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Venice announces dates for ‘tourist tax’ in 2024

Venice announced on Thursday that it would introduce a fee on 29 days next year for day-trippers to visit the city's overcrowded centre as it seeks to tackle 'overtourism' on peak travel dates.

Published: 24 November 2023 09:59 CET
Updated: 14 January 2024 08:21 CET

Tourists crowd the Ponte della Paglia bridge in Venice on June 5th, 2021.

Tourists crowd the Ponte della Paglia bridge in Venice. Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP.

To begin with, day visitors will need to pay five euros to enter the city centre during the first peak tourism period of the year, from April 25th to May 5th.

The fee will also apply for the rest of the weekends in May and June, as well as the first two weekends of July, Venice city council confirmed.

EXPLAINED: How will Venice’s ‘tourist tax’ work?

Tickets will be required between 8.30am and 4pm, the council said, and tickets will be sold via an online platform that’s expected to be up and running from January.

Authorities have debated for years – without taking concrete action – how to regulate the millions of visitors to the city, who come to see sights including St Mark’s Square, the Rialto Bridge and its countless picturesque canals.

OPINION: Why more of Italy’s top destinations must limit tourist numbers

The ticketing plan had been repeatedly postponed in recent years, amid concerns it would dent tourist revenue and compromise freedom of movement.

But city authorities finally decided earlier this year to push forward with the experiment after UNESCO warned it could list the city as an at-risk world heritage site, partly due to the impact of overtourism.

“Venice is the first city in the world to introduce such a system, which could serve as a model for other fragile and delicate cities that must be protected,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in a statement.

But he called it a “first step” rather than a “revolution” and said the council is ready to make changes to ensure it works.

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'Not even that ancient': The harshest TripAdvisor comments about Italy's sights

With its rich cultural heritage and plenty of art and architecture wonders, Italy draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from all corners of the world every year.

But a quick scroll through the review section of travel website TripAdvisor will be enough to show that some of the country’s most famous attractions aren’t to everyone’s taste.

Colosseum, Rome

It may be Italy’s biggest tourist attraction, but even the Colosseum – the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, dating back to 80 AD – fails to impress some.

“I came. I saw. I left,” wrote one reviewer, saying that looking at pictures of the building and reading about its history will spare you from “a long wait line, a port a john [sic] bathroom, and a big disappointment”.

READ ALSO: Nine tips for making the most of a Rome city break

Others were seemingly not so happy with the overall state of the attraction.

“[It] was a lot more broken than I thought it would be, at £15 a pop you’d think they’d invest in repairing it,” one wrote.

“Not even got a roof? When they finishing it [sic]?” asked another.

Milan, Duomo

Though it is often regarded as one of, if not the greatest example of Italian Gothic architecture, not everyone seems to be impressed by Milan’s Duomo cathedral.

“The outside is gaudy and tacky as the worst of Las Vegas,” while “the inside is as bad taste as the outside” and not worth the wait, “even if they paid you”, one reviewer wrote.

READ ALSO: Stay away! How Europe’s most popular spots are fighting overtourism

Another said the Duomo was no different than any “old cathedral” found in every European city, claiming that “pigeons watching [sic] is more exciting than this building”.

Speaking of pigeons, one tourist warned future visitors about the aggressiveness of the local bird population, saying that the area surrounding the Duomo is “swarming with thousands of pigeons that have long ago lost any fear of humans” and will “fly directly at your head”, forcing you to “take evasive action”.

Just another cathedral? The famed Duomo in Milan. Photo by Martin Anselmo on Unsplash

Doge’s Palace, Venice

Venice’s Palazzo Ducale is the third most-visited tourist attraction in the country and arguably one of the best-preserved traces of the ancient Venetian Republic’s power.

But the palace isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – at least judging from its reviews.

“When you go inside, there’s nothing to see except a lot of paintings on the ceilings and high on the walls. The paintings are impressive but very samey,” one reviewer wrote.

READ ALSO: What’s the difference between Italy’s city taxes and new ‘tourist tax’?

“Really boring,” complained another, saying that the rooms were “bland” and “the view never got any better”.

Other visitors said they were disappointed with some of their tour guides’ choices.

One wrote: “Our guide took pleasure in telling about people being tortured here. It was a bit grizzly [sic]. Personally I would give the place a miss.”

Tourists sit under the archway of the Doge's Palace in Venice

The Doge’s Palace in Venice, which some visitors found abit “samey”. Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

Pompeii

Even the Pompeii archaeological site, which consists of the ruins of a city buried under volcanic ash following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, has its fair share of detractors.

A reviewer described the site as being “poorly paved street after poorly paved street of pretty much the same old same old terraced house over and over and over and over”.

Another said: “I really don’t get what the hype is about.

“It’s not even that ancient since they had to build so many structures around it to keep it standing. Even the freaking pillars didn’t make it (some barely did I guess).”

One reviewer even went as far as saying it was the “worst place” he’d ever visited, mentioning he had “too much ground to cover in sweltering heat” and he “should have stayed at the nice beaches of Vico Equense”.

Trevi Fountain, Rome

A prime example of Italian Baroque aesthetics, the Trevi fountain is one of Rome’s most widely recognised symbols worldwide, but not all visitors are impressed by it.

“It splashes and splashes. It spurtles and flows. It fountains and gurgles and is as romantic as my oldest pairs of smelly socks,” wrote one reviewer, who concluded they felt “let down”.

Tourists around Rome's Trevi Fountain

Tourists around Rome’s Trevi Fountain in March 2024. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

That said, many reviewers expressed appreciation for the fountain’s architecture, but complained that their visit was ruined by hordes of fellow tourists. These complaints are far from unjustified given the attraction’s long-standing overcrowding issues.

One reviewer suggested that “packing a pair of 8 foot stilts” may be the only way to “ensure a satisfying visit to the Trevi”.

Another called the attraction a “claustrophobia mecca” that’s “nearly impossible to deal with because of the thousands of pushy, sweaty, rude and large tourists”.

Have you seen a surprising review of an Italian landmark? Are there any Italian sights you think are overrated? Let us know in the comments section below.

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