Nobody ever cared about politics when it comes to tourists.<p>It's about <i>your</i> behaviour as a human being. Yes, there are different customs, and while the last few decades have steadily grinded to erode these, even today there are still stark differences between the different European people.<p>If you are going to be loud, opinianated and callous, people are not going to dislike you for being 'american', 'english' or 'dutch', just for being loud, opinionated and callous. Many americans visit here and are amical, culturally curious and respectfull. Nobody sane over here is going to go object to you because 'trump'.<p>Leave your maga hats as wel as your pronouns at home, and enjoy your trip.
Thanks for this timely post! My mother is going to Paris next week and asked me the very same question.<p>I concur with Rick. In my experience travelling and living in Europe, Americans are well liked despite whatever politics the country as a whole may take on. As he says, it's extremely important for us to be good ambassadors -- deferential, open, and keeping it light.
I remember when Brexit happened, every time I got chatting to someone in Europe they would, politely, try to figure out where I stood on the issue. When they figured out that I was pro-European they wanted to know my take on what was going on in the UK. I imagine that if I'd been pro-Brexit they'd have just avoided the subject and discussed the weather.<p>I imagine you'll experience the same thing as an American coming to Europe right now.
Yes, you're welcome.<p>I'm from the Netherlands, middle-aged and have never met a person in my circles with a genuine hate of America or Americans.<p>There's plenty of critique on the state of US society, but that doesn't translate to general hate for any random American, unless you're intentionally provocative.<p>Likewise, we do not hate US products. It's just that in the case of food and cars, we have plenty ourselves of an equal or better quality.<p>Should you be conservative and drop a few of those views in casual conversation, I can assure you that this doesn't shock the average European. In fact, counter intuitively you may find out that progressive Americans are far more progressive than progressive Europeans. Culturally that is, not economically.<p>Do avoid obnoxious patriotism or bragging about the US.
Are Chinese people still welcome in Europe? Yes, but with caveats, and more scrunity. So not as welcome as e.g. Japanese people. Americans are now part of the same group as Chinese people.
I was in London last week. Everyone was incredibly kind and welcoming. Some people made some jokes about the US (which were welcome and light hearted) and we all had a good time.
American movie exports is alive and well. Most europeans see americans positively from decades of hollywood propaganda. A few months of trump hasn't and isn't going to change that. Stop reading twitter if you've been convinced otherwise
Europe worries about Americans that <i>don't</i> leave the country.<p>Americans who travel to Europe (have a passport) are rarely the 'T%%' shirt or 'Maggi' Cap-wearing kind. If anything, traveling Americans have always been known for their ample smiles, friendly nature, unbridled enthusiasm, and positivity/sunny outlook.<p>[Recent actions by the current administration did help unify Europe, but they mostly feel sorry for us. Anyone part of the group stuck in the 'faux news' bubble may have a bad time, because nothing they've been told turns out to be true...]
> Over that span, the time that felt most like our current situation came in 2002 and early 2003, when President George W. Bush began to pressure European allies to join the I-can’t-believe-we-actually-called-it-that “Coalition of the Willing” to invade Iraq, based on what turned out to be false claims. When France was reluctant to join our fight, the response of the American public was as immediate and intense as it was nonsensical. Many Americans, who insulted the French as “surrender monkeys,” pledged to rebrand French fries as “Freedom fries” and boycott French’s mustard… which is based in Rochester, New York. Sales of our tours and guidebooks in France took a significant hit.<p>One silver lining of the post-truth hellscape we live in is that it's far harder for the US government to directly manufacture consensus like this. In 2002 Bush had every US paper <i>burying</i> anything outside the narrative[0]. In 2025, if Trump so much as says the sky is blue, you'll see at least one clueless, schismogenic[1] idiot insisting that it's green, always been green, and that green is better. While that's an obviously stupid example, it's generally good that people are questioning ShitGovernmentsSay™.<p>Now if only we could get the MAGA hats to start questioning their chosen god-emperor...<p>[0] To be clear, most people in Europe knew Saddam wasn't buying yellowcakes, because the papers were reporting on the obvious falsity of the evidence over there.<p>[1] Schismogenesis is the process of social division, see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schismogenesis" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schismogenesis</a>
If you actually perform all the steps to get a passport an leave the country to see the world for yourself that's a YUUGE (sic!) sign that you're not "one of those".
I have backpacked around places where literally the US funded decades-long civil wars that devastated the country, and people do not blame you for what your government does. Even in places like Nicaragua where the government is _tremendously_ anti-American, even talking to communist true believers that say they hate everything America stands for (oh and was _that_ a fun night of drinking), in towns with "Viva la Revolution" and "Colonizer Go Home" graffiti, they were incredibly nice to me personally. There was one particular person in a group of locals I was hanging out with who pretended she didn't speak english, because she was annoyed about having to accommodate me and my terrible spanish, until we started talking about Sasha Baron Cohen movies and then suddenly she started speaking enthusiastic english that sounded like she was a UCLA Film Studies major.<p>I talked to a guy in El Salvador that got deported for being in MS-13 and he just wanted to chill and talk about the US and sports. I talked to someone from Colombia that was struggling to get a visa to visit her brother and she was mad about the _situation_, but not mad at _me_ about it, she just wanted to vent.<p>Just listen more than you talk and be careful about how you talk about politics unless you're in the mood for an argument.
I thought these paragraphs were the most insightful:<p>> While the Trump phenomenon feels unprecedented to many Americans, much of the world has seen figures like him before. Many Europeans have had firsthand experience — whether recent or generational — of chafing under a leader whose politics they find outrageous. In recent years alone, we’ve seen the rise of right-wing politicians across Europe who can broadly be described as “Trump-like,” from Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi and Giorgia Meloni, and from France’s Marine Le Pen to the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders. Trump is merely our local manifestation of a global trend.<p>> While Americans tend to be idealistic, many Europeans are steely-eyed realists. A hard history has taught them that you can’t always judge a person by their current leader. And they recognize that more Americans voted against Trump than voted for him; even if they’re alarmed at the actions of America, they don’t paint all Americans with the same, broad brush.<p>I think the reason that the rise of Trump has been so painful for many Americans is that it has shattered our view of American idealism (or perhaps a slightly different type of "American Exceptionalism", if you will).<p>When I was a kid and learned about the rise of Hitler and Mussolini, I remember thinking "How could people be so stupid? Why would they want to support these autocrats?" I don't think that anymore.
i think americans are generally welcomed in most places, with some caveats and reservations<p>the real question is how many nationalities are now welcome in america?
Of course they are, as long as you make an effort not to stand out too much.<p>Obviously, that means no MAGA hats (but who wears those outside of the US?), but also no USA flags on clothing, hats, or whatever (and definitely no flag of Israel). Tip: look more neutral by wearing camouflage, like a white sweater with a red 11-pointed maple leaf on it.<p>Don't try to pay everything by credit card (excepting tourist traps and museums).<p>If you voted Republican and consider yourself one: don't tell a soul. Ever.<p>Learn to say 'good morning/day/evening', 'thank you', 'please', and 'I'm really sorry about Trump' in the local language. A little effort is often appreciated.
> But one consistent idea resounded clearly. When I asked each of our guests whether Americans would still be welcome in their country, they all said the same thing: Yes, of course! Why on earth wouldn’t Americans be welcome here?<p>I concur. Asking the question is weird. And contrary to the comments here, and despite my extremely leftwing views, I don't care if you voted MAGA or not, and I think most European, except maybe terminally online ones, is the same.<p>Half my friends have politics I don't like, as long as they aren't disrespectful and talking shit about people they don't know, I'm fine with it.
> And what if you’re a Trump supporter? I believe that, yes, even Trump voters can have a good experience in Europe — provided that they travel with a spirit of empathy, curiosity, and open-mindedness.<p>I met an elder couple from Arizona on a European cruise last year. (Seated at the table next to us at dinner) While they were very nice, I had no intention of involving any politics in our conversations, out of fear of having to listen to batshit insane rants. At some point, it became clear that they were not in any way pro-Trump, and it made our conversations just a tad nicer to have that out of the way.<p>On my other side there was a couple from Canada and a couple from the UK. The Canadians kept talking about how they wish the conservatives would get back to power and-for some reason-their love for the _previous_ pope, while the Brits repeatedly said they miss Boris Johnson.
It reminds me a lot of the Iraq years. I don't think people judge individual Americans but be ready for people to say lots of negative things about American politics to you, even if you don't bring it up. Nothing personal but just generally.
I think these comments here are politically charged. There are a lot of walk of life in the US not limited to politics or who/what someone voted for.<p>I am sure if Americans are not welcome in Europe it isn't because they are an American, but that individual isn't very nice or polite around others. I haven't been to Europe in a long time, because Asia is so much more awesome.
Look at it this way: the United States is such a gigantic territory with a broad spectrum of different peoples and cultures.<p>It’s like asking if Africans are welcome, or are Asians welcome?<p>I think <i>any</i> tourism or hospitality industry will welcome anybody who is polite, courteous and spends money. That’s the bottom line, literally. Bonus: most Americans understand English and spend $USD!<p>Anyone who will check into a hotel, spend money on taxis, dining, and entertainment, doesn’t get into illegal shit, and purchases souvenirs? That’s a welcome tourist.<p>Of course, that’s assuming that Americans travel for conventional tourism. If you’re going to travel for a protest, or to smuggle drugs, or to advance some political agenda, then that’s not really tourism. Or if you’re a member of a women’s basketball team and you’re casually smuggling marijuana... all bets are off.