settling on 2024.
When it goes into effect, all travelers over 14 years old who visit Venice for the day will be required to pay €5 ($5.33). The fee will be rolled out on a trial basis mainly during spring bank holidays and summer weekends when the city is at its most crowded.
Venice already charges overnight visitors who book a hotel stay a different tax.
While Venice avoided being added to the list of heritage sites in danger, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee did add sites in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and L’viv. The two sites — Kyiv's Saint Sophia Cathedral and the historic centre of L’viv — join the Ukrainian city of Odessa, which was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger earlier this year.
I'm an avid cruiser and I've spent 35 nights sailing across three different Princess Cruises in the past year and a half.
As a brand, the name Best Western is not new to the American public. Following the acquisition of WorldHotels in 2019 and a company name change to BWH Hotels, the hospitality behemoth, which dates back to 1946, has its sights set on an impressive growth strategy.
A security officer in a Philippines airport was caught putting items in her mouth on camera, CNN reported.
Talayotic Menorca is officially listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, having been recognised for its cultural importance.
Five historic Danish Viking age Ring Fortresses have just been added to the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List. The fortresses were built between year 958 and 987 under the reign of the Danish Viking King Harald Bluetooth and are characterised by their remarkable symmetry.
Nine months after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a country club must sell its lease to the state historical society that owns the land containing Native American earthworks, golfers are still pushing carts over the mounds and whacking at them with 3-irons.
On Monday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) unveiled 27 new World Heritage Site designations. Among them are a diverse slate of culturally significant areas, including sacred temples in Cambodia, ancient tea forests in China, and historic European towns.
A UNESCO committee has decided not to add Venice to the organization’s World Heritage List in Danger, disregarding a recommendation from experts and sparing the Italian government from an embarrassing verdict on the city’s condition.
This week sees the release of The Haunting in Venice, a Poirot thriller set in the titular canal city. Dozens of films have been shot in the tourist hotspot, many in some of the most frequented locations in the city including St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge.
While many films have been set in Venice, Kenneth Branagh’s latest murder mystery reveals a less glimpsed—and more ghostly—side of the city. A Haunting in Venice, based on Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie, finds Hercule Poirot, played by Branagh himself, in retirement in the Italian city in 1947. However, given the Belgian detective's knack for getting ensnared in a mystery, he is soon enticed into attending a séance in a grand palazzo on Halloween night, where a murder reveals possible supernatural occurrences. Once inside the house, Poirot is haunted by unseen spirits in his search for the truth.
Editor’s Note: Sign up to CNN Travel’s Unlocking Italy newsletter for insider intel on Italy’s best loved destinations and lesser-known regions to plan your ultimate trip. Plus, we’ll get you in the mood before you go with movie suggestions, reading lists and recipes from Stanley Tucci.
A collection of tombs from Korea’s ancient Gaya confederacy, a Viking age ring fortress in Denmark, an ancient Thai town and a 2,000-year-old earthworks in Ohio are among the contenders for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List this year.