British News Agency

Authorities in Venice have been accused of turning the famous lagoon city into a “theme park” with the introduction of the long-discussed entrance fee for day visitors.

Venice is the first major city in the world to introduce such a charge. The €5 fee, which came into force today, aims to protect the Unesco World Heritage site from the effects of over-tourism by discouraging day-trippers and, according to Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, to make the city “livable” again.

However, some residents' committees and associations have planned protests for Thursday, arguing that the fee will do nothing to solve the problem.

Matteo Secchi, leader of the residents' activist group Venessia.com, said: “I would say that almost the whole city is against it. You can't put an entrance fee in a city; all they do is turn it into a theme park. This is a bad image for Venice... I mean, are we kidding?”

The entrance fee, which is only required to enter Venice's historic centre, can be booked online and implemented on 29 peak days, mostly weekends, from Thursday through July 14 as part of a trial phase.

Venice residents, commuters, students, children under 14 and overnight tourists will be exempt.

However, day-trippers must buy their tickets online and be given a QR code. Those without tickets can buy tickets on arrival with the help of local officials who will carry out random checks at five main destinations, including Santa Lucia train station. Those without a ticket could be fined between 50 and 300 euros.