Oh boy. (Groan.) Here's a photo from this week.

https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images....HH7TLLNHDA.jpg

I heard that on the news. It's only €5 and it's hard to imagine that will stop anyone from coming. €5 wouldn't be a deterrent for me, but the crowds might be.

I agree, but I'm not sure it's meant entirely as a deterrent but partly/mostly as a revenue source to cover costs in dealing with daytrippers. Plus, if you set the cost too high, it could become a symbol of elitism/privilege. Some Italians are complaining they shouldn't have to pay to visit a city in their own country, and I can understand that POV also. Hopefully, there is an exemption for people who travel into Venice to work...

The mayor has said it is not meant to be a deterrent, but it might influence which day someone visits if a "fee day" is followed by a "free day." Depending on how this test run goes, they have also discussed using a sliding scale for the fee, increasing it when larger crowds are anticipated.

Here's a pretty comprehensive article from CNN showing the test dates. It also lists several of the exemptions and gives the procedure for getting your QR code: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/v...ned/index.html

Mods, Can we maybe make this a sticky at least temporarily? There would be no doubt many who are traveling to Venice during this time period and would be helpful to contain in one thread.

Also would be a good central place for those to report back to, provide links for those who get an excemption for staying overnight, etc.

If you stay overnight or claim any other exemption, you still need the QR code. Venice hotels already collect a per person "tourist tax" based on a complicated set of parameters (date, type of lodging, location, age of guests, length of stay).