The Latest Rules for Tourists in Venice

Major cities across Europe are finding ways to deal with overtourism, an issue plaguing places like Paris, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Venice. Each city is creating its own strategy to deal with the overwhelming number of tourists that flood the streets, endangering the centuries of history and getting on the nerves of locals and residents.

Venice’s rules for tourists seem to continually change based on the needs of the city, so here is the latest list of regulations to keep in mind when visiting the Italian metropolis.

With only 55,000 residents in the city but more than 60,000 visitors each day, Venice had to put its foot down in terms of what can be considered allowable behavior on its tiny streets and world-famous canals. Activities as simple and seemingly innocuous as leaning against storefronts, having picnics in public places, lying down on public benches and feeding the pigeons come with heavy fines, anywhere from $27 to $550. Other fineable offenses include standing still on one of Venice’s 400 bridges, locking padlocks to bridges, walking around without a shirt on and riding or even walking a bicycle in the center.

These changes come after a revision to Venice’s existing bill of rules, revised in May 2019.