I'm reading at the official Venice access site that as of late July, registration and the access fee is no longer needed to visit Venice. But the Rick Steves advisory page with instructions and guidance is still up online with detailed instructions on how to register, get a waiver etc. Is there someone at Rick Steves operation on this forum that can confirm the access registration is no longer needed? We're planning a trip there.
Thanks,
Gary in Boston
If you want to speak with the Rick Steve’s group you need to contact them. There’s contact info in the blue box at the bottom of the page. This is an open forum of the public.
As I understand it the access fee was only for some weekends /dates mostly thru the summer months/ high season
The RS info is likely just outdated
Go with the info on the official site
Agreed: Go with the info on the official website:
https://cda.veneziaunica.it/en
Also note (from the website above):
"The authority to approve further measures for the possible application of the access fee in the years following 2025 lies with the governing bodies of the City of Venice. For any further updates, please follow the City of Venice’s official web communication channels and this website https://cda.ve.it/en/"
And from https://cda.ve.it/en/:
"The access contribution for 2026 will start from April 3. For the complete calendar download the attachment"
So the dates on that attachment (https://cda.ve.it/data/files/Sperimentazione_anno_2026.pdf) are the dates in 2026 that the fee and waivers are scheduled to be in force again unless otherwise communicated.
It applies only on weekends (Fir-Sun) and holiday periods (like around Easter and the Apr25-May 1 holidays) during the months of April through July every year. Outside of those dates it’s free access to all. August through March is not considered super peak time (in August and September weekends Italians are all at the beach or the mountains, they don’t even think of going to super hot art cities).
