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Travel Planning / Italy

The Venice access fee

By

Nadine Dirksen

The city of Venice has long been a dream destination for travelers from all over the world. For ExperiencePlus! and our travelers, it has been the starting point of our iconic Bike Across Italy – Venice to Pisa tour since 1972!

Starting in 2024, Venice’s city government is implementing an access fee to experiment with ways to regulate the number of visitors to protect this unique destination. During the pilot phase, the fee will be in force only on certain days during the high season.

We have a step-by-step guide for you to see how to request your exemption, and have collected some questions and answers about the access fee to help you plan.

Frequent questions about the access fee and exemption
Step-by-step guide to requesting your exemption

What you need to know about the Venice access fee

The Venice access fee is a measure put into place by the Venice municipality to curb over-tourism and preserve Venice’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. By having visitors pay a fee, Venice is hoping to lower the number of day visitors. This is currently in its pilot phase in 2024.

The access fee is EUR 5 per day and person at its launch in 2024.

During the pilot phase in 2024, only certain dates between April 25 and July 14 are affected. Refer to the official Venice access fee website for exact dates. The access fee is valid on these dates for the hours between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m..

For its pilot phase in 2024, only the main Venice island (also referred to as the Historic City, Venice City, and Venice Old City) is affected by the fee. The smaller islands are currently not affected.

During the pilot phase, this means for example, if you stay on the Lido (where our ExperiencePlus! Venice to Pisa tour starting hotel is located), and do not plan to visit the city, you do not need an exemption. If you do visit, you will need one. Our suggestion is to get an exemption anyway, also to ensure that you are covered in transit in case you end up routing through the old city.

Simply put, day visitors over 14 year old who are not planning to stay overnight. Travelers who are spending the night at a hotel in Venice are exempt, as are travelers who are just coming into the city for an evening of dining or theater.

(There is an array of exemptions for residents, relatives of residents, holders of a European Disability Card, to name a few – for simplicity, in this article we are focusing on our typical ExperiencePlus! traveler.)

Yes, if you are planning take a day trip to Venice, you will need to pay the access fee, and it’s best to do that online in advance. Visit Venice’s official access fee website to see whether the fee applies for your travel date and to submit the application. For a step by-step explanation of the application and payment process, you might find this article by CNN Travel helpful.

Yes, it will be best if you apply for the exemption directly as our travelers’ plans are usually very personalized. See a step-by-step guide below.

Before you enter the Old City. There is no rush to do this, and no benefits for early filers or payers exist.

However, especially during the launching phase in 2024, we recommend that you do it from home a bit early as the booking system might be overwhelmed.

Whether you apply for day access or whether you apply for an exemption, you will receive a QR code by email. Keep this code as it will be checked by authorized personnel at the city’s access points.

Yes. The system will issue individual QR codes by name.

Yes, there will be opportunities at Piazzale Roma and the Venice Santa Lucia Station square. We recommend doing it in advance though as it likely will be busy.

Yes! Please take a look at the official Venice Access Fee FAQ by the City of Venice for fine explanations, detailed exemptions, re-entering, and more.

Go back to top or continue to the step-by-step guide to the exemption

Step-by-step guide to requesting your exemption

Step 1

Go to Venice’s access fee exemption site.

Step 2

Choose your option:

Step 3

Select the start and end day of your stay.

Step 4

Enter your personal information:

Step 5

  • Before submitting, click the link to the privacy policy to enable the checkbox, then click “next”.

Step 6

  • If you are submitting for several travelers, you can add them now. Be sure to have their personal data as displayed in the image above ready.

Step 7

  • Choose your preferred verification method (email or phone), and confirm on the summary page after reviewing your details.
  • Tip: We recommend you choose email for the verification as the phone method will involve calling an Italian number.

Step 8

  • Check your email for the verification code and enter it into the field. If you don’t see it in your email inbox, check your spam folder.
  • Insert the code into the field and click submit.

Step 9

  • On the generated codes page, you can download your codes or use the download link in the email you received.
  • Tip: The download file on this page will come in a zip-folder. The email will provide you with a link that allows for a direct download without the zip-folder.
  • Keep the code for your entry to Venice either on your phone or print it (options on the Exemption Code page).