‘Recipe for disaster’: Venice entry fee sparks confusion and protest on day one

Some residents say 5 fee aimed at curbing tourist numbers goes against principle of freedom of movement

For more than 160 years, visitors have been arriving at Venezia Santa Lucia train station and disembarking straight into the heart of one of the world's most historic and beautiful cities. Until Thursday, however, they had never been met by a group of stewards in white and yellow bibs demanding to know if they had downloaded their QR code.

On the first day of what the mayor of Venice has hailed as a bold experiment in reducing over-tourism, day-trippers faced a 5 (4.30) charge, which kicked in at 8.30am on Thursday and will apply on 29 peak days until 14 July as part of a trial.