Venice > Planning > Entry fees for daytrippers

Venice's 'access fee' for day tourists

The city of Venice has a new congestion-pricing admission scheme, with a €5 entry tax for daytrippers on peak days. Even if you're staying in Venice overnight, you'll need to obtain a free QR code to show city inspectors.

ABOVE: Disguising yourself as a gondolier won't help you escape Venice's tourist taxes.

By Durant Imboden

Last updated: July 19, 2024

In this article: Update (for 2025) Introduction Practical information

Update for 2025

• July 19, 2024: Venice's first-year experiment with an "access fee" is now complete, and (as we predicted) the trial was a flop. The fee didn't have any significant effect on tourist crowds during busy periods, and--as a Reuters story confirms--the city didn't even bother to levy fines on most visitors who ignored the fee.

• Local authorities are talking about doubling the access fee and having it apply to more days in 2025. We'll update this article when new information is available.

The plan's rules are complicated, but here's a summary of the 2024 provisons:

• If you're over the age of 14 and you visit Venice's historic center on designated days between now and late July of 2024, you'll pay an "access fee" of five euros unless you're staying within the municipality or qualify for an exemption (e.g., because you're a hotel or apartment guest). What will happen in 2025 is anybody's guess.

• The access fee is applicable only on the busiest days of the year, as predicted by the local authorities. A calendar on the Venice Access Fee Web site shows which days are subject to the €5,-- tax in the current year.

• Even if you're exempt from the fee, you'll need to register in advance and obtain a QR code to show tax inspectors. (See "Practical Information" below.)

Why the access fee? According to Venice's municipal powers-that-be, the tax is intended to reduce crowding during peak periods (e.g., during holiday weeks and on summer weekends).

We're skeptical about the plan, because we don't think many foreign tourists (or even visitors from elsewhere in Italy) will schedule their vacations around a €5,-- day tax.

We'd argue that the daytripper-tax scheme is merely a boondoggle to create a few jobs and create the false impression that the city is trying to solve the problem of overtourism. What Venice really needs is more trash bins, toilets, benches, and other public amenities that benefit both tourists and residents.

Our guess: This Byzantine scheme will be a failure (just like its predecessors) and will quietly disappear after a chaotic six-month experimental period.

ABOVE: An official calendar at the Venezia Santa Lucia Railroad Station shows access fee dates through July, 2024.

Practical information:

• The "access fee" or daytripper tax applies only to visits between 8:30 and 4:00 p.m. on the designated days, so you'll be exempt if you're just coming into the city center for dinner or evening entertainment.

• Even if you're staying at a hotel or private accommodation within the municipality of Venice, you'll need to request an exemption from the access fee on designated peak days. The good news is that the municipality includes Mestre and Marghera on the Italian mainland, so you'll be tax-exempt if (like many budget-minded visitors) you stay at a Mestre or Marghera hotel.

• If your request for an exemption is approved, you'll receive a QR code that must be shown during spot checks by inspectors. Fines for non-compliance are steep.

• Should you neglect to book your visit (and, if necessary, pay the fee) before arriving in Venice, you can register and pay at the Venezia Santa Lucia railroad station or the Piazzale Roma bus and taxi gateway.

• For more details (including frequently asked questions), or to register and pay the tax, see the official Venice Access Fee Web site.

About the author:

Durant Imboden has written about Venice, Italy since 1996. He covered Venice and European travel at About.com for 4-1/2 years before launching Europe for Visitors (including Venice for Visitors) with Cheryl Imboden in 2001.

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