For the first time from today, those who want to visit Venice will have to pay a fee of 5 euros. The idea is not new and its implementation has been repeatedly postponed over the past few years, but the new rule finally came into force this April 25.

The entrance fee is expected to bring in around €700,000 to the city’s coffers in the first year, funds which will go towards cleaning the streets and improving the tourist offer. But that’s not all, as new rules for city tours will be implemented from August 1, where the number of groups will be limited to 25 people.

“It’s a very nice idea, but it doesn’t seem to have been thought through,” says Suzanne Kuntz-Saponaro, who has worked as a tour guide in Venice for years.

However, this measure also provides for many exceptions. For example, residents of the entire Veneto region are exempt from the tax.

Also, as day-trippers will be checked after downloading a QR code. According to the municipality, inspectors will circulate and carry out checks and anyone who has not paid the fee risks a fine of up to 300 euros.

“The aim of the municipality is to increase the number of visitors who want to stay overnight”, says the head of the Department of Tourism, Simone Venturini.

Mayor Luigi Brucknaro, on the other hand, speaking to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, stated that the city will continue to be open to the public and that no upper limit should be set for daily visitors. The end may have a psychological deterrent character, he believes. “The city must be humane both for those who live in it and for those who visit it”, emphasizes the mayor.

The expectation is that this specific fee will not directly limit the number of visitors. On average, about 80,000 people visit Venice every day and about 70,000 people just want to spend just a few hours there.

Before the pandemic, five million tourists visited the city each year and similar numbers are expected this year.

But tourists do not always show the required respect and so the municipality has tightened the rules. It is forbidden, among other things, to sit on bridges and stairs, dive in canals, walk around the city in a bathing suit, feed pigeons or throw garbage on the ground. In these cases, fines of up to 500 euros can be issued.