British couple banned from Venice after taking a dip in the Grand Canal

A couple have been banned from Venice after being caught swimming in its Grand Canal.

A British man and his Romanian partner were asked to leave the UNESCO World Heritage city after gondoliers saw them taking a plunge in the water and alerted local police.

The couple, aged 35 and 25 respectively, were also handed a fine of €480.

Swimming in any of Venice’s 150 famous canals is strictly forbidden, with the city facing pressure from residents to make fines for non-compliance steeper.

Thousands of tourists have been removed from the city since the start of the year after being caught foul of the rules.

Campaign groups such as Venice is not Disneyland have also called for transgressing tourists to be permanently barred from the lagoon city.

A couple have been asked to leave Venice for taking a dip in one of the city’s canals (Picture: tgcom24)

However, this has not put off daring tourists from breaking the rules, including diving into the Grand Canal from the famous Rialto Bridge and jet-skiing on the waterways.

In 2023, a man made headlines after being filmed jumping into the water from a 30-foot-high building.

Councillor Elisabetta Pesce said the city was committed to tackling ‘disrespectful and uncivilised’ behaviour.

She said: ‘I thank the gondoliers for their cooperation and timely reporting, which allowed our local police to intervene immediately.

‘The municipal administration is committed to strongly opposing disrespectful and uncivilised behaviour, because protecting Venice means defending the dignity of a unique city in the world and ensuring decorum for both residents and visitors.’

The pair have been handed a fine and banned from the city for 48 hours after a gondolier caught them taking a dip in the Grand Canal (Picture: tgcom24)

Earlier this summer, Venice trialled a daily access fee for all day-tripping visitors.

The city imposed a €10 fee in July for visitors between the peak hours of 8.30am and 4pm.

Around seven out of 10 of Venice’s 30 million annual visitors stay in the city for less than a day.

One Venetian businessman advocated hiking the controversial charge to €100 per day, in order to tackle what he branded ‘obscene rivers of tourists’.

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