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As an exceptional heatwave grips Europe with record-breaking temperatures, proper hydration has become an overriding public health priority. However, free access to drinking water in restaurants, bars or hotels remains a patchwork right across Europe.
The debate has been reignited by a recent and final ruling by Italy’s Court of Cassation, which draws a clear line between commercial freedom and cultural ethics.
Why the Court of Cassation sided with the hotel in the Dolomites
In an order issued on 29 April, the Court of Cassation ruled that a five-star hotel in the Dolomites acted entirely lawfully when it refused to provide tap water to a guest.
The case dates back to the 2019 Christmas holidays at the Sassongher hotel in Corvara in Badia, in Trentino-Alto Adige. The guest had purchased a half-board package costing more than €5,700, with the clause “drinks excluded”. During dinner, the hotel staff refused to let her have tap water, offering only bottled mineral water at €7 a bottle and rejecting her proposal to pay a flat-rate supplement for jugs of mains water.
The legal actions the guest brought in the subsequent instances, seeking €2,763 in damages, were all unsuccessful. Her appeal was based on the principle that water is “a natural resource and a universal human right” and that anyone staying in a hotel can legitimately expect to have it at the table, just as they take it for granted that they will find sheets or soap.
The Court of Cassation firmly rejected this argument, confirming that under the Italian legal system there are no provisions obliging restaurateurs or hoteliers to serve tap water.
Where in Europe tap water is available
In the countries of the Iberian Peninsula there is a strong focus on consumer protection and a clear push for ecological transition. In Spain, legislation introduced in 2022 requires all catering establishments by law to offer free tap water as the preferred alternative to single-use bottles.
Portugal has taken a similar line: under national legislation and legal clarifications issued in recent years, restaurants may not under any circumstances charge for glasses of tap water, nor can they legitimately refuse to serve them if explicitly requested by customers. Portuguese law protects consumers by preventing thirst from being turned into a forced purchase of pre-packaged commercial options, closely tying the right to hydration to transparency and fairness in the hospitality sector.
The rules in France and the United Kingdom
Across the rest of the continent, regulatory responses reflect deep historical and cultural differences. In France, customers have long been protected by the traditional “carafe d’eau”, which restaurateurs are obliged to include free of charge in the overall price, provided that a full meal is ordered.
In the United Kingdom, the obligation to provide free drinking water is instead inextricably linked to commercial licences: all premises that serve alcohol must provide it on request.
In countries such as Germany, Belgium or the Netherlands, by contrast, where there is no legal obligation and water is treated like any other commercial product, it is often served at the table at prices higher than soft drinks or even beer.
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