The Palace of Versailles, one of France's most iconic tourist destinations, will raise admission fees for non-European visitors starting early next year, following a similar move by the Louvre Museum.
According to AFP and other reports on Wednesday, Versailles will increase admission fees (including garden access during paid periods) by 3 euros to 35 euros ($62) for visitors from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) starting January 14. This represents a 9.4% increase from the current 32 euros ($54).
The palace expects the measure to generate an additional 9.3 million euros ($10 million) in annual revenue. Of the 8.4 million visitors to Versailles last year, 83% were foreign tourists. Americans accounted for 15% of annual visitors, making them the largest group among foreign visitors, ahead of Chinese (6%) and Italians (6%).
The fee increase for non-Europeans stems from a differential pricing policy by France's Ministry of Culture. In an interview with Le Figaro in January, Culture Minister Rachida Dati said she hopes "non-European visitors will pay more for admission and that this additional amount will be used to fund national heritage restoration." Dati emphasized that this represents a "real turning point" in pricing policy, adding that "French people should not be obligated to bear all the costs."
Under this policy, the Louvre Museum will also raise admission fees for non-European tourists by 45% next year, from the current 22 euros ($37) to 32 euros ($54). The Louvre expects the fee adjustment to generate millions of euros in additional annual revenue.
Other sites including the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris, Sainte-Chapelle, and the Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley are also planning to introduce tiered pricing based on visitor origin.
