Tourist tax in Europe: what Paris, Rome and Barcelona charge

European tourist tax almost never shows up in the price you see when you book a hotel. It is charged per person per night, set city by city, and in 2026 it went up in places a lot of travellers pass through: Barcelona raised its rates in April, Paris adjusted in January, and Amsterdam is discussing 20% of the room price.

It rarely wrecks a budget. On a long stay, a family trip or a luxury hotel, though, it can pass €100 and deserves its own line in the spreadsheet.

Barcelona: from up to €7.50 to up to €12 a night

Since 1 April 2026, Barcelona’s bill has two parts: Catalonia’s tax, which depends on the type of accommodation, and a city surcharge of €5 per person per night. According to the Catalan press, the result is:

Type of accommodation	Per person, per night
5-star hotel	€12.00
4-star hotel	€8.40
Tourist apartment	€9.50
Other establishments	€7.00
Hostels	€6.00

Cruise passengers pay too: €11 if they stay under 12 hours and €9 if they stay 12 hours or more. The city surcharge will rise by €1 a year until 2029, when it reaches a cap of €8. Catalonia justifies the move with the housing emergency and puts 25% of the revenue into housing.

Paris: €11.70 at a five-star, up to €15.93 at palaces

Paris’s taxe de séjour has a quirk: most of the amount is a 200% regional surcharge created to fund public transport in Île-de-France. At a five-star hotel, the €11.70 per person per night breaks down as €3.60 base tax, €0.36 for the département, €0.54 for the region and €7.20 for the transport surcharge.

Palaces reach €15.93. Unclassified lodgings, which includes many holiday apartments, pay 5% of the nightly price per person, with the same €15.93 ceiling. The figures apply from 1 January 2026.

Rome: a fixed table, ten nights at most

Rome’s table has been in force since 1 October 2023 and is the simplest of the four. Rates per person per night:

• 5-star hotel: €10
• 4-star hotel: €7.50
• 3-star hotel: €6
• Hostels and budget lodging: €3.50
• Camping: €3

It applies only to the first ten consecutive nights in the same place. Children under 10 are exempt. The accommodation provider collects the money and passes it to the city.

Amsterdam: a percentage, not a fixed amount

Amsterdam charges 12.5% of the accommodation price, among the highest rates in Europe. It doesn’t depend on stars: the pricier the room, the bigger the tax. On top of that, the Dutch VAT on accommodation rose from 9% to 21% on 1 January 2026.

The city plans to raise the tax. The most-cited version is 16% in 2027 and one more percentage point a year up to 20%, but reports disagree on the final year (2030 or 2031), and the plan is still a proposal from the new coalition. Check the current rate before you book.

What it does to a budget

A couple spending four nights in a four-star hotel pays roughly €60 in tourist tax in Rome (2 × 4 × €7.50) and €67.20 in Barcelona (2 × 4 × €8.40). In Amsterdam, on a €200-a-night room, 12.5% is €25 a night, or about €100 over four nights. That last figure is an estimate: the base of the percentage can vary by type of lodging.

My reading is that the model matters more than the amounts. A fixed table, like Rome’s, is easy to predict. A percentage, like Amsterdam’s, grows by itself when room prices climb in high season.

What to do about it

• Ask at booking whether the tax is included. In many cases it’s paid at check-in, in euros, on top of the room rate.
• Compare cost per night, not just the room rate. In Barcelona, a tourist apartment (€9.50) pays more than a 4-star hotel (€8.40).
• Check the date on any table you find. Barcelona, Amsterdam and Venice are all in flux.
• Don’t confuse it with Venice’s access fee. That one is charged to people who visit for the day, not to those who sleep there. The details are in Venice’s access fee.

For other cities trying to manage visitor numbers by different means, see places that limit tourists.

Frequently asked questions

What is a tourist tax in Europe?

It’s an amount each city charges per person per night to people staying in hotels, hostels or apartments. Each municipality sets its own rate, and it’s usually paid at the property, separately from the room price.

How much is Barcelona’s tourist tax in 2026?

Between €6 and €12 per person per night, depending on the type of accommodation, since 1 April 2026. A 5-star hotel pays €12.

Do children pay tourist tax?

It depends on the city. In Rome, children under 10 are exempt. Other cities use different age rules, so check the city’s website.

Which European city has the highest tourist tax?

According to the Dutch press, Amsterdam, at 12.5% of the accommodation price. By amount per night, Paris (up to €15.93) and Barcelona (up to €12) are also among the highest.

Sources

• Tarifs de la taxe de séjour à Paris en 2026, Service-Public.fr, December 2025 (in French): the breakdown of the €11.70 at a 5-star hotel, the €15.93 ceiling and the 5% rule for unclassified lodging.
• New tourist tax comes into force in Barcelona, Catalan News, April 2026: rates by category, cruise passengers, the €1-a-year rise until 2029 and the 25% for housing.
• Spain tourist tax 2026: Barcelona hikes, Mallorca ecotax and city charges, Idealista, July 2026: the €5 city surcharge and the totals for 5-star hotels and tourist apartments.
• Contributo di soggiorno nella città di Roma Capitale, Turismo Roma: the table in force since 1 October 2023 (Act No. 255 of 17 July 2023).
• Tassa di soggiorno a Roma nel 2026, Holidu (in Italian): rates by category, the ten-night limit and exemptions.
• Toeristenbelasting Amsterdam blijft in 2026 gelijk (12,5%), Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (in Dutch): the 12.5% rate in 2026 and the 21% VAT.
• Amsterdam to raise tourist tax to 20% by 2031, IamExpat, August 2026: the coalition’s plan and its proposal status.

Rates checked in October 2026. Always confirm with the city’s official source before you travel.