VENICE TO START CHARGING ADMISSION

Want to go to Venice, Italy? It’ll soon cost you an additional 10 bucks. Tourists planning to visit Venice for the day are now required to make a reservation and pay a fee of up to $10.50 each, according to new rules designed to help the historic city manage its millions of visitors. The new fee is set to go into effect in January. More than 80 percent of visitors to Venice arrive just for the day — more than 30,000 to 40,000 people per day.
* Be sure to get your hand stamped for re-entry if you have to run back to the car.
* So let’s say 35,000 people a day x $10 for 365 days brings in $127,750,000 a year. Maybe they can clean up a little of that graffiti!
* In a few years, they’ll have enough money to build a replica Venice just for tourists. With cleaner bathrooms and animatronic pigeons.
* For $10.50, I hope the fee includes a coupon for a free gelato.