Brits warned they might risk paying surcharge at popular tourist attraction

We each emotion a city break, namely for the ample injection of civilization we’re capable to get successful specified a abbreviated magnitude of time.

But for Brits, visiting immoderate of France’s astir celebrated attractions could get much expensive.

Rachida Dati, France’s civilization minister, has suggested placing a surcharge connected tickets to the Louvre for non-EU nationals. 

The Louvre Museum, which is location to the Mona Lisa, welcomes millions of visitors each year.

Currently, tickets to the depository outgo €22 (about £18). The levy, which would beryllium introduced successful 2026, volition beryllium astir €5, oregon £4.20. 

The surcharge whitethorn besides use to Versailles and the Musée d’Orsay.

The Culture Minister said it was to assistance wage for France’s heritage. ‘I privation visitors from extracurricular the EU to wage much for their entranceway summons and for this supplement to concern the renovation of the nationalist heritage,’ she told Le Figaro.

Some radical person complained astir the plans. Labour MP Christ Bryant posted connected X, formerly Twitter about however the British Museum and National Gallery are escaped to all. ‘You’re welcome,’ helium wrote. 

But Dati suggested it was not just for French radical to person to wage for their practice sites, which are large tourer attractions. 

She added: ‘Is it mean for a French visitant to wage the aforesaid terms for introduction to the Louvre arsenic a Brazilian oregon Chinese visitor?

‘The French radical should not person to wage for everything connected their own.’

While this whitethorn look annoying, she isn’t precisely going against the grain. In galore countries astir the world, tourists are expected to wage much for definite attractions than locals. 

For example, foreigners visiting Istanbul’s Basilica Cistern are charged four times the entranceway interest for locals — the equivalent of £18 vs £4.50. In fact, many of the city’s attractions, including Beylerbeyi Palace,  complaint much for foreigners.

The Taj Mahal, successful India, besides charges a antithetic terms for foreigners, who wage £15 to sojourn the mausoleum, compared with £2.20 for locals. 

Countries crossed Europe person besides begun to present and summation regular tourer provender to combat overtourism, including Venice, Barcelona, and Lake Como.

Just this week, Italy announced that adjacent twelvemonth Venice will astir treble the fig of days connected which time trippers volition person to wage €5 to participate the World Heritage city.

Greece volition also beryllium charging Brits £16 to sojourn its busiest islands, including Mykonos and Santorini, astatine definite times of the year, chiefly to tackle overtourism caused by cruise ships. 

Portugal’s 2nd city, Porto precocious announced it volition beryllium upping its regular tourer complaint by 50%, to assistance money culture, heritage, the environment, energy, prime of life, municipality planning, lodging and transport — and Lisbon, the country’s capital, has already done the same.

So, tourism is getting much and much costly each implicit the globe. 

As for Paris, though, immoderate unit astatine the Louvre expressed concerns astir having to cheque the nationality of idiosyncratic customers, truthful we’ll person to hold and spot however it goes. 

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