Venice starts selling entry tickets for peak periods to day trippers as the overwhelmed Italian city works to reduce visitor numbers

Residents or people born in the municipality are exempt and need only show their identity cards.

There are other exemptions, from commuters and homeowners in the city to close relatives of residents. Visitors aged under 14 and tourists with hotel bookings will need to be registered and obtain a QR code, but access for them will be free of charge.

Restrictions will not apply to the lagoon’s smaller islands, such as Murano, famous for its glassmaking industry.

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Authorities debated for years on how to regulate the millions of visitors to the city, drawn by St Mark’s Square, the Rialto Bridge and its countless picturesque canals.

Unesco put Venice on its world heritage list in 1987 as an “extraordinary architectural masterpiece”, but has repeatedly warned that the city needs to better manage tourism.

“Venice is the first city in the world to introduce such a system, which could serve as a model for other fragile and delicate cities that must be protected,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said last year.

But he called it a “first step” rather than a “revolution” and said authorities stand ready to make changes to ensure it works.

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Tickets will initially be required between April 25, a national holiday in Italy, and May 5, and on nine subsequent weekends in May, June and July.

Some 3.2 million tourists stayed overnight in Venice’s historic centre in 2022, according to official data – a number that does not include the thousands of visitors who visit just for the day.

Additional reporting by Reuters