Closed roads, Disney-ized attractions, and loss of local culture. These are just some of the woes plaguing a small European village made famous by social media.
Whether they’ve been talked about as a movie location or popular for their local culinary specialties, these hotspots are crumbling under pressure.
take notes from overtraveling In cities including Venice, Dubrovnik and Barcelona, locals have fought back with anti-tourism protests and authorities have imposed restrictions on visitors.
So which villages in Europe suffer the most from these singular tourist attractions?
Hallstatt, Austria: an alpine village cursed with fairy-tale beauty
Hallstatt is a small village in the Alps that is part of the cultural landscape of Dachstein/Salzkammergut and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. hallstatt It is famous for its outstanding natural beauty and ancient salt mining history.
Widely believed to be the source of inspiration for the Kingdom of Arendelle in Frozen, it is now visited by thousands of Disney fans.
Although it is a small village with a population of around 700-800 people, it receives up to 10,000 tourists per day. Most of them are aimed at Instagram. Lakeside Some people make a day trip here just to take a quick photo, rather than staying overnight or spending a lot of money locally.
At times, hundreds of tour buses and cars strained the village’s narrow roads, requiring extensive traffic management. This has caused severe disruption to community life, with crowds blocking sidewalks, exposing residents to constant noise, and trespassing on private property to take photos, ignoring signs asking for silence and respect.
To counter this, residents have been increasingly protesting, including blocking roads, and the mayor has also installed barriers at observation decks to control crowds. Caps are also installed on cars and tour buses. However, despite these measures, limits are still frequently reached.
Mont Saint-Michel, France: A medieval island with a constant flow of pilgrims
Mont Saint Michel, small tide island A commune in Normandy, France is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site under severe pressure from overtourism.
major pilgrimage This historic island boasts stunning natural bays, unique architecture, and the highest tidal currents in Europe.
But social media posts and popular shows like “Lupin” have turned the site into a cult pilgrimage site, visited by about 3 million people a year.
This overwhelmed a small area of the commune medieval Roads were congested, shuttle buses were backed up, and other infrastructure was under pressure.
The visitor experience also suffered. Endless souvenir Storefronts, long lines, and crowds create a theme park-like atmosphere, accelerating damage to fragile historic buildings.
This has led the government to consider reservation systems, visitor caps and turnstiles to better manage the flow of people. Tourists are also encouraged to visit during off-peak hours, such as before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m., or during off-peak periods, with benefits such as cheaper off-peak parking.
Kinderdijk, Netherlands: Where 18th-century windmills provide electricity for modern people
The small village of Kinderdijk, another UNESCO heritage site, is also overcrowded by tourists.
famous in the 18th century dutch The windmill-lined village has only 60 permanent residents but receives 600,000 visitors a year, many from cruise ships.
Residents complained of rude behavior by visitors, including being asked to move to take photos and entering private areas. garden And treat your home like an Instagram background.
This not only makes life more difficult for the people living there, but also strains local infrastructure and threatens the credibility of the village.
The Kinderdijk World Heritage Foundation’s plans to build a cruise ship pier and increase visitor numbers will only worsen the bottleneck at the popular spot. These decisions led to significant backlash from local residents, who expressed feeling ignored and excluded from these plans.
In response, local residents organized protestssent out friendly reminders to visitors via social media and “polite postcards” asking them to be careful about overtourism.
of village has taken measures such as banning tour buses and campers from the center and increasing fines for violations. To protect the privacy of local residents, permission is also required for drone photography.
However, the village still relies heavily on tourism revenue to preserve and maintain its 19 historic windmills, creating a conflict between visitor management and preservation needs.
Pienza: a Tuscan village destroyed by cheese
charming pienza tuscany This village is famous for its innovative Renaissance urban planning. But it’s not the blueprint central square that attracts modern visitors. Instead, many come for the famous Pecorino cheese.
Particularly popular are day tripperanother UNESCO World Heritage Site, the small village is struggling to contain its huge numbers. Local residents feel increasingly displaced by tourist-oriented cheese shops and souvenir shops, leaving less room for pharmacies and other essentials.
Restaurants also change their menus to suit the tastes of their visitors, creating authentic local cuisine. gastronomy To fade.
One of the biggest losses of local tradition due to overtourism is that the historic bell tower goes silent from 10pm to 7am, mainly due to numerous noise complaints from tourists.
Other major cities in Italy are: venice Rome has taken measures to curb overtourism, but Pienza has not yet enforced similar rules.
Goathland, England: How a country station became Harry Potter’s busiest station
Goathland, a small town in North Yorkshire englandIn recent years, it has become famous as a filming location for popular shows and movies such as “Heartbeat” and “Harry Potter.”
Gothland station was the first Hogsmeade station harry potter Years after all the films were released, they continue to attract large audiences. Hype about a new HBO series set to air in 2027 also boosted tourist numbers.
This has led to congested village streets, excessive strain on local infrastructure, and parking of many cars. illegally Because there is no space.
Common spaces in the village have been taken over by visitors, shops have changed their focus, natural areas have increased litter, long queues for photo-ops have formed at key sites such as the Aidensfield Arms, and local residents are feeling increasingly displaced.
North Yorkshire Council does not have Goathland-specific overtourism measures in place, but has a strategic Destination Management Plan (DMP) in place for the wider region, which should focus on sustainable growth and managing the impacts of rapidly increasing visitor numbers.