Visitors to the Italian city of Venice are now required to pay an entry fee of up to €10 ($11.37) to visit the city for a day, double the amount that was charged when the scheme was launched last year.
Starting on Friday, the fee applies on all days until the first weekend in May and then on all weekends from Friday to Sunday until the end of July.
The doubled fee comes as Italy grapples with unprecedented levels of mass tourism, leading to an affordable housing shortage, crowded cities and overwhelmed attractions in once-peaceful villages.
In total, Venice’s fee will be required on 54 days this year, nearly double the number from last year. Visitors must obtain a QR code online before arrival and download it to a mobile phone.
In 2024, Venice became the first city in the world to charge entry fees to short-term visitors, similar to a museum. Those without a ticket risk a fine of up to €300.
The system remains largely unchanged from last year, but payment is now required more frequently and at a higher rate. Early bookers can enter the city for €5, while last-minute visitors will pay €10.
More fees and visitor limits across Italy
It’s not just Venice’s long-time residents feeling the strain; tourists are affected as well. To preserve the authenticity of city centres and attractions, several Italian destinations are implementing access restrictions, fees and bans.
Every summer, some 4 million people visit the sunken city of Pompeii, overwhelming the archaeological park. To manage the crowds, a daily visitor limit of 20,000 is being enforced, along with personalized tickets.
The goal is to ease the strain on the site, preserving both visitor safety and the centuries-old heritage of the World Heritage-listed city, which was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Meanwhile the “Via dell’Amore” (Love Path) in Cinque Terre, once a hotspot for quick selfies, saw 3.5 million visitors annually before a 2012 landslide.
After over a decade of restoration, the trail reopened in 2024 with new restrictions. Now, only 400 people per hour can access the path, with 100 visitors allowed every 15 minutes.
€2 for Rome’s Trevi Fountain?
In Rome, the landmark Trevi Fountain is a popular spot for selfies and coin tosses. However, its constant overcrowding has led the city council, along with residents and business owners, to reconsider the visitor experience.
They are exploring options such as limiting access or introducing a €2 entry fee to reduce chaos. In the meantime, visitors can already get a glimpse of changes under way.
The fountain is being restored in 2025, and access has been restricted with a walkway around the basin, allowing only a limited number of visitors at a time to better manage the crowds.
However many in Venice have been sceptical as to how much fees alone can actually achieve in terms of limiting crowds. In a city with sometimes crazy prices, why should anyone be put off by €10?
In Caffè Florian on St Mark’s Square, a cappuccino costs €12. The evening rate for a half-hour gondola ride is €110.