Did you hear the one about Europeans not "believing" in water and apparently wanting tourists visiting the continent to die of dehydration?
It may sound crazy, but that was pretty much the gist of the latest travel-related hoo-ha to bubble up from that cauldron of controversy also known as TikTok.
Long story short: a few non-European travelers posted on TikTok about their struggles finding water in Europe and/or not being served free tap water in European restaurants.
Naturally, the whole thing blew up, with the TikTokers receiving both criticism and support in the comment section.
Where oh where to begin?
In regards to their first gripe: the TikTokers are most certainly mistaken. Europe "believes" strongly in water and it's available for purchase—or for free—all over the continent.
Heck, free high-quality water is so ubiquitous that I even included it in a recent post of mine on how to save money in Europe.
Alpine Lakes Trains (Photo Credit: Provided by Collette)
Personally, some of my finest memories of any trip to Switzerland involve complimentary H20 (hey, I'm easy to impress). Seriously, there's something magical about sticking your bottle under a spigot in a Swiss mountain town, filling it to the brim and then chugging the crystal-clear, refreshing alpine water down.
Rome has hundreds of water fountains. Paris overflows too, with some fountains even bubbling over with sparkling water. In most big European cities, simply putting the name of the place you're in and "free water" into your favorite search engine should be enough to get the skinny on where to score some quality stuff. And if you can't find it for free, there's a shop or supermarket on almost every corner (more in tourist hotspots) that would love to sell you a bottle.
Europeans believe in water so much they brought the world these iconic brands of bottled water: Evian, San Pellegrino, Voss.
They love the stuff!
Up to this point, no big deal, a simple misunderstanding or stroke of bad luck on the TikTokers' part that got blown out of proportion.
When it comes to the second water-based crime Europe is being accused of, things get a bit more complicated.
While in some countries it's actually illegal to deny someone tap water at a restaurant, there are some places in Europe where free tap water is not the custom or the tap water isn't that great to the taste.
So the TikTokers are right: in some places in Europe, one might not be served free tap water at a restaurant.
Essential Europe: Italy, Croatia & Mediterranean Magic (Photo Credit: Provided by GAdventures)
My reply to that gripe? Get over it.
I know it's not the way things are done at home, but that's the whole point of traveling, guys.
Stuff is going to be different, and different is ok.
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Europe isn't perfect, but its water consumption habits aren't one of its problems.
Neither is the fact that there are no free soda refills in restaurants. Or that sometimes you have to pay to use a public restroom. Or it's expensive to park your car in major cities.
Different? Yes. Wrong? No.
Almost all of us are guilty of falling into the "yeah, but I like the way we do things better at home!" trap every now and again.
But this one is just plain silly.
Pay for a bottle of water at the restaurant and be done with it. Or don't, and go without a beverage. Better yet, have a glass of the house wine, in many places, it won't cost much more than the water.
Bringing your plastic bottle from the shop with you to the fancy restaurant—and then bragging about it on social media while throwing shade?
Not a great look.
Bottom line, you don't have to like how other countries do things, but it's probably best not to go spouting off about it on social media—especially while you're still there.
In other words, don't be a TikTok tourist—or Instagram tourist or Threads tourist or anything else.
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