Holidaymaker slams Venice café for charging him £38 for two coffees and two waters

A FURIOUS holidaymaker has hit out at a café for charging him €43 (£38) for two cups of coffee and two bottles of water.

Juan Carlos Bustamente, from Santiago, Chile, was holidaying in Venice Italy when he received the shocking bill at Caffe Lavena in the city's St Mark's Square.

He soon took to Facebook to share his shock at the hefty bill, which amounted to €11.50 (£10.30) for each cup of coffee and €10 (£8.90) for each 25cl bottle of water.

"I don't know what you think but 43 euros for two coffees and two bottles of water!" he wrote on Facebook.

Venice ranks as one of the most expensive tourist destinations in the world.

According to a report put together by Hoppa, the overall cost of a night in the Italian city - factoring in meals, drinks, accommodation, entertainment, and transport - is a whopping €339.91 (£304.91).

That puts Venice fourth in the study, just a couple of places ahead of Dublin (7th) with the average cost of a night in the Irish capital coming in at around €322.70 (£290.05).

Despite the criticism of the prices at Caffe Levena.

A spokesperson has defended the pricing, arguing that a premium is charged for anyone wishing to sit in the square.

They told the Daily Mail:

"People get annoyed when the bill arrives because they do not listen when we hand them the menu even though it states clearly enough that prices are higher to sit outside. They just wave us away and if we insist they get irritated.

"If they just want a coffee they can have it at the bar for 1.25 EUR. If they want to sit outside and enjoy the music of the orchestra, look at the bell tower and the Basilica of St Mark's, then they are paying for an entirely different experience."

Anyone visiting Ireland meanwhile can expect to pay over the odds for drinks, with recent figures revealing that the Emerald Isle represents the most expensive country in the European Union to purchase alcohol in.