90 cities · 99 rules
The Costs That Look Like Fines And Are Not
A tourist tax is a price. You pay it with the hotel bill, and there is no penalty for owing it — which is exactly why publishing the rate in a fine column, as this page used to, made the cheapest thing on it look like the smallest fine.
Why Every Row Below Says Info
This is the one guide on the site where an empty fine column is the finding. Checking these rules against their sources found 32 charges published as penalties — €2 a night in Albufeira, 50 CZK in Český Krumlov, 5–10 zł in Kraków, a Swedish congestion toll, a Greek cruise levy, an admission ticket for Teide — and not one of them is a fine. A nightly accommodation tax is collected by the hotel; a congestion charge is paid to drive in, so paying it is compliance; a park entry fee is admission. None of them sanctions the traveller for anything, and all of them have had the amount removed from the fine column and kept in the description, where a price belongs.
If paying it is compliance rather than a punishment, it is a price. The fine column is for what happens when you don't.
What You Will Actually Be Charged
The shape differs by country and it changes what you can predict. Percentage systems move with the room rate: Amsterdam is the most expensive in Europe at 12.5% of the bill, and Hamburg and Frankfurt take a percentage too. Flat nightly rates are easier to budget and are the norm across Italy, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia and central Europe, usually €1–5 and tiered by hotel category — Italy's imposta di soggiorno is set by each comune, which is why Naples, Pisa and Bologna all differ. Regional taxes stack on top of municipal ones in Spain: Catalonia levies its own, and Barcelona adds a city surcharge above it. And Edinburgh introduces the UK's first visitor levy in 2026 under the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, with Glasgow following — the first time this has existed in Britain at all.
Budget a percentage, not a number, in the cities that charge one.
Venice Is The Real Exception
One charge in this group does carry a penalty, and it is the one everybody has heard of. Venice's contributo di accesso applies to day-trippers rather than overnight guests — staying the night has always meant paying the ordinary accommodation tax instead, which is why two day visits can cost more than one overnight stay. Failing to show payment or a valid exemption is an administrative sanction, cited widely at €50–300. That figure is not verified here, for two reasons worth stating plainly: the Comune di Venezia's own regolamento sits behind bot protection that refuses to serve the document, so the range could not be read from the authority that sets it; and the scheme has run as a time-limited trial on defined days each year, so whether it is currently operating needs confirming before anyone treats the number as live. It is flagged rather than published as fact.
And The Cities That Charge Nothing
Worth knowing because it is stable and it is not obvious: several major destinations have no tourist tax at all. Copenhagen, Dublin and Helsinki charge nothing on accommodation, and Munich has long been the notable German exception in a country where most large cities do levy one. This is the kind of fact that dates quickly — Edinburgh had none until 2026 and Glasgow is next — so it is worth a check at booking rather than a year later.
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
Is a tourist tax a fine?
No, and the distinction matters more than it sounds. A tourist tax is a price collected with your hotel bill, and no penalty attaches to a guest for owing it — the hotel is responsible for collecting and remitting it. This site removed the amount from the fine column on 32 such charges for that reason: presented as a fine, a €2 nightly rate reads as the smallest penalty on a city page rather than as a cost of the room.
What is the most expensive tourist tax in Europe?
Amsterdam, at 12.5% of the room rate — the highest percentage-based tax in Europe, and because it is a percentage it scales with the hotel rather than capping out. Flat-rate systems can also get expensive at the top end: Barcelona stacks a municipal surcharge on top of the Catalan regional tax, and both are tiered by hotel category.
Do I pay the Venice access fee if I stay overnight?
No. The contributo di accesso targets day-trippers; overnight guests pay the ordinary accommodation tax through their hotel instead. It is worth checking whether the scheme is running on the dates you travel, because it has operated as a trial on defined days each year rather than continuously.
Which European cities have no tourist tax?
Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki and Munich charge nothing on accommodation. That list moves, though: Edinburgh introduced the UK's first visitor levy in 2026 under the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 and Glasgow is following, so it is worth confirming at the time of booking.
Is a congestion charge a fine?
No. Stockholm's and Gothenburg's congestion taxes, like London's Congestion Charge and ULEZ, are tolls for driving into a zone — paying one is compliance, not punishment. There is a separate penalty for driving in without paying, and that is the figure a fine column should carry. This site does not publish those penalties until they have been read from the authority that sets them.
How much should I budget for tourist taxes?
In western European cities, adding 5-10% to the accommodation cost covers most flat and percentage systems, with Amsterdam at 12.5% the case that breaks the rule of thumb. Central and southern Europe are mostly flat nightly rates of €1-5 per person, tiered by hotel category, which is easier to calculate exactly before you go.