17/04/2026
Most tourists arriving this weekend don't know yet. Here's the rule.
Starting tomorrow, walking into Venice costs €10. Most tourists don't know yet.
I live in Italy. Venice has run this system on a trial basis for two years. Most travel blogs still write about it as if it were optional, or as if it were €5, or as if it only applied in summer.
It is not optional. It is not €5. And for the next two weeks, nearly every day of your weekend trip is a paid day.
WHAT IT IS
The city of Venice charges a Contributo di Accesso, an access fee, to day visitors entering the ancient city on specific busy days. The fee funds tourism infrastructure and is intended to discourage unplanned day trips. It has nothing to do with the tourist tax your hotel collects. It is a separate system, run by the Comune di Venezia, and it is the most serious attempt any Italian city has made to regulate tourism.
WHEN IT APPLIES IN APRIL 2026
April 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.
Ten out of the next fourteen days, from 8:30 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. Outside those hours, no fee, no registration, nothing required. Arrive at 4:01 PM and enter freely.
The fee continues into May, June, and July on weekends and long-weekend clusters, 60 days in total through July 26.
WHAT IT COSTS
€5 per person if you book by the fourth-last day before your visit.
€10 per person if you book in the three days before your visit.
That means if you are reading this today, April 16, and planning to visit on April 18, the €5 price has already closed. You pay €10.
Children under 14 are exempt entirely. They do not pay and do not need to register.
The fee is per person per day. Staying two days means paying twice. Staying in a hotel inside the Venice municipality means paying nothing, but you still have to register to receive a free QR code proving your exemption.
WHERE IT APPLIES
The historic city of Venice. The ancient island. That is it.
It does NOT apply to Murano, Burano, Torcello, Lido, Pellestrina, Sant'Erasmo, or any of the smaller lagoon islands in 2026. You can visit those for free on any day.
It also does NOT apply if you are only transiting through Piazzale Roma, Tronchetto, Santa Lucia station, or the Maritime Station to change transport lines. The fee zone is the old city itself, not the entry points.
HOW TO PAY
The official portal. Paid through the linked site cda.veneziaunica.it. You can also pay via WhatsApp by scanning the QR code on the official site, or at an Italian tobacconist with a Punto LIS sign, but only at the €10 rate.
You register your name, the date of the visit, the number of adults, the number of children under 14. You receive a QR code by email. You save it on your phone. Done.
Do not book through any other site. The Comune di Venezia is the only authorized seller. Third-party websites that resell this are at best adding a markup and at worst selling nothing.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE QR CODE
Inspectors wear identification bibs and stand at the main access points, most visibly outside Santa Lucia station. They stop people and ask to see the QR code. They have the authority to fine on the spot.
The fine for not having the QR code, according to the official regulation on the Comune di Venezia website, is €25 to €150, plus the €10 fee you still owe. False declarations, like claiming an exemption that does not apply to you, can trigger additional legal consequences under the Italian Criminal Code.
In 2024 almost no one was fined. In 2025 enforcement increased. In 2026 the city has said the experimental period is entering a stricter phase.
WHO IS EXEMPT BUT STILL MUST REGISTER
This is the trap that catches more people than the fee itself.
Hotel guests are exempt. So are non-Venice Veneto residents, property owners in Venice, workers in the historic city, relatives of residents up to the third degree, school trip groups, people attending weddings or funerals, people visiting patients in Venice hospitals, and many other categories.
But "exempt" does not mean "do nothing." Almost all of these categories require you to obtain a free exemption QR code on the same portal. Show up without it and the inspector is under no obligation to believe you. Hotel guests: ask the reception, they have a simple process. Everyone else: cda.ve.it, exemption section, done in two minutes.
ONE LAST THING
The cleanest way to skip this entire system this weekend: arrive at Santa Lucia after 4 PM on a fee day, or visit on a non-fee day. April 20, 21, 22, 23 are all free. Arrive those days and the city is unregulated.
If you are going on the 17th, 18th, or 19th, open cda.ve.it right now and pay €10. It is faster than reading the rest of the FAQ.
