To dissuade day visitors who contribute to congesting the city, famous throughout the world for its works of art, its bridges and its canals, the municipality of Venice has opted for a radical solution.
From April 25, day tourists will have to pay five euros to access the City of the Doges, which has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1987. Tickets have already been on sale since January.
Only 29 days affected in 2024
“This is an experiment, and it’s the first time that it’s been done in the world,” Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro boasted Thursday at a press conference in Rome in the presence of media. of the whole world.
“It’s not about making money (…) our goal is to make Venice more liveable,” he stressed, while the Serenissima is one of the most visited cities in the world. At peak attendance, 100,000 tourists sleep there, in addition to tens of thousands of daily visitors. Compare to the approximately 50,000 inhabitants of the city center, which continues to depopulate.
For 2024, only 29 days of high tourist traffic are affected by this new tax: “The calendar starts on April 25 [jour férié en Italie]then follow almost every weekend from May to July”, specified Luigi Brugnaro, who promised “very soft”, “random” and “no queues” checks.
No limit on the number of visitors
This tax, the implementation of which has been postponed several times, only targets daily tourists entering the old town between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time. They will have to download a QR code for five euros on the dedicated site.
If necessary, they will have to present it to inspectors stationed at the main entrance gates of the city. Tourists who have not completed this formality will be invited to acquire it at the last minute upon their arrival with the help of local operators.
For the moment no ceiling has been set on the number of QR codes sold for each day: “We are opposed to the numerus clausus, otherwise we are no longer a city but a museum”, insisted the city councilor of Venice . Tourists sleeping at least one night on site are not affected and will receive a free QR code. In addition, numerous exemptions are provided, particularly for those under 14 and students.