Update November 2023
Ok, finally we are on our way. At the city council meeting on November 23, 2023, the calendar was approved. Instead of 30 days, it will be 29. It’s really very simple… A block from April 25 to May 5, and then every weekend until mid-July, except for June 1, and 2. And you only pay between 8.30 am and 4 pm on those days.
The fee will be a flat 5 euro, and there are no reductions. You pay the fee at this website:
The website is not up when I’m writing this, but it will be active soon. You will book/register your visit, and pay for the entrance online. Then you receive a QR code to keep in the event of a control. The fee is due only if you enter the historical city of Venice, not the islands… Burano, Murano, Lido, etc. And it’s not due for Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto. So, you can get down to the Venice Port via Piazzale Rome without paying the fee.
Now, here’s the trick. Some of you are excluded from both paying and registering, and some are not liable to pay but are required to register at the website all the same.
These are excluded and do not have to register at all:
- Residents of the city of Venice
- Professionals (Employees or Self-employed), and Students of any grade.
- Owners of real estate in Venice for which property tax (IMU) is paid, with family.
These have to register at http://cda.ve.it but are exempted from paying the access fee:
- Residents of the region of Veneto
- Anyone who is staying at a hotel or similar accommodation for which the normal tourist tax is paid inside the City of Venice (Mestre, Marghera…)
- All children up to 14 years of age.
- Those in need of medical care, participants in sports events, officials, etc.
- Spouses, cohabitants, and relatives up to the third degree of a resident of the city of Venice.
Click here for more about who is and isn’t excluded from the fee.
Update September 2023
The city council met on September 12, 2023. And after a very turbulent meeting (making the British House of Commons look like an afternoon chess game in comparison), the predicted votes came out in favor of the center-right majority.
What that means is that 2024 will be a test for the upcoming Venice tourist Tax. On thirty (30) of the 366 days of 2024, the Access fee will be applied. The precise days on which it will be applied will be communicated at a later date, but the council has informed us that it most probably will be on major long weekends in spring and summer, e.g. when the tourist flow is at its greatest.
- Furthermore, the Tax will be a flat 5 euros. For this test period, the colors and differentiated fees will not be applicable.
- For children of 14 years and under, there will be no charge.
- Information about how the fee is to be paid is (as always) somewhat vague. It is probable that you will have to simply purchase a ticket. An online platform is promised to resolve all these issues and questions.
- Click here for more about who is and isn’t excluded from the fee.
Update November 2022
The start date for the Venice tourist tax has been postponed again. For now, no fee will be charged for entering the lagoon city. And so it will be at least until the end of summer. A technical commission of the city council is preparing the details, and Michele Zuin, the responsible city counselor, says it will likely have to wait until next year. Just considering the dates, and the fact that the final text still has to be determined and confirmed, it cannot be in effect until at least 2024.
First of all, there have been some issues. Like that is something new…
Anyway, the Venetians, some of them, are really pissed off. There have been demonstrations and protests from a part of the population. As always the opinion is divided, and just like many are opposed to the idea of charging money just to enter the city, others are in favor of the idea. It depends… We don’t want Venice to become even more of an artificial Disneyland, but then again, many feel it’s necessary to limit the tourist flow.
More than 200 considerations have been brought to the city council about this reform. Positive and negative, proposed adjustments, and possible consequences. The technical commission is evaluating all of them.
And then there are all the technical problems. They promised a website/online platform where everything was explained in a perfectly informative manner, and where you could book your visit with a click. And it should have been ready more or less now, well before 2023. But it’s not. And what I understand from speaking to people within the administration, they are quite far from getting it ready. It won’t be up and running for quite some time.
So, they put it on hold again. And since some of the regulations are being changed, they have to give it 6 months from the decision in the city council until it will be functional… It is possible to get a green light before the new year, but not probable. If it is not decided on this side of the festivities, we will probably see it slide all the way into autumn.
The changes in the rules don’t really affect the tourists all that much. It is more about residents in the region and other minor details. One thing that could be of interest is that it seems that the city council is in favor of limiting the access fee to Venice, and not requiring any payment for visits to the islands, Lido, Murano, Torcello, etc. It’s just that to get out there, you normally would need to pass through Venice, and thus still pay the tax.
So, again, I’m so sorry I don’t have any definite information on the subject. We will have to wait… (O how I hate that expression…).
Update July 2022
Now it’s confirmed. The first part of the new Day-tourist tax system will be implemented starting on January 16, 2023. From that date, the cost for entering Venice will be from 3 to 10 euro as specified below. Later this year there will be a system online/website that allows anyone to book in advance and pay the ticket for entering. How exactly this will be carried out, is still to be seen.
The authorities are somewhat vague on this point, but they say that the online system will be up and running well before the system is operational. That would mean that the different levels of day tariffs (3 – 10 euro) have to be decided in advance. The idea is that the program when working shall make these adjustments along the way, and set the correct amount for each day based on previous tourist flow, seasonal variables, and a row of set parameters. It’s a very advanced and completely automatic system, at least that’s what they say.
Here’s a direct quote from City Counselor Michele Zuin:
In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about how to better control presences in the city, but few concrete ideas were pitched. The integrated system we are presenting today is intended to better manage tourist flows, and not to make cash, representing an incentive for more orderly tourism. The proceeds from the entry fee will be used first of all to pay the costs for the introduction of the system and then to lower residents’ TARI bills (a municipal tax on the cost of disposal of household waste). Setting limits on entrances at certain times may be necessary, but this does not mean closing the city. Venice will always remain open to everyone. However, we believe that visiting it is more beautiful, peaceful, and safe if people book ahead. Such measures will also allow residents to experience their city better.
An informational campaign will be launched later this year with all the specifics. For now, we know that it actually will come… It will be a reality, the wheels are in motion. And that is quite a step ahead compared to the last years. And most important of all, now we have a date…
16 of January 2023.
Update May, 2022
It’s not really a hundred percent official, but Mayor Brugnaro as well as other city officials have said that the start of the City Tax will be put forward until January 1, 2023. And that seems logical. We are already in a full-blown tourist flow into the city. After the pandemic, the waves of visitors have returned with as much force as before the Covid lockdowns, and maybe even more.
So, what they are indicating is a test round for 2022, a kind of validation to see if the tourists are prone to submit to new ways to access the city. These will be very small adjustments, mostly in the way of booking and planning the visit to the lagoon city before arriving. Although that shouldn’t be a problem for the vast majority of visitors, it’s still quite a step from just showing up. It is normally free to come and go as you please wherever you are in the western world. Only border crossings have their special requirements, but after having entered the national territory, you move wherever you want.
Anyway, this is what Simone Venturini, municipal councilor responsible for tourism, says:
– We will start with an experimentation phase where our daily tourists will be invited to sign up for the visit at the website that we are completing as we speak. Those who book will receive incentives such as a reduction in admission to museums or other forms of discounts. We are still refining it and all will be announced in the coming weeks. Those who do not book in advance, will not be offered any incentives. All this will be ready in 2023 when the City Tax will be in force.
City Tax postponed until 2023
So, there you have it.
- The Tax will be functional in 2023 (… for now). Probably from January 1.
- There will be four tariffs, 3, 6, 8, and 10 Euro depending on the tourist flow for that specific day. All the other rules and exclusions have been confirmed as well.
- In 2022, you will be able to book your access to Venice in advance. The pre-booking through the Municipality website will give you some sort of discount or reduction of the ticket cost for museums etc. What’s important is that, for now, you are not required to reserve your visit in advance, no one will be denied entering the city.
Update December 2, 2021
Yes, we have it confirmed. The City Council has decided on a budget for the period 2021 – 2023. In it, there is a new suspension of the City Tax. This time until June 1, 2022. There is also a specific nomination about “Access Gates”… A closed-off city? Well, like so many times before, we don’t know.
What we do know is that until June 1, 2022, there is no Tourist Tax in Venice.
Update November 2021
Spokespersons of the City of Venice are stating that the tax will in fact be implemented from January 2022, just as acknowledged on 18 December 2020 by the City Council. That could be so. But a few things speak against that being the case.
- The Calendar, with the various colors explaining the different amounts of crowds in the city, and thus determining the amount of the tax for that day, hasn’t been published. That should happen before September 30, for the following year according to the regulations.
- The new situation for the Cruise ship passengers docking in locations outside of the historical city hasn’t been resolved.
- The latest development in the Coronavirus crisis doesn’t encourage limitations to the tourist flow. When I’m writing this (end of November 2021), the biggest concern is the new South African Variant (also known as B.1.1.529, or Omicron). The numbers in many European countries are rising considerably and Italy is no exception, although we until now were better of than many other parts of Europe.
- The Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, sayd as late as September 3, 2021: “… We have to find the tools and technical solutions to allow people to enter the city…” That would mean that these solutions are not, as of September, in place.
From January 1, 2022, the Venice access fee is set to 6 euro for the vast majority of dates. On days with a low touristic flow, the tax will be 3 euro. On days with a high number of visitors, the fee will be 8 euro, raising to 10 euro for days with exceptionally large crowds. will probably be 3 euro on days with normal tourist flow, and 6 euro on days with exceptional crowds. Visitors staying in a hotel or B&B inside the city of Venice do not pay this additional tourist tax.
When fully functional…
there will be 4 colors;
- grey (normal), 6 euro
- green (few tourists) 3 euro
- red (many tourists) 8 euro
- black (crowded) 10 euro
It’s reasonable to believe that the vast majority of the days will be grey.
You can visit for up to seven consecutive days, paying only for three days. In this case, you will pay for the three days with the highest tariff within that week.
18 tips for making your trip to Venice Awesome!
The new Venice tourist tax for Cruise-ships passengers.
The cruise-ship passengers will pay a flat 7 euro. This is to make it easier for them to handle the tickets. (I just don’t understand why a cruise ship passenger would ever pay 7 euro if he could just walk in, get the ticket from the machine, and pay 6 or even 3 euro. But that is one of the issues that probably will be solved further on.)
As of November 2021, it is not clear if passengers on Cruise ships docking at the temporary ports in Fusina and other locations will be charged the flat 7 euro tax or the 3 to 10 euro tax.
The Venice tourist tax is not due for anyone staying at a hotel or any other touristic reception structure within the city of Venice (Mestre and Marghera included).
In what way do you pay the Venice tourist tax?
From high tech solutions to old time paper tickets.
When we first heard about the tourist tax back in 2019, the word was almost exclusively about microchips and other advanced technological solutions. As time went by, the authorities more and more aimed at very traditional and normal ways to charge the tourist tax.
There will definitely be machines from where you can purchase the day ticket. And there will definitely be an App for your smartphone or iPhone to upload the fee. As soon as the App is ready, I will post a link here.
Other factors that could compromise the deal…
2020 was a disaster for the tourist industry in Venice. From the last days of Carnival until December the city was more or less completely closed down. 15 -20 % of the restaurants, bars, hotels, etc didn’t make it and was closed for good. Those who did survive did so with huge losses in income.
By summer 2020 there were signs of an end to the disease altogether. The numbers were very low and people came out of their hiding places. Restrictions were still in place though, and Venice had few tourists, mostly domestic. And they didn’t make much of a difference to the balance of 2020.
Autumn of 2020 was nothing less than a total collapse, with overwhelmed hospitals, and well over a million active cases at any given point. It was evident to everybody that the tourist tax idea was to be postponed.
2021 started out with a positive forecast. The measures had an effect and slowly the restrictions were eased. What happened in Venice was an explosion of domestic and European tourists. Suddenly the city was as full as ever with crowds in every corner, and lines outside the few attractions that were open. By summer more restrictions, especially those concerning international travel and museums’ and attractions’ opening hours were lifted, and even more tourists arrived. Summer 2021 was crazy…
And the autumn continued in the same way. We congratulated ourselves on having very low numbers of infections. And this is probably the reason why the City seems to have decided to actually go through with the tourist tax idea.
Now it’s November, and in just a few weeks the situation has changed. We can no longer look at the SARS-CoV2 in an optimistic light. Things are going downhill again. And this is why I think the tourist tax will be postponed once again. But that’s just my own prophecy. We will have to what and see… Just like so many times before.
Who has to pay the Venice tourist tax?
Anyone who’s coming into Venice or the Islands in the lagoon and doesn’t stay in a hotel, B&B, or any other official accommodation inside the city, Venice or Mestre, and thus already is paying the local city tax of 2 – 5 euro. To be absolutely clear: If you pay the tourism tax, Tassa di soggiorno, at the hotel you don’t have to pay the new access fee.
Excluded:
- Residents in Venice.
- Residents in Veneto.
- Tenants in Venice or the island in the lagoon with a non-tourist contract, with family.
- Spouses, partners, and relatives up to the 3rd degree to anyone living in Venice or on any of the islands in the lagoon.
- Anyone with a valid “Venezia Unica” travel document
- Employees in Venice, or self-employed. Also, anyone who’s there for a meeting or a temporary appointment, etc.
- Anyone who has a house in Venice and pays the tax, IMU, for that property, with family.
- Students and pupils of any educational facility in Venice or on any of the islands in the lagoon.
- Anyone who’s in for voluntary work, for health treatment, other official business, etc, etc. Also, those who accompany and/or assist people who are in Venice for medical treatment.
- Anyone who participates in sports competitions recognized by the CONI, its Federations or by authorized Sports Associations, e.g. Venice Marathon.
- Children under 6 years of age.
- People with severe disability and assistants.
- Those born within the city of Venice. If you live in Sydney or Kairo doesn’t matter. If you were born here you’re excluded.
- And a whole lot of other cases…
Major Luigi Brugnaro about the Venice Tourist Tax.
How do you pay?
Any official transport service that brings in people to Venice, trains, buses, taxis, ships, and even anyone who offers arriving at the airport at Lido (… which would be improbable as it’s closed for passenger traffic) should provide the tickets. Either as a separate ticket or as a surcharge to the existing travel fee.
Other than that, the Venice tourist tax ticket will probably be available through normal channels, ticket offices, newsstands, as well as online and via the official App. You will also have the possibility to buy the ticket automated ticket machines. The companies selling the ticket have to make sure the tax is paid, asking for documentation of the reason for exclusion. It is not meant to be complicated for the visitor, but a very simple surcharge.
Limited Traffic Area.
The Major has spoken of the necessity to book in advance to be able to get in. But he’s also declared that no one will be left outside. In the future, there could be a smart chip and the possibility to read it off from a distance. Probably checking all the traffic coming in without putting up the infamous gates at the entrance.
He’s also been talking about making Venice a ZTL, limited traffic area, much like the C-zone in Milan. That way nobody could access the city in a private car, and thus sneaking in without paying the tax through official transportation.
The C-zone in Milan
It works like this: Every workday from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. traffic is limited. If you have a reasonably clean vehicle, you can get in if you pay. If you have an old car you don’t get in even with a ticket. Police, Ambulances, and a whole lot of others are excluded. But all this will have to wait at least until 2022, and probably even further.
Destinazione Venezia
The “Destination Venice”-ticket is a surcharge to the existing ticket fee when traveling with ACTV, ATVO, Arriva, or Busitalia. It will be implemented when Venice applies a tourist tax for travelers entering the city starting from January 1, 2022.
It could mean a competitive advantage as it makes it easier to manage the extra bureaucracy. These companies cover most or almost all of the buses to Venice within the larger metropolitan area.
He talks a lot our Major.
About fines. For the single tourist, there will be fines from 100 to 450 if you don’t pay the Access Fee. But it seems that this could only happen if you declare falsely… Since it’s the transport company who’s responsible and they should enforce the payment or at least inform about it. But we still don’t know exactly how this is going to be done.
For them, the bus-, train-, and taxi companies, on the other hand, the fines will be a little heavier.
For those staying in a hotel outside the City of Venice (meaning outside of Mestre and Marghera as well), but within the region of Veneto, the fee will be partial.
Here’s a link to the city of Venice website explaining everything more thoroughly in Italian.