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Venice bar drops prices as dollar falls
Harry's Bar, the noted Venice bar where Ernest Hemingway was once a regular customer, is offering discount drinks for "poor" Americans as the dollar plunges again European currencies.
The bar/restaurant is one of the most expensive in Venice and the move highlights rising concern that American visitors may dry up this summer as overseas trips get beyond the reach of many Americans not only in Italy but elsewhere in Europe.
A sign posted outside the restaurant announces: "Harry's Bar of Venice, in an effort to make the American victims of sub prime loans happier, has decided to give them a special 20 percent discount on all items of the menu during the short term of their recovery."
In 2002, when the euro was launched, a US dollar was worth 1.1 euros. Today the US dollar's value has nearly halved at 64 cents, making even bar prices appear astronomical for most American visitors.
American customers at Harry's Bar have plunged by nearly 10 per this year. It has been a favourite haunt of visiting Americans since it was founded in 1931 when Giuseppe Cipriani, a hotel barman, opened it with money an American called Harry Pickering gave him to pay off a loan.
This article was written for TravelSavvy Europe by Val Adams. For more information see: Venice - Cafe bars. If you know of an interesting European travel related news story, please get in contact.
