Venice icon gets a makeover and new name

One of the most famous hotels in Italy has been given a serious makeover and emerged with a new names

The canal-front Danieli, Venezia, in Venice is now a Four Seasons Hotel following an extensive restoration.

The Danieli is one of Venice's best-known historic landmarks in a prime waterfront location on the Riva degli Schiavoni, overlooking the Venetian Lagoon and the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.

The hotel is known for Venetian Gothic architecture and modern luxury, and many guest rooms offer sweeping lagoon views, news hub Travel Mole reports.

The reopening strengthens Four Seasons’ presence in Italy, adding a fourth property to its portfolio after Florence, Milan and Taormina.

“With the reopening of the iconic Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel, we usher in a new chapter in this renowned palace’s history,” said Rainer Stampfer, president of Global Operations, Hotels and Resorts at Four Seasons.

“Together with our long-term partners, Gruppo Statuto, we are offering guests a new way to experience the grandeur of Venice.“

Originally built in 1471 as the residence of the noble Dandolo family, Palazzo Dandolo is the key element of the hotel, which also incorporates Palazzo Casa Nuova, once home to the Venetian Republic’s Treasury.

Restoration work continues on Palazzo Danieli Excelsior, due for completion in 2027.

The hotel currently offers 120 rooms and suites, with that increasing to 168 rooms once the final phase of restoration is complete next year. A new Danieli Spa is also in the works.

French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon led the redesign of the historic interiors, while rooms have been reconfigured to provide larger layouts and additional junior and one-bedroom suites.

Modern technology has been discreetly incorporated through integrated entertainment systems, automated curtains, personalised lighting and climate controls without detracting from the building’s heritage.

The famous Terrazza Danieli rooftop restaurant has also been refreshed.

“The reopening of Danieli as a Four Seasons experience marks an exciting milestone after months of dedication and meticulous restoration,” said general manager Christian Zandonella. “We are delighted to welcome guests back to one of Venice’s most iconic addresses.“ 

Venice to increase tourism charges as it cracks down on overcrowding

Engaged in a constant battle against tourism overcrowding, Venice will increase charges to day trip visitors in 2025.

The move follows a ‘successful’ trial this past summer, news portal Travel Mole reports.

The Italian city will nearly double the number of "peak tourism" days it charges tourists an entrance fee, the city’s mayor said.

The €5 fee is payable to enter the city as a day tripper on busy days between April and July. The fee is payable in advance but rises to €10 if booked fewer than four days before a visit.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said the measure aims to spread out tourist visits to quieter off-season days "to give Venice the respect it deserves".

The fee was payable on 29 days in 2024, which were mostly weekends and public holidays. There will be 54 chargeable days from April 18 to July 27 in 2025:  every Friday through Sunday and every public holiday.

All day trip visitors over 14 years old must pay the fee.

The fee can be paid online and a QR code confirmation is generated which may be checked by inspectors within the city.

Travellers staying overnight with hotel or other accommodation bookings are exempt.

“Venice has gone from being the city most exposed to over-tourism, to being the city that is reacting to this phenomenon the earliest and most proactively,” said city councillor Simone Venturini.

Dear tourists: Please go away we don't want you here

First Venice took action against over-sized cruise ships, now Amsterdam is cracking down.

The Dutch city plans to start cutting the number of ships that can stop at its main port terminal over the coming years, its municipal government has said.

Starting from 2026, the number of sea cruise vessels that can stop at the Passengers Terminal Amsterdam will be set at 100 per annum, down from 190 today.

Within a decade, cruise ships will not be allowed to stop at the main terminal, and by 2035 the main terminal for cruise stops will be outside the city, travel news portal Skift reports.

All cruise ships will be required to use shore power by 2027.

This means ships will have to get their electrical power from the shore while docked at the port, cutting the use of onboard diesel engines - a contributor to carbon emissions.

“By limiting sea cruises, requiring shore power, and aiming for the cruise terminal to move from its current location in 2035, the council is responsibly implementing the proposal to stop sea cruises,” said Hester van Buren, an alderman for the municipal government.

Both Venice and Amsterdam have concerns about over-tourism and its impact on the environment.

In Venice, the government has limited the number of cruise ships at its industrial port and is building a smaller terminal outside the city centre.

The cruise cap is the latest policy by Amsterdam to combat over-tourism.

In April, the city banned the construction of new hotels. And earlier this year, it launched a new campaign to discourage nuisance party tourists from visiting the city’s red light district.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Barcelona, Mayor Jaume Collboni, revealed this month that his city plans to ban short-term vacation rentals by 2028.

That plan is in response to rising tourist numbers and ever-increasing rents for locals with a large portion of housing stock having been turned into accommodation for visitors.

Venice to impose tourism charge on visitors

And so it begins.

Venice is set to charge €5 ($8.30) for day trippers entering the city in its latest move to combat the ever-increasing problem of overtourism.

Initially to be introduced as a trail period during peak days, day visitors over the age of 14 will have to pay the tourist fee by booking in advance from next season.

“Venice is among the most visited European cities and suffers the most from excess tourism,” said Simone Venturini, the city council member for tourism.

The city measures just a few square miles but attracts around 13 million visitors annually.

The aim is to get visitors to come on off-peak days, Venturini said. Good luck with that. 

UNESCO has suggested putting the Italian city of Venice on the list of World Heritage sites at risk. 

Venice has been struggling with the negative impacts of mass tourism for years, Travel Mole reports.

City officials have already taken measures to keep large cruise ships away from the city's canals.

Italy awash with imbecile tourists

Italy seems to attract more than its fair share of nutty tourists.

Regular readers will recall the American idiot who was fined €500 for driving over the pedestrians-only centuries-old Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence.

Then there was the tourist who had to be rescued after falling into the crater of Mount Vesuvius when taking a photo. Also American.

Last year we had a pair of tourists who were fined and briefly banned from Rome’s historic city centre after damaging the city’s historic Spanish Steps with electric scooters. Also Americans.

Then there were the two people seen riding eFoils, or electric surfboards, along the Grand Canal in Venice. This pair were Australians and were described as "imbeciles" by the Venice mayor.

Image: Twitter / @LuigiBrugnaro

And now authorities in Venice are searching for a "cretin" who jumped from a three-storey building into a canal. (image above)

Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro called the man shown in a video an "idiot: and promised to give him a "certificate of stupidity and a lot of kicks".

Officials say the man - and his companion who filmed the stunt - will be arrested if located. 

The man was wearing only boxer shorts when jumping into the canal.

“We are trying to identify him,” Brugnaro said. “He risked his life in that jump, but he is also a delinquent."

Image: Venice by Agata Bertolini, Scop.io

Meet the city that you will have to pay to enter

Venice has confirmed that it will be the first city in the world to require visitors to pay an entrance fee.

From January 16, 2023, visitors to the Italian tourism drawcard will have to pay for the privilege.

The launch date was announced by Venice's councillor for tourism, Simone Venturini, at a press conference on Friday.

Venturini called the new measure a "great revolution," and a solution for the overcrowding problem that the lagoon city has been battling with for decades.

The cost of the ticket will range from a €3 minimum up to €10. 

The price will not be fixed, but will vary according to the number of visitors: The more demand for entry, the higher the cost. Which sounds suitably confusing.

 
The aim, Venturini explained, is not to "close the city," but to get people to book their presence to reduce the ‘tourist peaks’.

The ticket booking system and its online platform will be unveiled this fall. There are many exceptions to the entrance ticket mandate, explained Michele Zuin, councillor for the budget.

Residents and children aged under six will be exempt, as will disabled people, homeowners, those who come to the city for health reasons or to visit relatives, and those coming to attend a sporting or cultural event.

 
Overnight hotel guests will also avoid paying the entrance fee because they'll already be paying a tourist tax through their hotel. 

"It is not a system to make cash but to manage tourist flows," Zuin said. The proceeds from the entrance fee will go to lowering the taxes of Venetians, which are already high due to the large volume of tourists that need to be accommodated. 

The entrance fee will apply to the Venice historic centre and major islands. 

The fines for ticket violations will range from €50-300.

Meet the tourism drawcard that wants fewer visitors

Venice has had enough of tourists. Particularly day trippers.

Local authorities have announced they will introduce limitations on the number of people allowed into the city in an attempt to reduce mass tourism, Euronews reports.

Around 100,000 tourists a day were able to stroll through the city's squares until now. But in a few weeks, it will no longer be possible to visit the city freely.

It will become less city, more paid-for theme park.

Travellers will only be able to visit the city once they have booked their €5 tickets online. The tickets will only be valid for one day, with the aim of limiting the number of entries.

"The aim is to discourage one-day tourism, hit-and-run tourism, arriving in one day and leaving in the same day, tiring and stressing the city, and encouraging slower tourism instead," said Simone Venturini, the city's deputy mayor with responsibility for tourism.

The future gates to limit tourists have already arrived and will mean the main accesses to the historic centre can be controlled.

Five hundred cameras will be monitoring the flow of visitors, constantly broadcasting images from the streets in search of stray tourists.

The police will also be able to establish the identity of people in real-time thanks to data from mobile phones. Shades of Big Brother.

"If I enter the data in the aggregated anonymous form, we can see exactly who these people are: 977 foreigners, 800 Italians, 135 residents, and 139 commuters," revealed Maria Teresa Maniero, deputy commander at the Venice Police.

The system is also set to allow local residents to move around freely.

Last summer, Venicey banned large cruise ships from its historic centre to retain its UNESCO World Heritage status.

Image: Leandro Mena Scop.io