Venice City Council decided last year (read more here) that day visitors to Venice on select days in 2024 would need to pay a fee. Residents and visitors with accommodation in the Venice municipality would be exempt from it.
The fee went into effect yesterday, and apparently, the entry area to Venice is heavily guarded to ensure that those who need to pay the 5 euro fee have done so. You can pay this fee or apply for an exemption before your entry, as I just did.
You can access Venice’s page for fee collection or exemption applications here
Days in 2024 When The Venice Access Fee Is Activated:
On the days April 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 2024, May 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26 2024, June 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30 2024 and July 6, 7, 13 and 14 2024, entry to the city of Venice is subject to payment of an access fee, unless the visitor falls into one of the categories that entitle them to exemption from payment. The access fee is not charged from 4.00 p.m. to 8.30 a.m.
Area’s Where The Fee Applies:
Minor islands Are Excluded:
- Lido di Venezia
- Pellestrina
- Burano
- Sant‘Erasmo
- Mazzorbetto
- S. Andrea
- S. Servolo
- Poveglia
- Murano
- Torcello
- Mazzorbo
- Vignole
- La Certosa
- S. Clemente
- Sacca Sessola
Exemption Pass Application:
Even if you stay in the Venice area and are exempt from this fee, you need to apply for the exemption to get a QR code that these agents patrolling the city can scan and check.
Exemption Pass Application Experience:
My accommodation is in one of the Venice islands
So, I chose accommodation as the reason for the exemption.
You need to specify the dates of your stay.
I had great difficulty getting the form to accept the address in Venice.
You can add additional people to the same pass.
The form wants to either confirm your phone number or email address.
You will have another look at the form to ensure that the information is correct.
The system then sends an OTP to the designated email address.
The system then processes the QR code.
That you can display on the screen.
Or you can use the link in the email. I’m not sure why they didn’t send it as a PDF.
You can also download a PDF that has the QR code embedded.
Conclusion
This 5 euro day fee to access Venice won’t deter a single visitor and should be significantly higher (50 euros per day?) to have any effect on the number of day visitors.
The application process for the exemption was somewhat burdensome, and the form wasn’t well-designed or thoroughly tested. I got error messages a few times without a clear explanation as to why.
I really like Venice but prefer the city outside of the busiest times, although it seems that my visit next time to the Biennale isn’t precisely timed well, as it appears to be super busy.
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