Fake News: You Can Roll Your Suitcase in These Towns
You can roll your suitcase in these towns.
A few years back, fake news hit the travel world. The rumor was that Venice, Italy was imposing a ban on wheeled luggage. Visitors who pulled their wheels through the romantic city could be fined.
Turns out, it wasn’t so.
But Venice did not outlaw wheeled luggage. Instead, city officials were targeting handcarts used by commercial vendors. Venice even went on a marketing campaign to let tourists know they could bring their wheeled luggage to Venice and they would not be fined.
The same sort of fake news affected Dubrovnik, Croatia. Surrounded by Bosnia, Hungary and Slovenia on the Adriatic Sea, Dubrovnik is paved with limestone and is known for its distinctive Old Town encircled in massive stone walls dating back to the 16th Century.
Dubrovnik, too, had to run a marketing campaign to contradict the fake news, letting people know that the city had not outlawed wheeled luggage. Still Dubrovnik does have rules that you cannot ride a bike or electric scooter in the historic center, don’t climb on monuments, and don’t walk around without a top on.
In both cities that did NOT pass laws prohibiting wheeled luggage, city officials were and continue to fight the effects of overtourism. Damage to cobblestone walks plus complaints about the noise generated spawned talk of the laws that were never instituted. The truth is that rolling wheeled luggage can damage the ancient walkways.
But there is one style of wheeled luggage that does less damage. Luggage that can rotate on its wheeles 360 degrees. We chose our favorite: the Travelpro Platinum Elite Softside Expandable Checked Luggage, 8-Wheel Spinner Suitcase with TSA Lock in dark blue for $391.99 on Amazon.com.