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Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Telegraph
Anti-tourism is spreading across Europe. This is where it will hit next
Over the weekend, southern Europeans took to the streets to protest against mass tourism. It's a familiar scene, but this time, the demonstration was different. For the first time, groups across Spain, Italy and Portugal took to the streets to demonstrate on a single day. It was the biggest coordinated anti-tourism protest in history. The protests spanned Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Malaga, San Sebastián, Lisbon, Granada, Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Milan and Venice. A couple of weeks ago, thousands took to the streets across the Canary Islands, too. It feels like it's all coming to a head. But were a documentary to be made chronicling the European fight against 'over-tourism' this would not be the climactic scene. We are, dare I say it, at the very beginning. This is how I see things playing out over the next decade. For once, the French will not join the protest The French like to protest. If there was a nationwide desire to join a trans-continental demonstration, you can bet that they would have done so already. So why haven't they? Anthony Peregrine, Telegraph Travel's France expert, suggests one reason could be the type of tourists that France is dealing with: 'France simply doesn't attract quite so many of the people who, bottles in hand, disturb decent locals at 2.30am. 'There is, of course, poor behaviour on the Riviera but it's mainly by millionaires and they have a way of getting themselves indulged,' he says. Anna Richards, a travel writer based in Lyon, added: 'I think [the lack of anti-tourism protests] is because the French themselves holiday so much within their own country, so the tourism industry is set up to handle large numbers of visitors. 'Also, although there are hotspots that suffer from over-tourism – places like Étretat in Normandy, for example – people don't just flock to one area of France. Its attractions are numerous and well spread out.' I suspect we might see some isolated protests (I gather there's a group in Marseille) but I don't think there will be anything quite on the scale of the Spanish movement, at least any time soon. ...but the Greeks will, eventually Some of the fiercest and loudest of the anti-tourism protests have been those on islands – namely the Canaries and the Balearics – which begs the question: why haven't the Greek islands a little further east in the Mediterranean joined in? The signs of discontent are there. In 2023, during the 'beach towel revolt' residents on the Greek island of Paros marched on Parikia Beach and held up a sign saying 'Reclaim the Beach' in protest against the over-development of their coastline. In the subsequent days, these protests spread across the Greek islands and even into Turkey – a sign, along with 'tourists go home' graffiti cropping up in Athens, that there is a sense of frustration bubbling under the surface. Heidi Fuller-Love, The Telegraph's Greece expert who has her ears close to the ground on these things, says: 'There are rumblings, but since so many people rely on tourism (on a low income), so far there hasn't been much more.' Tourists will become the target Last July, protesters in Barcelona sprayed tourists with water pistols – the first time on record that tourists had been 'assaulted' (to use the term very loosely) in such a way. At last weekend's protests, water pistols were ubiquitous in the city once again. These plastic toys, it is fair to say, are fast becoming the symbol of resistance in Southern Europe. I think this sort of direct action will become much more popular. Last year, a protest group occupied a popular beach in Mallorca and erected signs that said 'Beach Closed'. On another, a sign read 'Beware of Dangerous Jellyfish'. Locals in the Menorcan village of Binibeca Vell resorted to chaining up the access roads to prevent tourists from getting in. There was also the quite comical sight of locals walking back and forth across a zebra crossing in Galicia to stop tourists from accessing a beach. The longer that policymakers ignore the messages of these groups, the more creative their actions will become. British tourists will refuse to boycott Spain Certain news outlets are in the habit of suggesting that British holidaymakers are boycotting popular holiday spots in Spain. Bookings are down, hotels are struggling. That's the narrative. My hunch has been that this is rubbish, and The Telegraph's expert Anna Nicholas (who lives in Sóller, Mallorca) confirms this to be the case, in her home town at least. 'It has been suggested that a boycott of Mallorca is underway, with British holidaymakers in particular said to be steering clear. Nothing could be further from the truth,' she writes. 'The island has never been busier.' Joana Maria Estrany Vallespir, a leading voice in the protest group SOS Residents in Mallorca, tells me: 'What we've seen is that the situation has worsened on every level. We are going to have 20 million visitors this year – the tourist season started earlier than ever before.' The British have been travelling to the Spanish islands and beaches for our holidays for half a century now. So long as package holiday prices remain low, it will take more than a few disgruntled locals with water pistols to break that habit. A word on Albania Where will be the next battleground, looking a little further into the future? I suspect that while discontent will rumble on in Spain, Italy and Portugal (and perhaps Greece, and pockets of France), we will eventually see Albanians join the demo. In 2023, Albania recorded 9.7m visitors, up 58.3 per cent from 6.1m in 2019. The prime minister, Edi Rama, has set the goal of attracting 30m foreign visitors by 2030. If they get anything close to that number, life will change immeasurably in Albania. More traffic, less beach space for locals, high-rise hotels lining the coast (they're already being erected) and – crucially – they can expect to see local landlords cashing in by listing their properties on sites like Airbnb and Vrbo. While there will be new jobs created and certain 'winners' in the industry, the population at large will wonder what happened to their beautiful home.
Telegraph
09-04-2025
- Telegraph
The countries with the worst tourists (and what Europeans really think of us)
The behaviour of tourists has rarely been more scrutinised, with the negative impact of our holidays triggering protests across Europe, as well as a flurry of legislation to clamp down on poor conduct and keep locals happy. In places such as Majorca and Corfu, there's often talk of attracting a 'better' sort of visitor – a goal which, by implication, suggests that the British, who currently visit in large numbers, are no longer desired. What is the truth? Are British tourists really so disliked? Which nations supply the 'best' and 'worst' holidaymakers, according to Europeans? We asked experts in four of the countries hit hardest by over-tourism – Anthony Peregrine (based in France), Heidi Fuller-Love (based in Greece), Eddi Fiegel (based in Spain) and Nicky Swallow (based in Italy) – to canvass the opinions of tourism workers and ordinary locals. Here's what they had to say. British tourists 'They love the gardens, but they don't like Mr Macron' According to the French? The British score surprisingly highly with French tourism professionals (hoteliers, restaurateurs, tourist office folk, that sort of person), notably for 'elegance and politeness'. Also discretion. 'They ask shyly, because they don't want to disturb you,' says Danaé Pestel, a tourism official in the Var county. They agree up in Burgundy, according to a recent survey of tourism pros. 'Politeness is very important, and remember to keep your distance. Britons don't like being touched or embraced.' Not just by anybody, anyway. We do, though, like traditional values, local customs and cultural visits, as long as there's also 'a kettle, tea, sugar and capsules of milk in the bedroom'. That, says the survey, is how you keep your Briton satisfied. A proper château also helps. 'They love the gardens,' says Bernard Legal of the Château de Chantore, near the Mont Saint Michel in Normandy. 'But they don't like Mr Macron.' Few seem to hold that against us, notably when we're spending freely at the bar and table, while also – this is vital – remaining courteous. As another Normandy hotelier said: 'In high season, I tell French customers that we're full, so keeping rooms free for Britons. British people let themselves go a little on holiday. The French spend a lot of time looking anxious.' And, as Jérôme Pont at the Calais Vins wine supermarket says – he knows Britons well – 'even people from Yorkshire and Scotland spend freely in France'. One weakness has been recognised by many, however: our struggles with anything resembling a foreign language. As a tourism agent in the Nord department said: 'The English person who can say ' bonjour ' and ' au revoir ' thinks he's gone as far as he needs to. He considers himself bi-lingual.' According to the Greeks? 'I like the British – they're polite,' a shopkeeper in Chania told me. Others, however, think 'politeness' has its downsides. A hotel owner in the seaside resort of Hersonissos complained: 'This British couple stayed for a week. They were smiling all the time. Afterwards on Tripadvisor, they complained about all sorts of things – why didn't they just tell me when they were here so I could do something about it?' At Heraklion Airport, I asked a customs official what he thought of the British. He jerked a thumb at a group of lads flocking through the gate. 'They are like animals – they piss on our culture,' he retorted. According to the Spanish? Not much contest here, unfortunately. British tourists win the booby prize for Spain's most badly behaved visitors, thanks to tales of lairy stag and hen parties and hotel guests drinking their body weight in booze. 'I think many of the British who come here forget that this is a place where people live too,' one bar owner in Barcelona told me. Others were fed up with British tourists assuming that everyone speaks English, before becoming loud and abusive when they find out they don't. That said, people do also acknowledge, especially in the quieter resorts, that some of us are perfectly well behaved and are keen to stress how welcome we are. According to the Italians? British tourists divide opinion among Italians. On the one hand, they have a reputation for being drunk, badly dressed and tight-fisted. On the other, they are often cited as being among the most appreciative of Italian culture, food, wine and customs, making them favoured by tour guides. 'British clients are in love with Italian culture and they are among the few who really listen to what you are saying,' said one Florence-based guide. They are also known for their valiant attempts at speaking Italian, and politeness to hotel and restaurant staff. The behaviour of a small minority, however, still casts a cloud. 'They are hooligans,' commented the owner of a news stand in Naples, recalling post-match rampages. And it was a visitor from Britain who, in June 2023, carved his and his girlfriends' names into the wall of the 2,000-year-old Colosseum, claiming he didn't know how old the building was. Italians throughout the country were outraged. German tourists 'They drink almost as much as the British' According to the French? Memories fade, as have those German ex-soldiers who used to travel to France to show their families where they'd been stationed during the war. This didn't prove wildly popular with their hosts. And it may be that, though waning, this has influenced those who still shudder slightly on hearing the German language. 'Some do treat us as if we were the Third World,' said a Riviera restaurateur. Lapses in behaviour persist. 'They think nothing of pinching all the cheese from breakfast for their picnic lunch,' said an Auvergne B&B owner. Other elements of the German caricature, though, rather recommend themselves to the more Cartesian French. 'They like rigour and punctuality and don't tolerate approximation,' concluded those surveyed in Burgundy. They're also 'very analytical and seek the best possible value for money,' according to Jérôme Bont of Calais Vins. If they get all these, then their behaviour may be much appreciated. 'They are discreet and kind, with great respect for the place and work involved,' said Bernard Legal of the Château de Chantore. 'Generally, they're my favourite guests.' According to the Greeks? In a country that is still claiming reparation for the destruction of countless villages (and their inhabitants) during the Second World War, it's hardly surprising that Greeks have mixed feelings when it comes to Germans. 'When I bought my house in Crete in the 1990s, many older people would turn away when they knew where I was from,' Klaus Werner from Munich told me. 'During the economic recession, I had a German tourist who told me that he didn't have to pay his fare because Greeks do not pay their taxes – how can we like these people?' a fuming taxi driver said. According to the Spanish? Opinions differ wildly when it comes to the Germans. In Spain's cities, few have complaints, finding them not only unfailingly polite but also interested in Spanish culture. In the Balearics, on the other hand, it was a different story. 'We need the Germans,' one hotelier in Majorca told me, 'but that doesn't mean we like them being here. They rarely make any attempt to speak even a word of Spanish and they drink almost as much as the British.' According to the Italians? More Germans visit Italy each year than any other foreign nationality. They have a reputation for being big drinkers and rather pedantic, but they are also known to love Italian culture and for being hearty and adventurous, often seeking out off-the-radar locations. They are 'rule-obsessed', planning their daily itineraries with military precision, and often requesting incredibly intricate information, according to the concierge of a hotel in Florence. They tend to get into scrapes. A group of young German tourists toppled a valuable statue in the town of Viggiù, near Lake Como, in 2023 – while posing for photos for social media. And at the beach, we all know that it's the Germans who are up at dawn to bag the best sunbeds. Spanish tourists 'The loudest of all visitors' According to the French? Hardly anyone has a bad word to say about the Spanish – who stream over the border apparently, and solely, to liven France up a bit. They leave their tendency to melancholy back at home. There are those who suggest that, once away, they may be rather loud – 'the loudest of all visitors,' said a church official I met in Lourdes. 'It's because, in a group, they all speak at once, so all have to speak loudly to be heard, so no one is heard, so the noise builds up.' That aside, they are terrific customers at Lourdes' religious goods shops, and its bistros. You haven't seen a pilgrimage until you've seen Spanish pilgrims letting loose at around 11pm in Lourdes. Meanwhile, over in Beaujolais, Vincent Guérin of Beaujolais Tourisme, says 'They are a real pleasure to deal with – though they are foxed by French restaurant eating hours, especially out in the sticks.' The Spanish like to eat around the exact time when French countryside restaurants are closing. It is the only bone of contention. According to the Greeks? 'Spaniards are like us – Mediterraneans, only much more noisy,' the manager of Nammos hotel in Mykonos, one of the resorts where Spaniards flock in summer, told me. 'They have tapas snacks like we have meze; they have a passion for life and they love to talk – like us.' A shopkeeper in Santorini agreed: 'They're very similar to us – only our beaches are much better. The former king of Spain is even married to Sofia of Greece, so we are almost family.' According to the Italians? Spanish tourists in Italy tend to be quite young. The Italians feel an obvious camaraderie with them given the similarity of language, the importance of food and wine in their lives, and their sunny, southern Mediterranean zest for life. Helped by hand gestures, an Italian can make himself understood to a Spaniard and vice-versa, and they certainly share many characteristics. Italian tourists 'They exhibit a poetic spontaneity' According to the French? It seems that the French see the Italians as more excitable, arm-waving versions of themselves. 'They come for art, history and gastronomy,' says the Burgundy survey, approvingly. They make contact easily and, according to Danaé Pestel in the Var, exhibit 'a poetic spontaneity'. Their extreme appreciation of food and wine may exasperate some French people – when, for instance, it leads them to criticise French pasta, pizzas or coffee, as they do, with some frequency. But generally they'll see themselves as Latin good-food allies of the French against fast-food barbarians elsewhere. Danaé Pestel has noted but one fault – and that's a tendency to confusion over greetings, so that an Italian might very well say ' au revoir ' when he or she arrives and ' bonjour ' on leaving. According to the Greeks? 'Italians talk all the time with their hands, and they drink a lot of coffee – they are like Greeks only on amphetamines,' a hairdresser told me. 'They like the Dodecanese because they ruled there, and they were in the Ionian Islands too – like in Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Many older people also speak some Italian.' According to the Spanish? Nobody has a bad word to say about the Italians, aside from the odd mention of loudness. On the contrary, the general consensus seems to be that Spain's next-door-but-one neighbours are almost soul mates, with myriad similarities in culture, language, architecture and even culinary traditions. Unlike tourists from other countries (Americans were cited in particular), the Italians won't complain about the late eating hours, don't tend to wander into churches in shorts and singlets, and are considered generally respectful. Chinese tourists 'They take selfies from the roofs of our houses' According to the French? Clearly, the French wish to like Chinese visitors – there's lots of money to be had – but don't always find it easy. The fact that some groups of Chinese people will rush through the great cultural headliners in order to get more quickly to the high-end shops usually disappoints. Well, it disappoints some people. In the great Parisian department stores, they doubtless think this is splendid. Also something of a trial are apparent Chinese exactions. According to the Burgundy survey, one mustn't – when dealing with Chinese people – gesticulate, talk with the hands, be late or get annoyed. Pointing at a Chinese visitor may also be considered aggressive. 'Not all Chinese have mastered common international courtesies,' said a Med coast hotelier – who preferred anonymity because, despite the comment, he wants Chinese customers. Other Chinese visitors may, though, be very respectful of hierarchies. Bernard Legal of the Château de Chantore in Brittany says: 'Our Chinese guests always ask who owns the château – and never believe that they are welcomed, and served, by the owners.' And, when out and about, Chinese people like to eat Chinese food. 'They invariably ask where the best Chinese restaurants are,' said Caterina Prochilo at the Nice tourism office. According to the Greeks? Ever since Chinese company Cosco bought a major chunk of Piraeus port, Greeks will often be heard muttering: 'They're taking over our country…' One Santorini resident moaned that 'they clog up the streets and take selfies from the roofs of our houses'. On the popular island of Mykonos, however, Maria, who owns a clothes boutique in the whitewashed streets of Chora, said she loved them. 'They're wonderful because they spend so much money,' she enthused. According to the Spanish? The Chinese are welcomed for their spending power and discretion, generally keeping themselves to themselves without too much hullabaloo. The concierge in one smart hotel talked about their fondness for designer labels and luxury brands, before also adding the caveat that some colleagues had found them at least as demanding as Americans, becoming impatient if their every demand wasn't instantaneously met. According to Italians Italy has become one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists. Attracted by its romantic lure and luxury shopping, the country holds huge appeal for the new upper-middle classes, with their recently-gained purchasing power. In Milan's Quadrilatero d'Oro (the designer shopping district), the Chinese are the biggest spenders. But this doesn't endear them to the majority of Italians, and as a whole, they are not popular. They often travel in large groups armed with selfie sticks with which they document each minute of their journey, no matter who gets in the way or how inappropriate the situation – 'even crawling between people's legs' in the Uffizi gallery, according to one guide. Australian tourists 'They spend all their time on their phones' According to the French? Welcomed pretty much everywhere for their boundless, base-level enthusiasm, the Aussies are particularly esteemed in northern France, where they so distinguished themselves in the First World War. That memory scarcely fades at all – and certainly not in the Pas-de-Calais where, for instance, in and around Bullecourt, the Diggers fought ferociously through April and May of 1917. The village has memorials to the 10,000 Aussie casualties, a Rue d'Australie, a Café de Canberra and a cracking little 1917 museum where the owners Harmony and Alexandre reckon their Australian visitors are particularly friendly and outgoing. 'We long ago lost count of the number of photos taken or hugs received.' they say. The Aussies also prove terrifically generous – in both buying items from the museum shop and leaving donations. According to the Greeks? Another country with a huge Greek population (according to the 2021 census, 1.7 per cent of its inhabitants hail from Greece), Australians are warmly welcomed, even though most Greeks have difficulty understanding that twanging Aussie accent. 'Australians are a bit like us Greeks – their 'mateship' makes me think of the way we Greeks are so close with our own parea (group of friends),' one Athenian told me. According to the Spanish? Only narrowly beaten to the bottom of the list by the Americans and the British, the Australians are similarly singled out when it comes to generally uncouth and disrespectful behaviour. One Barcelona tour guide told me: 'Australians act like our cathedral is a nightclub, not a place of prayer', before going on to include in their list of gripes that 'they spend all their time on their phones and don't seem interested in our culture at all'. According to the Italians? Everybody loves the Australians. Well, nearly everybody. They, in turn, love Italy and are generous in their enthusiasm for everything Italian. Well, after 24 hours plus on a plane, you would be too, right? Having made the effort – and spent a considerable amount of money – to get here, they tend to embrace everything they find with gusto and throw themselves into local life. On the downside, their enthusiasm can go too far: in August 2022, a couple of Aussies were caught surfing along the Grand Canal in Venice and another decided to ride his moped round the ancient site of Pompeii. But that seems to be the exception to the rule, and they are generally seen in a positive light. American tourists 'They exhibit a great capacity for amazement' According to the French? A recent video, produced with the support of the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, tested Americans' knowledge of Bordeaux via a US street vox pop. 'Bordeaux?' answered a young woman, 'You mean, as in Brigitte Bordeaux?' Once in France, though, folk from the US become brighter. They are highly prized for keenness and a thirst for culture. Marie-Cécile Ruault-Marmande of the National Museum of Pre-History in the Dordogne says: 'Even after two hours, they remain enthusiastic, and eager for more. They appreciate very detailed explanations, exhibiting a great capacity for amazement.' US exuberance is noted throughout France. 'They always smile and seem happy to be alive,' says Elena Murtas of Aups Tourisme in Provence. There are caveats. Americans apparently remain reticent about all that French cheek-kissing. They need air con, and don't need the offal and squidgy items which the French quite often put on dinner plates. And, says Bernard Legal of the Château de Chantore, their eco-consciousness needs work. 'They never turn out lights, and travel with huge cases.' That said, they're favourites around the château because they are 'kind, respectful and very open in their appreciation'. According to the Greeks? Lauded for their largesse when it comes to tips, Americans also have strong historical links with Greece – and not only because there are countless US bases here. Faced with extreme post-war poverty, entire Greek villages upped roots to seek a new life in the US. 'The ones who return here on holiday, we call them 'Amerikanakia'. The younger ones often don't even speak Greek, but we welcome them as our own blood,' Mixalis Resnis, who owns a tour company on the island of Karpathos, told me. According to the Spanish? 'The Americans are almost as bad as the British,' said a tour guide from Seville, citing Americans' lack of respect for local customs and culture, especially when visiting religious sites. They also took the prize when it came to historical and cultural ignorance. An American tourist who asked if Franco was 'still' the King of Spain, was just one cited example. More affluent Americans are nevertheless welcomed for their spending power. According to the Italians? 'The sort of high-end Americans who stay at the Four Seasons are among my most difficult clients,' one tour guide told me. 'They are self-entitled, rude, demanding and will keep you waiting for hours.' They also expect things to work the way they do back home, and have little understanding of – or tolerance for – the quirks and intricacies of the Italian system, it was said. But another guide heaped praise on Americans in general for being ' bravissimi clienti ', appreciative of everything that is Italian, from food and wine to culture. 'And they know how to tip,' they added. 'They even tip when it's not appropriate.' French tourists 'Why do they moan all the time?' According to the Greeks? 'Ah, the French. So romantic! But why do they moan all the time?' This was one response I received, along with a few variations ('Why are they so stressed all the time?'; 'Why do they pretend they can't speak English?') when I canvassed half a dozen Cretans in my local kafeneion. 'The French just complain about everything – we Cretans are laid-back, so we find it bizarre,' a hotel owner told me. 'Mind you, we prefer them to the Germans, because at least they smile and say ' bonjour ' to everyone.' According to the Spanish? When it comes to dividing the crowd, it's the French who take the prize. Most people consider them way more civilised than the British. 'They don't lie on the beach till they go red,' one hotelier told me, 'nor get blind drunk'. But while many see them as well-educated and polite, almost as many found them arrogant and fussy. According to the Italians? Generally well-dressed they may be, but other comments made about the French aren't so flattering: inscrutable, intolerant, arrogant, superior, especially when it comes to food, wine and their language. The mere suggestion to a Frenchman that his national cuisine originated in Florence at the court of Caterina de' Medici is likely to be given very short shrift. 'They rarely demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for anything and often seem downright ungrateful,' lamented a tour guide. 'The French are just… French,' said one restaurateur, 'but at least they speak some English now, so communication is easier.'
Telegraph
25-03-2025
- Telegraph
Europe's most (and least) spoilt destinations, according to Europeans
Around 1.4 billion international holidays were taken by residents of planet Earth in 2024. Of those, 747 million involved a European country. To put it another way, Europe accounts for just 6.8 per cent of the planet's land area – but 53.3 per cent of its selfie stick-wielding, pavement-clogging, Airbnb-browsing tourists. Given these figures, it's not surprising that so much of the continent has lost its authenticity, and is in the grip of an anti-tourism movement. It's also slightly surprising to learn that so much of Europe hasn't been spoilt, and does retain its character. We asked our experts in seven of Europe's most popular destinations (France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Turkey and Portugal) to reveal the most spoilt parts of their country – of which savvy travellers should steer clear – as well as the most charming, crowd-free place still off the tourist radar. Here's what they had to say… Explore: France Spain Italy Greece Croatia Turkey Portugal Anthony Peregrine Most spoilt: Saint Tropez On a high summer day, St Tropez, a village of 3,586 full-time residents, may be, and often is, inundated by 80,000 visitors. You read that right: eight and four zeros, per day. Last time I had to drive there in August, it took me two hours to do the final two miles into town. I was overtaken by ladies with Zimmer frames. The entire Riviera is crowded in summer, but St Tropez's numbers are off the scale. The village is aware of this. Mayor Sylvie Siri was recently quoted thus: 'Don't come in summer. Come in spring, when it's like the St Tropez of our childhoods.' Depends when your childhood was, of course. By the 1950s and 1960s, St Tropez had already evolved from a little fishing and commercial port to a sort of St-Germain-des-Près-on-sea, thick with unfettered artists, singers, writers and associated bohemians. Then the international flotsam and jetsam, with their airhead excesses, started rolling in followed by, well, everyone else, all anxious to bathe in the spin-off sheen.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bread-dodging Britons should be more European about their diet
If the British public and bread were in a relationship, now would be a good time for some couple's therapy. In the past decade, attitudes towards bread have shifted. According to Mintel, 8 per cent of British adults now avoid gluten in their diet as part of a 'healthy lifestyle', rather than due to having a diagnosed digestive condition like coeliac disease, a wheat allergy or gluten intolerance. Maybe they're on to something. Recent studies show that processed bread stuffed with additives has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Nutritionists also argue that bread can contribute to weight gain, and is less nutrient-dense and filling compared with other carbohydrates like sweet potatoes or brown rice. But then again, maybe they aren't. The UK's life expectancy is currently 81.3 years, whereas European countries that haven't adopted the gluten-free fad are living longer – Spain's is 83.7, France's is 83.3, Greece's is 81.9 and Italy's is 83.7, according to 2023 figures. Not only have these countries swerved the gluten-free dietary craze, but bread retains a central part of everyday life in all of these countries, according to our destination experts. Those in France, Spain, Italy and Greece offer some perspective: Anthony Peregrine I don't feel that the French are quite as worried about the killer threat posed by bread as are the British. In general, they still see food as a source of sustenance and pleasure rather than as a sub-branch of medical science. Figures differ, but it seems that the French eat around 30 million baguettes a day, bought from supermarkets and (mainly) from the 32,000 retail bakeries, or 'boulangeries'. For comparison, it's said that the average French person eats a little over 52kg of bread a year. The British figure is 37kg. The fact that, in 2022, the French baguette was accepted onto Unesco's 'intangible cultural heritage' list says a lot. And, certainly, the boulangerie remains at the heart of village and town life. Each day, some 12 million people visit their local baker's, which are not merely France's favourite shops, but a key part of the national identity. If the baker's shop shuts, the village is dying. Anne Hanley For many elderly Italians, especially country types, the word for meals is 'companatico' – quite literally, the stuff that goes with bread. In fact for all Italians, pane is an integral part of the meal: you wouldn't think of eating – at home or out – without some on the table. It's essential for directing stray items onto your fork, and for mopping up all that sauce left on your plate. But this doesn't mean that Italians today actually eat all that much bread. Per-head sales have plummeted from 84kg a head annually in 1980 to just 29kg in 2024 – not so much because of fads or gluten fixations but because it's no longer considered a staple: the folk memory of harsh days when sufficient bread was key to providing essential carbs has waned. Which isn't to say that coeliac disease and gluten intolerance – real and imagined – aren't a thing, as the range of gluten-free products on supermarket shelves proves. It's just a little less fretted over. For most Italians bread remains a part of culinary culture. Each region has its own: Rome's rosetta, the chunky salt-free loaves of Umbria and Tuscany, Puglia's chewy, slow-risen Altamura bread. Only a small percentage of bread consumed is of the sliced and packaged supermarket type. And relatively little of it forms the basis of snacks, which are more likely to come in the shape of a slab of pizza rustica. Marti Buckley The idea of our daily bread has never rung truer than at mealtimes in Spain. It's the main event at breakfast, in the form of tosta and an indispensable part of both lunch and dinner. And not just in a 'bread roll next to a plate' kind of way – the two-inch hunk of sliced baguette is, along with the knife, spoon and fork, considered an essential piece of cutlery. I have watched grown men falter without a piece of bread to assist in the eating process, used with the left hand to scoop food onto a spoon. As most food items are served in separate courses, it also serves to soak up any sauces and gravies in the absence of, say, mashed potatoes. Perhaps its continued popularity for all-day consumption is due to the fact that Spanish flour typically has a lower gluten content than flour in the UK, which can make it easier to digest. In Spain, there is no sense that bread is unhealthy, and if anything, there is a rediscovery of bread's amazing versatility in the form of an upsurge in artisan sourdough breads and a recovery of traditional baking methods. Heidi Fuller-Love Enter any Greek taverna and (after the ceremonial laying of the paper tablecloth) you'll be served with a basket of soft yellow bread cut into doorstop-sized hunks perfect for soaking up the herby olive oil oozing from your choriataki Greek salad or mopping up the juices from a medley of slow-cooked meat dishes. According to the Deipnosophistae, Athenaeus of Naucratis's discursive tome about the dining habits of his fellow scholars, back in 200AD Greeks had at least 72 different types of bread. Even today – from Crete's twice-cooked dakos barley rusks to Thessaloniki's ring-shaped, sesame-spotted koulouri – bread is an important staple; so much so that the Greeks have two different names for the floury stuff: 'artos', which is the ancient Greek word still seen on bakery signs, and the modern word 'psomi'. It's also a vital element in every religious ritual or riotous festival: at Easter Greeks flock to the church to pick up domed loaves that have been blessed by the priest, while spicy braided Christopsomo buns are a popular treat at Christmas. Once perceived as an eccentric fad, gluten-free products are a growing trend, however – although a friend with intolerance issues complains that most tavernas seem to think 'gluten-free' just means 'without eggs'.
