British holidaymakers to face additional surcharge when visiting major tourist attractions in France
The Louvre will be among the venues impacted by the price hike
GETTY / LOUVRE.FR
British holidaymakers heading to France have been warned about increasing entrance fees at national venues.
Administration costs for non-EU visitors at major tourist attractions, including the Louvre Museum and Notre Dame Cathedral, could increase by as much as £5.
The price hike was proposed by Culture Minister Rachida Dati with the aim of generating additional funds for the maintenance of historic sites.
Dati told the French news outlet Le Figaro: "I want visitors from outside the EU to pay more for their entrance ticket and for this supplement to finance the renovation of the national heritage."
The Louvre will be among the venues impacted by the price hike
GETTY / LOUVRE.FR
Ticket feeds for tourism hotspots like the Louvre, which currently set visitors back £19, could go up to £26 by 2026.
The proposed price increase was defended on the grounds that French nationals should not have to bear the financial burden of maintaining national heritage sites entirely.
Dati noted: "Is it normal for a French visitor to pay the same price for entry to the Louvre as a Brazilian or Chinese visitor?
“The French people should not have to pay for everything on their own.”
The Louvre, home to the famous Mona Lisa, attracts nearly nine million visitors annually, two-thirds of which visit from abroad.
The move mirrors a growing trend of popular European destinations implementing measures to manage tourism and generate revenue for local infrastructure.
Many European tourism hotspots have introduced a surcharge for tourists in recent years, with Venice charging visitors €5 to enter the city on certain days.
The move by France and Italy could set a precedent for other European destinations struggling with similar problems.
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The Louvre will be among the venues impacted by the price hike
GETTY“With just €5 per visitor, we would collect €75million per year," Dati added.
“In this way, Notre-Dame de Paris would save all the churches in Paris and France."
A heritage historian and member of the National Commission for Architecture and Heritage, Alexandre Gady, criticised the proposal to charge for previously free cultural experiences in France.
"We are using a bookkeeping approach that is devastating us in this country," he told France Info.
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