108 cities · 238 rules
The Rules About How You Behave, Not What You Do
Three unrelated things get tourists fined for conduct rather than for any offence they would recognise: what they are wearing, where they light a cigarette, and what they sit on.
The Swimwear Problem
It starts at the beach. You finish swimming, grab your towel and walk toward town for lunch — and in Dubrovnik or Split that walk is fineable. Mediterranean cities have had enough of tourists treating historic centres like beach extensions: Split and Dubrovnik station police at Old Town gates in summer, Mallorca banned shirtless walking even on the seafront promenade rather than just the centre, and Ibiza enforces near the port, catching people walking off ferries in swimwear. The amounts vary wildly between towns because each one is a municipal ordinance rather than national law, and several of the figures published for them look like the national public-order floor rather than the town's own tariff. The fix is comically simple either way: carry a t-shirt.
A light cover-up in your bag eliminates the single most common tourist fine in southern Europe.
The Smoking Revolution
France went first and went national. Since 29 June 2025, décret 2025-582 has banned smoking on every public beach, in parks and public gardens, at bus shelters and around schools and sports grounds — a fourth-class contravention at €135 on the spot and up to €750 before a court. Café terraces are not covered. Spain is often described as following, but the bill extending its ban to terraces was approved by the Council of Ministers in July 2026 and is still before the Cortes: it is not law, and Spain's existing beach bans are municipal rather than national, each town setting its own. The Nordics are pushing hardest — Oslo bans smoking in parks and beaches, Stockholm at bus stops and outdoor dining, and Helsinki is targeting full smoke-free status by 2030. Munich stands out in Germany with no exceptions, not even inside Oktoberfest tents.
France priced it once, nationally. Everywhere else, the answer changes at the town boundary.
Monuments Are Not Furniture
In 2019 Rome introduced its urban decorum rules, and sitting on the Spanish Steps became fineable. Wading in the Trevi Fountain and eating on church steps in Florence followed. Venice took it further: rolling wheeled luggage across its fragile limestone bridges risks a damage fine, and sitting or lying on the ground near St Mark's Square is an offence. Almost all of these are municipal ordinances, which in Italy means art. 7-bis of the Testo unico enti locali caps them at €500 unless a specific statute lifts it — so any Italian figure above that needs its own law. Carving or spraying a monument is an entirely different matter: that is criminal, with a prison term attached.
Rome's message is blunt: tourists are guests, not occupants.
Every city at a glance
Generated from each city page, so it never drifts from them. Sorted by the highest figure the city publishes for this category.
Frequently asked questions
Can I walk through town in swimwear in Europe?
Not in most Mediterranean historic centres. Dubrovnik, Split, Barcelona, Mallorca and Ibiza all fine it, and Split and Dubrovnik post police at the Old Town gates in summer. These are municipal ordinances, so the amount changes town to town — carry a cover-up and the question never arises.
Where is smoking banned outdoors in Europe?
France, nationally: since 29 June 2025 every public beach, park, bus shelter and school surrounding is smoke-free, at €135 on the spot rising to €750 before a court. Café terraces are excluded. Elsewhere it is city by city — Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki and Munich have the strictest local rules.
Is Spain banning smoking on bar terraces?
Not yet. The bill was approved by the Council of Ministers in July 2026 and is still before the Cortes. Until it is published in the BOE it is not in force, and Spain's current national law bans smoking in enclosed spaces only — open-air terraces are legal under it. Individual venues and towns can already ban it themselves.
Can I really be fined for sitting on the Spanish Steps?
Yes. Rome's 2019 urban decorum rules made the Steps off-limits and the Carabinieri enforce it, whistle included. It is a municipal ordinance, which in Italy is capped at €500 by national law unless a specific statute says otherwise.
What happens if I carve my name on a monument in Italy?
That is not a ticket. Art. 518-duodecies of the penal code makes defacing cultural property a criminal offence carrying six months to three years in prison plus €1,500–10,000, and two to five years where the damage is structural. Tourists have been prosecuted and given suspended sentences conditional on paying for the restoration.