DickM

There was an interesting article in the New York Times on 8/13,http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/08/1...tml?ref=travel, about how hoards of tourists are turning what would be otherwise charming medieval Tuscan hill towns like San Gimignano into Disneylands. And most of these visitors are there for less than an hour. The article quotes a local San Gimignano official who says…” …To stay (only) for an hour is offensive”. I agree. If you’re on a “If its Tuesday it must be Belgium” type of tour you can’t help it, but for us independent travelers many of these wonderful towns deserve to be savored and lingered over as you would a fine meal rather than checked off like a list of chores. This may mean arriving early or late in the day or even better over nighting. So, are you a blitzer or a lingerer?

francophile03

Well, if I've got the time to spend an overnight I would do it. Otherwise, I do a daytrip. Sometimes if you sign up for a sightseeing tour they only allow you a certain amount of time and you can't do anything about it unless you ditch the tour. So if I just get a few hours to visit a place that's not to say that I think any less of it.

SAnParis

I agree wholeheartedly. I abhor tours of any kind, & although we do daytrip on occasion, we try to allow ample time for any destination that we travel too. This affliction may be age related, but I tend to want to linger & try to absorb, now that I am a bit older.

PalQ

I think the Disneyesque crowding is mainly in main season - relatively few weeks of the year for places like S Gigi. Mont St Michel is elbow to elbow in July and August and often practically deserted on week days in the off season.

Christina

Sounds like that guy just wants hotel revenue or something. Really, people do what they have time to do, and a lot of people don't have time to spend a day or overnight in some pokey little village.

I think they should be glad a lot of the tourists leave at night so at least the village can be normal and less touristy at night time. I live in a city with a lot of tourists, and it's not a small town, but tons of tourists generally don't contribute positively to the ambience, environment, etc.

I read that article and thought it was a good one covering a broad range of issues. I don't know how that place got so popular, must have been written up in some guidebook or something (being a UNESCO site didn't help, I guess). I think they had a couple good solutions, like regulating buses, etc., and the official didn't exactly say they wanted a lot of people to stay overnight. It wouldn't be the same place, any more, if there were a lot of tourist hotels.

It's a problem with any place that is nice and then gets popular with tourists. I used to live in Santa Monica CA for many years when it was just a funky, laid-back beach community. It was always beautiful, but not particularly a tourist magnet until around the late 1980s when some hotels started getting built, etc., and now it's got tons of tourists. I moved away in 1989 when it started changing, and when I go back, I hardly recognize the place I knew in the 1970s-early 80s when it was so much fun.

susan001

I was in San Gimignano last July for an afternoon (approx 2 hours) with a tour group. I thought it was heavenly... not too crowded and we had free time to explore on our own. I spent an hour of my time in the church looking at the frescoes. I could have stayed longer, but I didn't feel rushed. I dislike crowds, and I can honestly say it did not feel crowded to me.

suec1

Fodorites - perhaps we have no one to blame but ourselves! How many times have you sung the praises of Europe to your friends and the people you work with? I have been visiting Europe at least once a year for the past ten years and every year it gets more crowded! I try to go in May or early June and then again in Sept and Oct, not traditionally the high season, but nowadays any of the main cities /sights are just packed! I am thankful I have seen most of the "must sees" and now can either go to quieter areas of the major cities (like Paris or Rome) or to go to smaller cities at least off the path of most of the big tours. I think the low cost airlines within Europe are also adding to the tourist crush - this spring in Barcelona there were many Brits in town for a long weekend.
Now what to do??? so the charm of Europe is not crushed by all these barbarian hoardes. We must stop telling everyone how much we enjoy our trips! Submit trip reports detailing lack of ice and AC - go into great detail as to the rudeness of the local population and their inability/refusal to speak english, no more mentions of tastey pasta, inexpensive wine or french goodies! If we make a concerted effort we may be able to keep our favorite places liveable for the locals and charming enough for us to enjoy! So come on Fodors - let's get busy and keep the joys of European travel to ourselves!!!!