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I like visiting and photographing our architectural heritage amongst other things. I live in Italy and visiting most monuments costs about €5 for most monuments like the Roman city of Luni, or less when there is not much to see. The really world famous sites cost more; the Colosseum charges €16 and some places like the "perfect city" of Sabbionetta costs €15 for seven sites visitable in the space of a Year. The same goes for Palazzo Te in Mantova. The Duomo and some other churches in Florence are the only religious sites that charge admission. Here it is an activity which is not expensive, which I have come to take for granted.
We have recently been on holiday in the UK and was surprised that it costs much more to visit most cultural sites in Britain. We were close to Kew gardens, near where I once lived and often spent a sunny Sunday afternoon, after paying the traditional 1 Pence fee. We just had a couple of hours, but it now costs £24 to go in. So we gave up on that idea. Next up Hampton court: £26,30 excluding donation! Next time. Chiswick house a second division monument is a reasonable £8,50. The National Trust have some eyewatering admission charges too. Dyrham Park near my hometown, Bath charges £17 for a pretty average stately home.
We stayed in Battle before catching the shuttle back to France. this visit was £16 a head. OK the site has huge historical significance, but all there is to see is a field with some sheep and the ruined Monks living quarters. A €5 Italian monument.
The wonderful thing about the UK is that the art galleries and museums are still free. Unique in Europe I believe. Cathedrals are still reasonable. Wells and Bath Abbey ask for a £5 donation. So not all is negative in the UK.
Let's take a look at France and some places I have visited. Cathedrals and other religious monuments are free. The Castles on the Loire seem to cost about €15. The Popes palace in Avignon €12. The Pont du Gard is free but you pay €8 to park the car. The Roman arenas in Nimes and Arles come in at €10. A minor monument like the fascinating L’Abbaye troglodytique de Saint-Roman, near Avignon costs €5,75. The spectacular Les quatre châteaux de Lastours , near Carcassonne costs €8 So France sits in the middle between Italy and the UK.
Looking at the prices for Versailles and the Trip Advisor reviews leads me to another argument. Visiting the major world famous sites has become an unpleasant stressful experience, due to the huge overcrowding as well as becoming expensive. Back in the late sixties as a child, we stopped off at Stonehenge. There was a small layby and you paid a small sum to a guy in a small wooden shed. We were alone and wandered freely amongst the stones. At some point Stonehenge became a mass tourism destination with a shiny visitor centre and an eyewatering £26 admission fee. Visit Avebury instead! Italy is not innocent in this price gouging. My Florentine father in law was baptised in the Baptistry in Florence. In the not too distant past it was used for its intended purpose. We visited in the late eighties and you just wandered in for free. Visiting Florence was a magical experience. Now you have to pay, and are assigned a limited time slot , I often go to Florence for work. Florence in the summer is now a horribly overcrowded hell on earth in the centre.
Conclusion. I think France probable has the sensible pricing structure (Versailles excluded), compared to what you get to see. Italy is often very inexpensive outside of the "art cities" such as Rome and Florence, where they are learning to fleece the tourist. The UK is the winner if you like art gallery's, but English Heritage is mostly overpriced, unless you buy a years membership (£69) and make good use of it. Four or five monuments will repay the cost of membership. Kew Gardens in now hugely overpriced in my opinion.
Just some idle thoughts after a holiday.
We have recently been on holiday in the UK and was surprised that it costs much more to visit most cultural sites in Britain. We were close to Kew gardens, near where I once lived and often spent a sunny Sunday afternoon, after paying the traditional 1 Pence fee. We just had a couple of hours, but it now costs £24 to go in. So we gave up on that idea. Next up Hampton court: £26,30 excluding donation! Next time. Chiswick house a second division monument is a reasonable £8,50. The National Trust have some eyewatering admission charges too. Dyrham Park near my hometown, Bath charges £17 for a pretty average stately home.
We stayed in Battle before catching the shuttle back to France. this visit was £16 a head. OK the site has huge historical significance, but all there is to see is a field with some sheep and the ruined Monks living quarters. A €5 Italian monument.
The wonderful thing about the UK is that the art galleries and museums are still free. Unique in Europe I believe. Cathedrals are still reasonable. Wells and Bath Abbey ask for a £5 donation. So not all is negative in the UK.
Let's take a look at France and some places I have visited. Cathedrals and other religious monuments are free. The Castles on the Loire seem to cost about €15. The Popes palace in Avignon €12. The Pont du Gard is free but you pay €8 to park the car. The Roman arenas in Nimes and Arles come in at €10. A minor monument like the fascinating L’Abbaye troglodytique de Saint-Roman, near Avignon costs €5,75. The spectacular Les quatre châteaux de Lastours , near Carcassonne costs €8 So France sits in the middle between Italy and the UK.
Looking at the prices for Versailles and the Trip Advisor reviews leads me to another argument. Visiting the major world famous sites has become an unpleasant stressful experience, due to the huge overcrowding as well as becoming expensive. Back in the late sixties as a child, we stopped off at Stonehenge. There was a small layby and you paid a small sum to a guy in a small wooden shed. We were alone and wandered freely amongst the stones. At some point Stonehenge became a mass tourism destination with a shiny visitor centre and an eyewatering £26 admission fee. Visit Avebury instead! Italy is not innocent in this price gouging. My Florentine father in law was baptised in the Baptistry in Florence. In the not too distant past it was used for its intended purpose. We visited in the late eighties and you just wandered in for free. Visiting Florence was a magical experience. Now you have to pay, and are assigned a limited time slot , I often go to Florence for work. Florence in the summer is now a horribly overcrowded hell on earth in the centre.
Conclusion. I think France probable has the sensible pricing structure (Versailles excluded), compared to what you get to see. Italy is often very inexpensive outside of the "art cities" such as Rome and Florence, where they are learning to fleece the tourist. The UK is the winner if you like art gallery's, but English Heritage is mostly overpriced, unless you buy a years membership (£69) and make good use of it. Four or five monuments will repay the cost of membership. Kew Gardens in now hugely overpriced in my opinion.
Just some idle thoughts after a holiday.
