Somehow I associate most of the non-Italian tourism in the CT to be English speakers...is that an erroneous assumption? (Most of the reviews I've seen for hotels there are in English..)

Are there hordes of Italian tourists there as well?

eks - we found they were mostly N. American tourists. Rarely heard any other accent or language. In fact we commented on it when we were there.

Funny, barely any British person I speak to about our trip has even heard about Cinque Terre...so maybe it is a Rick Steves thing?

There were many Germans on the trails with us.

Two words - Rick Steves>

Urban myth IMO

<There were many Germans on the trails with us>

Indeed and they were not there because of Herr Rick Steves i can assure you of that

5 Terre was an Italian vacation hotspot and also for other Europeans way before Rick started smoking pot - even now most of the crowds in summer when i was there were Italian or European - yes there were quite a few Americans as well but perhaps since they stand out their numbers could be exaggerated.

No Rick Steves did not ruin the 5 Terre - droves of Italian and European tourists started that way before Rick rolled his first joint.

Ditto to Gimmelwald in Switzerland IMO

If you want to visit it, go for it! There are tourists everywhere.....It's Italy. and it certainly is not a secret.

You said it all, cmndesign! All this talk of "too touristy" gets old, ad nauseam. We are, each and every one of us,
t-u-r-i-s-t-a-s ! Deal with it, kids!

AGREE with above - we are tourist everywhere we go....

<You said it all, cmndesign! All this talk of "too touristy" gets old, ad nauseam. We are, each and every one of us,
t-u-r-i-s-t-a-s ! Deal with it, kids!>

tower, I don't absolutely agree. The real tourist is only the one who doesn't speak the language well enough to follow the conversation. It's the over-abundance of people who are - in this sense - speechless and illiterate that changes the character of a place, because it splits the people who are crowding it in two distinct groups: the ones who live there but feel reduced to outsiders who don't even speak comprehensibly, and the ones who are the majority and behave as such, yet don't really get what's going on since they don't understand more than just a few basic words (if pronounced slowly and clearly enough). That's why ek's question about eventual Italian hordes is so reasonable and so important: Italian-Italian summer resorts (i.e. in Italy and overcrowded by Italians) will change their character somehow, too, but not as fundamentally, and not with such an impact on the rest of the year.

So no, we're NOT all "t-u-r-i-s-t-a-s". Not at all. I'm a tourist in France, unfortunately. I'm a tourist in Turkey, very unfortunately. But I'm, though a foreigner, not a tourist in Italy, and yes, the tourist crowds are very often disturbing me, much like they very often disturb the locals.

<Somehow I associate most of the non-Italian tourism in the CT to be English speakers...is that an erroneous assumption? (Most of the reviews I've seen for hotels there are in English..>

It is very popular with my french co-workers for a weekend getaway.

I love heavily touristed places - people watching at its best. And if you go to 5 Terre in January as i did recently you would have the towns to yourself practically - and the weather was about 60 and sunny (not always like that i guess) and hiking trails also to ourselves.

So when you go can make a big difference.

That said i would much rather spend some days along the Amalfi Coast than the 5 Terre, where except for hiking there is absolutely nothing for me and my interests to do, except watch other tourists.

<i>The real tourist is only the one who doesn't speak the language well enough to follow the conversation</i>

Ah, Franco....that makes the majority of Fodorites who visit Italy tourists, then, in your opinion?? Which is exactly what I was saying in my post..in effect, we are all tourists and its not a dirty word by any means. Where I live, is a town inundated with foreigners, tourists, most of whom do not speak the language very well if at all..they are all tourists, and the local economy loves them dearly. In summer Hollywood Blvd. sounds very much like Italy,France,Germany, Pakistan etc. Come to USA and you'll blend in fairly well with your command of English. Read Palenque above...

"I'm a tourist in France, unfortunately. I'm a tourist in Turkey, very unfortunately."

Yeah, so unfortunate to be a tourist. Having the ability to visit these places just for the fun of it is such a hardship.

What's the deal with the aversion to the word tourist? Unless you are in Italy on business, going to school, or perhaps visiting some people, you are a tourist. One can even be a tourist in his or her own country. Language proficiency has nothing to do with whether or not a person is a tourist.

Hey Stu; As I have said many times, we as tourists, like tourists. We like to meet people from other countries. It's part of our experience. When we went in July, 2008, there were many non-english and english speaking people. We loved the CT. If people don't like it or need other peoples opinions to decide, that's fine. But here is some good gereral information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre Richard

Not at all. I'm a tourist in France, unfortunately. I'm a tourist in Turkey, very unfortunately. But I'm, though a foreigner, not a tourist in Italy>

just because you speak the language - then if so all Americans in Britain are thus not tourists? That comparison shows IMO how ridiculous it is for you to say if you speak the language you are not a tourist? And if not what are you - a local? I think locals would certainly not agree.

Unless you live and work in Italy IMO you are a tourist, like it or not.


and yes, the tourist crowds are very often disturbing me, much like they very often disturb the locals.

Hey Stu; As I have said many times, we as tourists, like tourists. We like to meet people from other countries. It's part of our experience. When we went in July, 2008, there were many non-english and english speaking people. We loved the CT. If people don't like it or need other peoples opinions to decide, that's fine. But here is some good gereral information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre Richard

and yes, the tourist crowds are very often disturbing me, much like they very often disturb the locals.>

and i guarantee you that the locals in the 5 Terre are not disturbed by the tourist hoardes - they would be disturbed if they were not coming in droves. The whole economy there IME lives off tourism - these 'fishing villages' now angle for the hook in tourists rather than fish.

And if one wants to avoid swarms of tourists in Italy in the tourist season then avoid:

Rome
Florence
Venice
Bellagio
All Tuscan and Umbrian hill towns of note
Pisa's Leaning Tower
The Vatican
the Amalfi Coast
Pomeii
Capri
and on and on and on

Well, I can only speak for myself, of course, but for me, knowing the language or not (and I mean really knowing it, not just a few basic words) is making a crucial difference how I experience a place and how I act there. And in this sense, no, Americans are no tourists in the UK, although this is certainly an extreme example. But there's simply such a huge difference in how people act and interact if they understand each other, I think it's impossible to deny that. Insinuations by the locals as to how things are being done here or not are either being apprehended or (necessarily) ignored... that's why I said that it's very unfortunate that I'm a tourist in Turkey, a country that I love dearly, but I don't speak more than perhaps ten words of Turkish. The cultural difference is remarkable, and I'm totally convinced there would be a great deal to be learned in every-day conversation about how to act properly in Turkey, yet... I don't get it. How I'd wish to be able to visit Turkey as a foreign traveler (knowing the language) rather than as a tourist whose language skills are just sufficient to order ayran or vişne suyu! In France, it's less grievous since I'm understanding pretty much in French and can read it without considerable problems, but not being able to speak it (a few basic phrases aside), I feel definitely hampered. For me personally, it's simply not the same experience if I'm not able to react to what the locals are saying (not necessarily to me) and if I'm not able to communicate with them. And at least in Italy, I know that the majority of the locals is feeling the same way. Of course they love (and need) the tourists' money. But if they are to love the persons, too, those persons have to speak Italian, at least a bit of it. Otherwise, there will always be someone who whispers behind your back, and in this case, it's better if you don't understand Italian.

Living in Florida, an hour north of MickeyWorld and 10 minutes south of this gigantic retirement community kind of makes me immune to tourists. I'm used to them making left turns across 6 lanes of traffic from the right lane, even though the signs have been saying go to the left for 2 miles. I'm used to them just walking in front of me at a restaurant, I guess I'm invisible at times. I love hearing about how much better it is in ___________. I enjoy paying tolls every 3 miles on roads that for some reason go from the airport to the theme parks and are the only realistic way to get to the airport, where this doesn't exist to any real degree anywhere else in the State. I love going to the grocery store with my 5 items, standing in the 20 items or less line, while someone with a strange accent is unloading 300 lbs of groceries in front of me and then digging through their penny purse to pay for it and arguing that the 10 cent coupon couldn't have expired last year. I've never been in a traffic accident in 43 years of driving, until this wonderful person from a certain province in Canada that doesn't speak English ran into me with their GOLF CART. (They were amazed that I could curse as well as they in the un-named language).

AH, tourism. So, when I travel I try to remember all of these things and at least try to not be as obnoxious as the ones we meet on our own turf.

dave

Sorry to offend thee, franco, but my husband and I will be in that classification of non-Italian speaking tourists. We will learn some phrases for the trip, of course. Our last brief visit to Rome (and elsewhere in Europe) seemed to be welcomed by everyone we met, despite only knowing a few words. There is so much to gain by taking the risk of travel, being open to learning from everyone you meet. People often said they were surprised to find out we were Americans.

We live in a tourist area ourselves and very much enjoy meeting foreign visitors.

For our upcoming trip to Italy, we first thought to go to "less-touristy" areas, but then thought: There is a reason people go to Venice! (or Cinque Terre, or wherever).
Lament it all you want; too bad. Weren't you once a first-time traveler yourself?

This thread made me realize.....I was just at Bryce Canyon Natl Park in Utah last week for a long weekend. As I hiked up Wall Street on the Navajo/Queens Garden Trail, I actually had to stand and wait while more than 60 people trooped down the switchbacks. They were 99% German/French tourists off some the 11 tour buses parked at the top of the viewpoint! There were two young women from Spain. The majority languages spoken at Bryce last weekend were French and German - not English.

My point is, people from all over the world go to beautiful places in droves.

I visited the Cinque Terre in 2000. Stayed in SML which we just loved - would return. Hiked 4 of the towns. Liked it, but no plans to return. Too many other wonderful places in Italy to visit!

Dont forget a bright smile, a friendly attitude and a good dictionary are essentials when you visit a country and dont know the language.

If you know the language forget to say the famous and most used words..Back Home..

You are not back home but a guest of a foreign country and try to behave and respect that culture without feeling superior or better than anyone else.

Went to CT in April of 2005; nearly all of the other tourists seemed to be Europeans on holiday. I'm glad i went then (with a friend before a conference was to begin in Florence), but if I go back with the DH we will definitely aim for shoulder season. (The friend I traveled with is fluent in Italian and I stumble along in it.)

I do think that the Rick Steves promoting of this area accounts for a huge number of the North American turistas. I have to admit some of my info came from his video. ~ducking~