As temperatures rise at home, many Brits will be thinking of their summer getaways. But they might want to heed advice from other travellers before booking, as one European city has been named the worst, despite its popularity among tourists.
Though it attracts many Brits each year, the Italian city of Venice has achieved the unwanted title of “Worst City in Europe” from the Broke Backpacker website. Samantha, a travel writer, wrote: “When I’ve spoken about my strong opinion on Venice in the past, I’ve had people come out with pitchforks. But frankly – I couldn’t care less – the reality of this mass-tourism hell-hole deserves to be known!” Her strong words were explained with the fact that Samantha had chosen Venice for her first ever trip to Italy, but while she would certainly travel back to the country, “you couldn’t pay me to come back to this dump”.
“More crowded and sardine-like than Disney World, no piece of pretty architecture can convince me this isn’t one of the worst cities in Europe.”
She complained the food was “sub-par, to say the least” despite Italy’s world-famous reputation for delicious cuisine.
Samantha added: “I’ve quite literally has better Italian food in my family home where not a single drop of Italian blood resides.
“Otherwise, everything was criminally overpriced, locals and staff were not friendly (I guess I wouldn’t be either if I had to live in such a place), and really – I just could not wait to leave.”
Venice lies in Italy’s northeast and is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by channels of open water and canals.
The islands are situated in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, a bay which sits in between the mouths of the Po and Piave rivers.
Contrasting with Samantha’s experience, it was described by The New York Times as “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man” and has been named by The Times as one of Europe’s most romantic cities
It remains a highly popular tourist destination but faces challenges including overtourism, pollution and cruise ships sailing too close to its buildings.
These threats to Venice and its lagoon mean the city’s UNESCO listing is under constant examination.