Venice will make a paid visit to the city center: how much will you have to pay

The most popular cities in Italy have long suffered from excessive tourism. And Venice was one of the first cities to systematically combat this phenomenon.

According to Reuters, the city authorities have decided to expand the system of tourist fees starting from 2025, almost doubling the number of days during which tourists will have to pay extra for a visit to the lagoon city. Moreover, those who do not take care of this in advance will face a significant increase in the amount of payment.

Venice was the first city in the world to introduce a fee for day-trippers arriving on particularly busy days. Since April, such visitors have had to pay 5 euros to admire the city. The city authorities have tried to reduce the crowds of visitors, who have begun to create problems for the infrastructure and residents.

The initial scheme, which attracted keen interest from other popular tourist destinations, covered 29 days during the four months from April to July. Next year, 54 days during the same window will be charged. The fee will apply during Easter and some other holidays, as well as on all weekends.

For those who arrange everything in advance, the amount will remain the same – it will be 5 euros. For those who book a day trip within just 4 days before arrival, it will increase to 10 euros. As before, people with hotel or guesthouse reservations will be exempt from paying the fee.

According to Simone Venturini, the city councilor in charge of tourism, this system is still in the testing phase. However, the authorities of the Japanese city of Kyoto and the Spanish island of Formentera have already contacted Venice to learn more about its details.

Critics say that the system of additional fees failed to slow down the flow of tourists. However, the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, believes that it is too early to judge, as the exact data will not be available until later this year.

He also added that Venice does not want to scare away tourists. The goal of the authorities is to encourage them to reconsider the dates of their visits. In addition, the mayor warned that fines are planned to be introduced in 2025 for guests without paid fees.

It is already known that this year 485,062 people paid for a one-day pass to Venice. This brought the city 2.25 million euros. However, this amount covered only part of the costs of the system itself and did not replenish the city treasury.

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