Venice reinstates day‑trip fee

Venice has brought back its day-tripper entry fee for 2026, charging visitors on 60 peak days between April 3 and July 26. (cda.ve.it) The fee applies from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on selected Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holiday stretches, and it covers the city’s historic center rather than the whole lagoon. (comune.venezia.it) The standard charge is 5 euros for people over 14, but late bookers pay 10 euros if they do not register at least four days in advance through the city’s portal and carry a QR code for checks. (comune.venezia.it) Hotel guests staying overnight in the Municipality of Venice do not pay the access fee, and neither do residents, workers, students, or several other exempt groups, though many still have to register online. (comune.venezia.it) Venice expanded the calendar from 54 charge days in 2025 to 60 in 2026 after city officials approved new rules in September 2025. Councillor Michele Zuin said the measure is meant to manage tourist flows and protect daily life for residents. (live.comune.venezia.it) The policy targets what Venice calls day visitors, the crowds that arrive for a few hours, pack bridges and alleys, and leave before paying the overnight tourist tax that hotel guests already face. (cda.ve.it) Venice first tested the system in 2024 and kept it in place for a second year in 2025, making the lagoon city one of the first major tourist destinations to charge short-stay visitors for entry on busy days. (comune.venezia.it) Enforcement is backed by spot checks at key access points, and the municipality says administrative fines run from 25 euros to 150 euros, plus the 10-euro access charge, for people who should have paid or registered and did not. (comune.venezia.it) The city has also kept some areas outside the paid zone, including Ponte della Libertà, Stazione Marittima and Tronchetto, if visitors do not continue into the ancient city. Smaller lagoon islands are also outside the 2026 charge. (veneziaunica.it) For travelers, the practical change is simple: a spring or early-summer day trip to Venice now requires checking the calendar first, because on red-marked dates the city wants a booking as much as a train ticket. (cda.ve.it)