The town of Sirmione on Lake Garda was overwhelmed by visitors over the May bank holiday weekend. Local authorities estimated around 75,000 tourists visited the town. Sirmione has a population of just 8,000.
Tourists clogged the historic centre, narrow streets, and castle bridge. Roads were gridlocked with cars, buses and pedestrians all competing for space.
The long weekend included both the UK’s early May bank holiday and Italy’s Labour Day on 1 May. Many visitors used the extended break for a trip to northern Italy’s largest lake. Sirmione is popular for its thermal springs, Roman ruins and its lakeside medieval castle.
Footage shared online showed a near standstill around the bridge to Castello Scaligero, the town’s 13th-century fortress.
“We’re very worried about public safety and the quality of life for tourists, residents and workers,” said Marco Merlo of Federalberghi Brescia.
“We hope the council will involve us in finding effective and widely agreed strategies.”
Visitors reported waiting up to 40 minutes to enter the historic centre. Many chose to leave early due to the crowds.
“We left and went to Garda instead,” said one visitor on TikTok. “There were tourists, but not like that.”
Congestion worst the town had seen
A local cultural group, Siamo Sirmione, said the congestion was the worst the town had ever seen.
“If this is the council’s management model,” the group said, “the risk is not just hardship for residents but a real and lasting harm for the tourism and image of Sirmione.”
Councillor Roberto Salaorni said there were currently no plans to limit numbers. However, he acknowledged the need for better controls.
“This is the first thing to do,” he said. “Possibly installing a barrier at the entrance to the castle.”
“That would help manage exceptional situations such as we saw on Friday.”
Comments under social media videos compared the chaos to problems in other tourist cities, including Barcelona.
“Overtourism is not only a problem for citizens, but also for tourists,” said one user. “What did people enjoy about this trip?”
Venice introduced an entrance fee for daytrippers in 2024 in a bid to curb overtourism. They reinstated it in 2025 as well.
