Venice Entry Fee 2024 – Everything You Need to Know

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On 25 April 2024, Venice’s Access Fee will come into force. It will impact every visitor who goes to Venice on specific dates in 2024 (even if you’re staying overnight in the city). In this guide, I’ll share everything you need to know about the fee, including the dates impacted, how to pay the fee, and how to apply for an exemption if you’re staying in the city.

What is the Venice Access Fee?

The Venice Access Fee is a €5 entrance fee for visiting Venice on a day trip (around $5.50). However, even visitors staying overnight in Venice will have to apply for an exemption before arrival. The program aims to reduce the impact of over-tourism in the city. The funds will be used towards maintaining the city.

Related: Things To Do In Venice | Where To Stay In Venice | Venice Day Trips | To Venice from the Airport

Dates in 2024 when the fee applies

In 2024, the Venice entry fee will be trialed on 29 specific dates during peak season between April and July. Those dates are:

With the exception of a few holidays and events, the dates cover weekends (Saturdays and Sundays). The Access Fee only applies during peak hours – it doesn’t apply if you’re visiting between 4 PM and 8:30 AM, i.e. for an evening visit. These dates are fixed for the 2024 trial period and no more dates will be added.

Related: Italy National Holidays & Events

Day Trippers – How to pay the fee

If you visit Venice on the dates above and are not staying overnight in accommodation in Venice, you have to pay the Access Fee. The charge is €5 per person for anyone over the age of 14.

The official website for paying the fee is Venice Access Fee by Commune di Venezia. The website is in English and it is very easy to use. Simply, select your travel date, add your personal details, and then make payment. You may add multiple people to the same booking, and you can pay by credit card or PayPal.

Once you’ve paid, you’ll be sent a QR code. I suggest taking a screenshot of this in case you don’t have data service in Venice when you arrive and your code doesn’t load in your messages.

There will almost certainly be unofficial websites pop up that charge a service fee for completing the form for you. It’s not necessary. Just go directly to the official site.

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Everyone else staying in Venice must apply for an exemption

Even if you are visiting Venice and staying in the city overnight in a hotel or paid accommodation, you still need to fill in the Access Fee form, to apply for exemption. Yes, it seems like unnecessary admin that is likely to catch people out, but that’s the rule.

Related: 10 Things NOT To Do In Venice (And 10 To Do Instead)

How to apply for an exemption

You can fill in the exemption form on the same official website – Venice Access Fee.

As a tourist click on ‘go to exemptions’ and then choose ‘I am a guest of an accommodation facility located in the municipality of Venice’ (see image above). Click ‘request exemption’.

The next page includes a lot of technical legal wording. “Subjects staying in the accommodation facilities of the Municipality of Venice located within the municipal territory and providing temporary paid accommodation for any reason, insofar as they are subject to the tourist tax. The exemption is granted from the day of arrival to the day of departure at the accommodation facility. The exemption must be requested for each staying subject.”

That just means you’re staying in paid accommodation overnight. The next pages request personal information including details about your stay.

Frustratingly, applying for an exemption wasn’t as easy as applying to pay the fee. The system is very new and needs a few improvements, which I hope will happen in time. These are the things I found a bit difficult:

• Hotel Name: it was hard to input my hotel name. The system is set up to auto-complete your hotel name as you type but my hotel (a well-known NH brand hotel) wasn’t in the system. There is an option to input your hotel manually, which was tricky but eventually, I got it to work. Be patient with your taps and clicks.
• Privacy Policy: you have to actively click on the Privacy Policy to open the policy in a new page before you can check the ‘accept’ box. It took me a while to figure this out. Clicking on the policy doesn’t interrupt your application, it opens in a new window.
• Date of Birth: adding your date of birth is a chore. Using the calendar, you have to click back every month (you can’t jump through the years). That’s a lot of clicks at my age! You can ‘fudge’ this by inputting the date manually. They don’t want you to do this. In fact, they say “Dates must be entered via calendar and not manually”. But it is possible. Dear American friends, remember that Europe uses the format DAY/MONTH/YEAR. So, 07/04/76 is 7 April 1976, not 4 July 1976. I suspect your details might be checked against your passport, so it’s important to get this right.
• Confirmation by phone: you have to dial a toll-free number to confirm your exemption. You don’t speak to anyone, it’s just a confirmation call but a little unusual.

What’s good – you can fill in the form for your entire family/group. Just add your guest names to the form. You receive a QR code to prove your exemption. Again, take a screenshot in case it doesn’t load while you’re offline.

There are several other categories of exemption for residents, students, workers, and relatives. See the website for details.

Exemption – Santa Lucia Train Station and Piazzale Roma

If you only enter Venice to use Santa Lucia, the main train station, you do not have to pay the Access Fee or fill in the exemption form. You are also allowed to travel from Piazzale Roma to the station provided you take the ‘shortest route’ i.e. no sneaky sightseeing en route.

This is good news if you’re taking a Prosecco tour with us and simply want to drop off a car rental or catch the airport bus to Piazzale Roma, then take the train to the Prosecco region from Santa Lucia train station.

Did you know Italy’s Prosecco wine region is only 1hr from Venice? Find out more about the Prosecco Region and check out our Prosecco Wine Tours here.

Exemption – Stazione Marittima and Tronchetto Cruise Ports

You do not need to pay the Access Fee or apply for an exemption if you arrive in Stazione Marittima or Tronchetto Cruise Ports and don’t go into the Old City.

Where does the fee apply – Venice Old City

Technically, Venice is a city that expands over 126 islands. However, the Access Fee only applies to the main Venice island, which the official website also refers to as Venice City, the Municipality of Venice, and Venice Old City.

Visiting most of the minor islands is exempt from the fee (more below). The Access Fee applies to the Old City as well as the two nearest islands of San Michele and Giudecca. I’ve created a map to help, circling where the Access Fee applies.

Related: Map of the Venice & The Prosecco Region

Visiting the minor island

During the trial period in 2024, the Access Fee only applies to the Municipality of Venice i.e. the Old City. You do not need to pay the Access Fee or apply for an exemption if you are only visiting the minor islands e.g. Murano, Burano, Torcello, and Lido. For the purpose of the fee, the full list of minor islands is:

What happens if I don’t pay or get an exemption

Italy is notorious for issuing fines if you don’t follow the rules. The fine for not paying is quoted as €50 to €300 plus a €10 Access Fee charge.

What happens from 2025 onwards?

What about next year? The idea is that the fee will become permanent after the trial in 2024. But, it is a trial so things might change. I’ll keep this page updated as new information arrives.

Venice Tourist Tax vs Venice Access Fee

Venice Tourist Tax: Venice’s tourist tax (also known as the City Tax) has been in place for a long time and is charged when you book accommodation in the city. The tax is between €1 to €5 per person per night depending on the time of year and type of accommodation you stay in. Most often, it’s included in the price of your hotel booking – check the details and you’ll see it listed. Sometimes, in smaller hotels, you might be asked to pay this tax when you arrive, sometimes in cash. This system hasn’t changed. You do not need to do anything new to pay the tourist tax – just make your hotel booking as normal.

Venice Access Fee: The Venice Access Fee by comparison is for people who visit Venice but don’t stay overnight. It’s a new fee that applies from 25 April 2024. You have to pay the Venice Access Fee in advance before you visit.

FAQs

Do you have to pay for children? You do not need to pay the Access Fee for children under 14 but you may need to prove their age if requested (e.g. show their passport or other official ID).

Do I have to pay if I’m visiting the minor islands? During the trial period, you do not need to pay the Access Fee if you are only visiting the minor islands e.g. Murano, Burano, Torcello, and Lido. Giudecca is considered part of Venice and the fee does apply. More details above.

Can I transfer, cancel or change my QR Code? Your QR code is in your name so it cannot be transferred. You also can’t change the date on the QR code. However, you can cancel up to 11:59 PM on the day before your visit. You will get a full refund.

Can I pay on arrival – the city is in the process of putting payment terminals at Piazzale Roma and Santa Lucia Train station for people who don’t have internet access or the ability to pay online in advance. These are for exceptional cases and are not intended to be used as a last-minute option if you simply forget to pay in advance.

More Details – Official Access Fee Website

You can find a full list of questions and answers on the Access Fee FAQs page.

So, that’s everything you need to know about the Venice Access Fee. Leave a comment below if you have any questions.

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