On 25 April 2024, Venice became the first metropolis in the world to charge admission for daytrippers, becoming a city of culture, cuisine and charges.
From Good Friday, 18 April 2025, the system returns – with the fee doubled for people who don’t book at least four days in advance.
Visitors to the historic heart of Venice must pay at least €5 (£4.30) to access the city between 8.30am and 4pm on key days in spring and summer. It is effectively a congestion charge for tourists.
A leading city transport and tourism official, Arianna Fracasso, told The Independent the scheme aims “to safeguard the city from overtourism”.
Around 30 million tourists visit Venice in a typical year. Seven out of 10 (21 million) stay only for the day. Just before the Covid pandemic, Unesco warned the city’s “status as a World Heritage property is in jeopardy”. The UN body that seeks to protect cultural heritage now warns that “Venice’s ‘Outstanding Universal Value’, the hallmark of every World Heritage property” is in peril.
Cruise ships were banned from docking in the historic centre of Venice in 2021 in response to a request from Unesco. But the organisation remains concerned about “overtourism, the potential negative effects of new developments [and] the lack of an integrated management system”.
Ms Fracasso said: “It’s like a museum in the open air, so we want to safeguard it.”
Is the fee charged every day?
No, the idea is to deter day-trippers on expected busy days in spring and summer.
During 2025, charges apply for 29 days. The first is Good Friday, with the charge applying for the following 16 days, up to and including Sunday 4 May. This will include another public holiday, Italy’s Liberation Day on 25 April, commemorating the struggle of the Italian resistance movement against fascism during the Second World War.
Visits on the 12 subsequent weekends – covering Friday, Saturday and Sunday – will also be subject to the fee. It will continue up to and including Sunday 29 July. But from August onwards, the charge will be lifted.
How does the system work?
Any visitor who wishes to be in the historic heart of Venice – anywhere in the city apart from the Piazzale Roma transport access area and the offshore islands – between 8.30am and 4pm on the prescribed dates must register online, in advance, at cda.ve.it/en.
You will need a QR code on your smartphone or printed out to be allowed inside the ancient city.
If you simply want to pay the fee, clicking on “Pay the access fee” will take you through a fairly straightforward process. One tricky aspect is that you have to pretend you have read the privacy policy (all in Italian) by clicking on it before you can enable a checkbox.
How far in advance must I book?
To keep the charge to €5, at least four days ahead. The city authorities say: “For example if the access day to Venice’s historic centre is Sunday, by making the reservation up to and including the previous Wednesday, you pay €5 per person; if, instead, the reservation is made from the third day before, from Thursday onwards, the amount to pay will be €10 (£8.60) per person.”
This is the maximum fee allowed under the current law.
Can I pay on the day?
Yes. Most tourists apply online. But visitors who arrive at the main access point for many day-trippers, Santa Lucia station, can pay with cash at a kiosk.
What happens if I ‘forget’ to buy one?
Officials are present in considerable numbers at the exit from Santa Lucia railway station. There are separate channels for locals and workers, tourists and people leaving the city. The stewards will invite people without permits to go online or go to the kiosk.
Those who are caught within the historical area without a permit risk a fine of up to €500 (£430).
I am staying overnight in Venice. Must I pay?
No. While tourists who stay overnight in Venice hotels are exempt from the fee, they must still register online and obtain a code that allows them to pass checkpoints and spot-checks by officials.
Guests in hotels anywhere in the Municipality of Venice – which includes the islands and the mainland hinterland around Mestre – are entitled to exemption including the day you check in and the day you check out. This requires you to click on “I am a guest in an accommodation facility located in the Municipality of Venice”. You fill in the usual personal details. Then you have less than a minute to make a call from the registered smartphone you are using to an Italian number. It is said that this does not go through nor results in any charge.
Note that guests in Venice hotels must pay an accommodation tax, usually included in the final bill.
How can I dodge the fee?
- Be under 14 (with proof if you look as though you might be older).
- If you live in, or were born in, the Municipality of Venice you can gain exemption simply by presenting a document certifying it.
- Be a holder of the European Disability Card or their accompanying caregiver.
What happens to the cash collected?
The scheme as currently designed is not intended to make money, but to cover the costs of running it and to limit the amount of overtourism on peak days.
Is an access fee going to catch on elsewhere?
The unique geography of Venice, comprising an archipelago accessible only by bridge or water, makes it one of the few cities where levying a charge is feasible. But other cities with concerns about overtourism, including Amsterdam, Barcelona and Dubrovnik, are watching developments closely.
