Tourists flock to Venice, Italy, for the Carnival celebration, with social media users calling out the amount of crowds that are gathering as the city looks to curb overtourism.
As travelers flock to Venice for the world-famous Carnival celebration, they may be in for a tight squeeze.
Three million people travel to Venice every year for the Venetian tradition, according to the website of the tourist group Walks of Italy.
Carnival, also known as Carnevale, dates back to 1162 — when townspeople celebrated a victory over the Patriarch of Aquileia. Artists banned together in 1979 to restart Carnevale, says the site.
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Carnival attendees don Venetian masks and garb as they attend various events around the city.
One video posted on TikTok by Gazella, @gazellastudio, shows tourists in gridlock making their way around the City of Canals.
Gazella, a Venice-based photographer, told Fox News Digital the last time she saw the city so crowded was in 2020, before the COVID quarantine.
“The city hasn’t been this crowded since. It has made life for locals difficult,” said Gazella. She said the crowding has increased travel times for local residents on weekends.
The video amassed over 19,000 views — with users taking to the comments section to express their opinions.
“Nightmare. Worse than ever,” wrote one user.
Another Tiktoker commented, “Waited 2 hours for a vaporetto from Ferrovia on Saturday morning, didn’t even know it was Carnivale when we booked.”
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“Experienced this today … Never again,” commented one woman.
A user added, “It was so packed today. We weren’t expecting so many people.”
“It’s a shame how massive tourism is making beautiful cities less and less enjoyable,” said one man.
Another user cautioned, “Never go [to] Venice during carnival.“
“Venice 365 days a year…” one woman joked.
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The city has been working to combat overtourism by announcing a change in tourist fees.
Venice introduced a pilot program in 2024 to charge day trippers a $5.17 (5 euros) entry fee that authorities hoped would discourage visitors from arriving on peak days, Fox News Digital reported.
Starting on April 18, visitors will officially pay the access fee of $5.17 if booked four days ahead, while the fee for arrivals that are booked last-minute — within three days — doubles to $10.33 (10 euros), according to the city’s site.
Pino Parisi, a Connecticut-based Italian travel agent, said he sees more tourists than ever in Italy this year.
“Venice’s tourist taxes [are] not preventing people from going to Venice. I don’t think it is making a difference,” said Parisi.
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“Since I can remember, ‘Il carnevale di Venezia’ has been the most famous in all Italy,” said Parisi.
He added that the festival does attract more of a local Italian crowd; but since not many tourists go to Venice in the winter, there are still lots of tourists.
The festival is held from Friday, Feb. 14, to Tuesday, March 4.
