Fury as beautiful EU city to introduce £13 entry fee | Travel News | Travel

Plans to charge tourists to visit one of Europe’s most iconic landmarks have sparked backlash, with critics warning the move could shut out visitors and damage the city’s appeal. Officials in Cologne are considering introducing a fee of around £13 to enter the famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom), a UNESCO-listed site that has been free to visit for the entire 146 years of its existence.

The proposal has sparked anger among many locals, heritage groups and tourists, who have argued that the cathedral – the tallest twin-spired church in the world, built in 1880 – should remain open to all. Church authorities have defended the potential charge as a way to help cover soaring maintenance and security costs. The cathedral, which attracts some six million tourists and pilgrims a year (20,000 a day), requires constant upkeep due to its age and heavy footfall. Officials said tickets would start being sold in July, with admission priced at €12 to €15 (£10-13).

While worshippers would be exempt from the admission charge, the cost in Germany’s fourth-biggest city has been deemed prohibitive for many. Architect Barbara Schock-Werner, who heads the non-profit Zentral-Dombau-Verein zu Köln (ZDV) association, which supports the cathedral’s conservation and has more than 19,000 members, said anything above €10 (£8.60) would be irresponsible.

“I would find that unfair to the people of Cologne and the surrounding region,” she told the local newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. “If only the well-off can afford to go into a church, I think that’s socially unjust.”

Ms Schock-Werner, who oversaw conservation and restoration work on the building until her retirement in 2012, said the tourist charge was “very, very regrettable, » adding: « People shouldn’t have to pay for everything, least of all for visiting a church ».

Cologne Cathedral is battling a structural financial deficit, with maintenance costs of €16million (£14million) annually exceeding income, which was just under €14million (£12million) in 2024, creating a shortfall that has persisted since 2019, according to the church’s website. Inflation and high staffing costs for its 170 employees have driven up the price of the upkeep of the building, the cathedral’s management said.

At the same time, cash reserves that had been relied upon to cover funding shortfalls in recent years have now been largely exhausted. This is partly due to a loss of income after fee-paying access to the cathedral’s 157-metre towers and treasure chamber was suspended for extended periods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Any savings made by church officials, including reducing staff through attrition (not replacing employees as they retire), are still not enough.

People entering the nave to attend services, light candles or pray in most areas will be exempt from the new admission fee. However, according to the cathedral’s dean, Guido Assmann, tourists accounted for 99% of visitors.

Another major European tourist hotspot, Rome’s Trevi Fountain, has also begun charging visitors. The €2 (£1.75) entry fee, introduced last month, is aimed at helping officials control huge crowds while also funding the landmark’s upkeep. More than 10 million people visited the iconic site in 2025 alone.

Cologne Cathedral is also known for its incredible Christmas market held each year from November to December, boasting 150 wooden stalls, a massive central Christmas tree and a canopy of fairy lights against the backdrop of the cathedral.