Venetians protest low-cost gondolas: from local service to viral phenomenon

Some people urge against "geolocalizing" beaches in the summer to avoid attracting too many people, while in Venice, lagoon residents are reiterating: it would be better if the stops themselves disappeared from Google Maps. In this climate of intolerance towards ever-increasing tourist flows, an old city service, the ferry on the Grand Canal , is making a comeback.

Little known to visitors, it has recently been rediscovered online as a "budget version" of the gondola , the undisputed symbol of the city, but nowadays increasingly expensive. A 30-minute ride during the day costs 90 euros . The ferry, on the other hand, for just 2 euros , allows you to have more or less the same experience, but at a lower price.

The advice quickly went viral, causing even more frustration among residents , for whom the service is an essential addition to the public water bus lines.

Boom in tourists on 'low-cost' gondolas

The rediscovery of ferries hasn't been welcomed with enthusiasm by Venice residents. For residents, this service represents a quick and low-cost alternative to the often overcrowded vaporetti (water buses). For just 70 cents, crossing the Grand Canal became a daily occurrence, a small habit reserved almost exclusively for locals.

Today, however, queues of visitors form even along the streets leading to the stations, drawn by the "parada" gondolas, larger and more spartan versions of the traditional vessel, lacking the characteristic ferro bow and steered by two gondoliers. What was once a functional and silent service is transforming into a new tourist attraction, a factor that worries residents, especially in view of the upcoming influx of visitors linked to the Venice Film Festival.

Restrict access by removing stops from Google Maps

According to Cecilia Tonon, city council group leader for "Venezia è Nostra," the problem is not new : for years she has been calling for measures to manage crowding. Unlike vaporetti, where separate entrances give priority to residents, space at ferry stations is limited. One of the proposed solutions is the most drastic: completely remove the stops from online maps , as has already been done in Barcelona , ​​where the 116 route to Park Güell was removed from Google and Apple Maps to reduce tourist pressure.

However, some argue that if the ferry had remained exclusively for residents, it would be almost deserted today : the lagoon population has drastically decreased and would not be enough to keep it afloat. Thus, even this service, originally designed for residents, has ended up adapting to the dominant tourism industry. At the San Tomà ferry , a strategic point between Rialto and the Accademia, the scene is emblematic: a few years ago, it was frequented mainly by Venetians; today, the queue snakes along the fondamenta and is largely made up of tourists.