Mona Lisa becomes expensive; The rise of France for more income from tourism

French Culture Minister Rashida Dati proposed charging more for non-EU visitors to visit the country’s cultural monuments, including the Louvre, which is home to the Mona Lisa.

Visitors to some of France’s popular tourist attractions may pay higher entry fees if they are from non-EU countries.

In an interview with Figaro, French Culture Minister Rashida Dati recently proposed to add an additional fee of around 5 euros ($5.40) to the current entrance fee for some cultural attractions in this country. Among these places, we can mention the Louvre Museum, Versailles and the Orsay Museum. “Duty” also previously said that he plans to set an entrance fee for Notre Dame Cathedral.

France’s culture minister has said it will ask visitors from outside the European Union to pay more for their entry tickets to help restore the country’s national heritage.

“Is it normal for a French visitor to pay the same price to enter the Louvre as a Brazilian or Chinese visitor?” asked Doty. The French culture minister also said that the French people should not pay for everything themselves.

Entrance to the Louvre, the world’s largest gallery, currently costs 22 euros ($23.90) for general admission, but if the planned changes go ahead, that will rise to around 30 euros ($32.60) for non-EU visitors. finds The Louvre now welcomes 9 million visitors a year, thanks in large part to masterpieces such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (1503-1919) and the Venus de Milo (2nd century BC). It is estimated that less than 70% of visitors to the Louvre Museum are international tourists.

However, Dotti, the French Minister of Culture, has faced criticism for his proposal; Because many emphasize the difficulty of monitoring the nationality of visitors when selling their tickets in important sightseeing places.

The proposals come at a difficult time for France’s cultural sector, after an unexpected drop in attendance at the Louvre during the Paris Olympics and after the museum raised its entrance fees for the first time in seven years at the start of 2024.

However, the most controversial part of the plan is the request to charge tourists to enter Notre Dame Cathedral, France’s most famous religious building. While other churches, including the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, have an entrance fee, Notre Dame has always been free.

The church is set to reopen on December 8 after five years of renovation following a catastrophic fire in 2019. Of course, Dottie’s plan to charge €5 ($5.40) to enter the cathedral would be a fee for all visitors, not just visitors from outside the European Union.

Doty claimed that renovations like Notre Dame are the reasons why receiving new fees is so important. The Minister of Culture of France also told Le Figaro newspaper:

All over Europe, people have to pay to visit major religious monuments, and my simple suggestion is that all tourists to Notre Dame be charged an entrance fee. The scheme could generate up to €75m (£62m) a year, which will go entirely towards a major program to protect France’s religious heritage. Notre Dame can save all the churches of France. This would be an amazing symbol.

French Interior Minister Bruno Reitaeu also welcomed the idea, telling Radio France that if €5 could save France’s religious heritage, it would be a good idea.

The French national heritage charity has described the situation of many churches and monasteries in this country as very worrying, so that about 5,000 are in danger and nearly 500 have been closed due to their very bad conditions.

Many European cathedrals charge tourists. Tickets to enter the Duomo (Milan’s cathedral) cost between €10 and €30, while a ticket to visit St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice costs a reasonable €3 (plus €10 for the bell tower).

In Spain, the cost of visiting the Mosque-Church of Cordoba is 13 euros, the Church of Seville is 12 euros, and the Church of Lasagrada Familia in Barcelona is 26 euros. In the UK, Canterbury Cathedral charges £17, Westminster Cathedral £30 and St Paul’s Old Cathedral £25.

The Lasagrada Familia church in Barcelona, ​​Spain, which is the masterpiece of Anthony Godio and the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world, has earned more than 125 million euros in 2023 from nearly 5 million visitors.

However, the French Catholic Church of Notre Dame still firmly adheres to the principles of free access for all, worshipers and tourists alike, although some churches charge visitors to enter certain parts of the building, such as bell towers, tombs, and vaults.