Should the Romans feel guilty?

Question

For the complete rip off of every tourist who visits. I mean, nine euros for a small bottle of beer.? How do they sleeep?

Answer 1

don't take any cr@p from people who try and rip you off....

if you're in italy and feel you've been ripped off tell the shop / bar owner you're going to call the carabinieri.....

they'll soon back down....

unfortunatly there is a culture of this in Italian cities. on the TV here in italy was a program highlighting and shaming bars and restaurants. in some restaurants in milan tourists are given a different menu with higher prices to the italians...

Answer 2

We were there last summer at the peak of tourist season and one of the best ways to not get "ripped off" was to buy your drinks, food, etc. away from the tourist sites.  A bottle of Gatorade you would pay 5 euros for outside the Colloseum you would only pay 2 euros at a neighborhood market away from the hustle and bustle.  It's no different than buying stuff at a convenience store as opposed to a big grocery store or market.  You are paying for the "convenience".  It's on you to learn about the place you're visiting and make yourself aware of how stuff works.

Answer 3

In Italy it's absolutely mandatory to any bar,pub or restaurant keeping in good view a price list of what they're serving. When you enter a public place and they don't have it you may either ask for it or go out. I guess you've bought this beer without knowing in advance its cost  but I must say that's mainly  your own fault. I agree with previous answerers saying that prices are not so high anywhere in Rome (I'm curious to know where you've bought a small beer at 9 Euro....!!) or that Euro has contributed a lot to either let them increase and make them more expensive to those who are paying in dollars (but not for those one paying in pounds) but unless you pretend to buy a beer in Via Veneto or on the Spanish steps or wherever are just tourists and you move from there just 100 meters you can find where locals are buying at quite normal prices like 2-3 Euro.-

I don't know how much you're used to travel but it's rather common, not only in Rome or in Italy, that tourists are subject to be ripped off: However since nobody has obliged you to buy that beer in that place at that cost you should agree you have widely cooperated with that people to let it happen.

Answer 4

if you know where to go you wont get ripped off. obviously if you buy something right outside the vatican or some other hot spot your going to pay an arm and a leg for it. if you hop on a bus to some remote suburb 10 or 20 minutes away then its way cheaper.

Answer 5

like being at home then dont think romans feel guilty there dead

Answer 6

lol, i thought this was going to be another historical dig at the slave trade....

but yes, like most tourist hotspots, you are bound to get ripped off. i feel sorry for the locals who don't have a choice...or do they...hiding the cheap boozers

Answer 7

Go to Paris, Madrid, London it's all much of a muchness.  In fact, Edinburgh is pretty bad for prices too.  And your handbag/pocket/backpack can be robbed equally in any of these places.  Historically, the Romans were almost Atlantean in their feats but, they also got greedy.

Answer 8

The best solution is to go elsewhere....  they may eventually get the message.

Answer 9

I assume you got zapped somewhere close to one of the attractions (like next to the Vatican where I paid 8 Euros for a coffee). Same thing happens in Paris close to Notre Dame, on San Marco square in Venice, etc.

Some of it is the exchange rate.  You probably paid about 6.50 Euros, which would have been about US$5.00 in 2002.

Some of it is the switch to the Euro (which happened in 2002). The switch had the unexpected effect of driving up prices all over the Euro zone.  For example, 2 German Marks equaled 1 Euro, so a pizza that cost 5 Marks on December 31st should have been 2.5 Euro on January 1st.  However, merchants simply "rounded-up" to 3 Euros and later "increased" the price to 4 or even 5 Euros over the first year. That didn't affect large purchases like houses or cars but really hit restaurant bills.

Answer 10

i agree with chipwils

Answer 11

How do any of the sports teams or concert venues throughout the WORLD sleep at night!? If you buy near a MAJOR attraction, you WILL pay more. It is common sense. Go off of the beaten track and you will be fine.