Popular European tourist attraction deemed among world’s worst | World | News

Europe is no stranger to a host of must-see tourist attractions, with around 747 million travellers embarking on the continent each year. As such, Europe is also synonymous with having a high footfall of tourist numbers which has negatively impacted the experience for some as certain spots have been labelled far “too crowded”.

Travellers took to luggage storage company, Radical Storage’s to name the Europeean attractions which are not worth the hype. The company’s new study analysed 95,352 visitor reviews, from 200 of the most visited landmarks in Europe, and found the world’s most disappointing attractions with a popular spot in Italy ranking high.

According to the research, the Trevi Fountain in Rome sits among the five most disappointing tourist spots due to the sheer number of tourists that visit this popular attraction.

The Trevi Fountain is an iconic Baroque monument that’s been the scene of many iconic films including Wyler’s Roman Holiday and the popular Fellini’s La Dolce Vita.

But despite its notoriety, the Trevi Fountain was deemed as being “ugly” with the sheer number of crowds found there adding to the attraction’s disappointment.

The attraction is popular among visitors who are often seen throwing coins inside its waters, as tradition dictates, tossing one coin in the fountain with your back turned, over your left shoulder guarantees a merry return to Rome.

The throwing of the coins also encourages the person to potentially find love or even finding marriage with a total of around £836,145 (€1 million) worth of coins found at the bottom of the fountain’s water.

Despite its dreamy connotations and popularity, the fountain is really just an “ugly” pool for coins, wrote one reviewer on Time Out’s list.

According to the review, the Trevi Fountain scored the second greatest proportion of people who bemoaned the attraction’s crowds with its accessibility issues also being a thorn in many travellers’ side. 

Overall, one in four people had a negative comment regarding their experience at the Trevi Fountain.

The accessibility issue was largely due to the fountain being closed in 2024 for renovations only contributed to many visitors’ overall disappointment.

Rome’s Trevi Fountain is deemed a high tourist spot with millions of people visiting each year and roughly 10,000 to 12,000 visitors daily. 

Authorities in Rome attempted to manage the sheer number of crowds visiting by introducing a new queuing system.

Considerations regarding the restriction of access at certain points was also looked at with the potential of introducing an entrance fee in 2025 to better help manage the flow of tourists.

Rome is strongly considering introducing this tourist tax at Trevi Fountain in order to manage the influx of tourists and help prevent overcrowding, which has over the years become unsustainable for this historic site.