Another beautiful little town in Europe says ‘too many’ tourists – £15 to enter | World | News
Residents of a beautiful little European town have complained about tourists invading their privacy and visitors will now be charged £15 for entry. The Dutch town of Zaanse Schans, famous for its windmills, colorful houses and tulip fields, is flooded with tourists. Although it is a small town with only around 100 residents, it received 2.6 million visitors in 2025.
Locals say tourists have been knocking on their doors, breaking into their yards, urinating in their yards and peeking inside their homes using selfie sticks. The town is extremely picturesque and easy to reach from Amsterdam, making it a popular activity for visitors to the Netherlands.
However, the local council took action to combat this, saying that the number of tourists was too high. From Spring 2026, tourists visiting the town will be charged €17.50 (around £15).
The council plans to use the money for windmill maintenance and new infrastructure.
Village museum director Marieke Verweij said: BBC last year: “We had 1.7 million visitors in 2017… this year we’re heading towards 2.8 million. But it’s a small place! We don’t have room for that many people!”
Many tourists say “people live here, they go into their gardens, they go into their houses, they urinate in their yards, they knock on doors, they take pictures, they use selfie sticks to look inside houses. So there’s no privacy.”
Although the fee may seem high, it includes entrance to the museum and one of the windmills. If half the normal number of visitors decide to go to the city and pay the fee, then around €24.5 million (about £21 million) will be raised.
However, not everyone supports this move. Some local retailers, such as gift shops and cheese shops, criticized the new charge.
These shops, where workers wear traditional clothes and show visitors how to make Dutch clogs, are very interesting for tourists.
Sterre Schaap, who manages the souvenir shop, said: “This is very bad. It will mean that people without a big wallet will not be able to come here.”
Similar accusations were brought in many parts of Europe, including Venice. Tourists visiting this iconic Italian city now have to pay €5 (£4.35) at peak times.
A fee of €2 (£1.74) was also introduced for the Trevi Fountain in Rome; visitors will have to pay if they want to take a closer look.
