Now it's fixed

When day tourists will pay admission in Venice

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Venice is now finalizing its plans to introduce an entrance fee for day tourists. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced on Thursday that five euros will be charged for entry to the lagoon city for the first time on April 25.

The entrance fee will be charged on a total of 29 days in 2024: April 25-30, May 1-5 and all other weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) until July 13 and 14. This excludes the Republic Day weekend (June 1 to 2). The fee can be paid by credit card or Paypal. Only between 4 p.m. and 8.30 a.m. the entrance fee is not due.

We want to make Venice more tourist-friendly, because it belongs not only to the Venetians, but to the whole world.

Bürgermeister Luigi Brugnaro

Local residents and people born in Venice, property owners (even if they do not live in Venice), students and employees do not have to pay an entrance fee. Children under the age of 14, the disabled and accompanying persons are required to book but do not have to pay.

"Preventing the city from exploding"
The mayor defended the controversial measure. "Our aim is not to collect money, but to prevent the city from exploding. We want to make Venice more tourist-friendly, because it doesn't just belong to the Venetians, but to the whole world," said Brugnaro.

"Our alleyways are not comparable to those of any other city. We absolutely must regulate the flow of people. So far, no politician has had the courage to introduce an entrance fee. We will have more costs than income in the first two years, but we believe that this decision is necessary," explained the city manager, who has been in office since 2015. 2024 will be a test year. "We need to know how many day tourists arrive and see whether the QR code system for paying the entrance fee works," said Brugnaro.

Fighting the crowds
Venice has been battling crowds of tourists for years and is constantly trying different strategies to cope with the masses. According to the mayor, the entrance fee is to be used primarily for the maintenance and cleaning of the city.