Last verified: October 20, 2026. Every rate on this page was re-read on the DGFiP’s official tourist-tax register and the city rate sheets on October 18, 2026, and the budget bill’s progress at the Assemblée nationale on October 20. French ceilings move every January 1 by law, and the 2027 budget bill is still in Parliament, so I re-check this page monthly and log every change below.
Change log
- October 20, 2026. No vote on PLF 2027 Article 42 yet. The Assemblée nationale paused the budget’s first part after its October 19 sitting, with the debate at Article 41, and turned to the social security budget. The first-part debate resumes on October 27, and the vote on the whole first part is now set for November 3. The Paris surcharges and your total are unchanged.
- October 18, 2026. Page rebuilt as a city-by-city tracker. 2026 rates re-verified for seven cities on the DGFiP register. The 2027 national ceilings are published and unchanged. PLF 2027 Article 42 (the Île-de-France surcharge split moving from 200/15 to 145/70, same total) is in first reading at the Assemblée nationale; the vote scheduled for October 20 is pending. Marseille’s council has voted a 2027 grid at the national ceilings (palace €5.76 to €7.06). The Europe comparison now rests on municipal and national sources. Two corrections: the 200% Île-de-France Mobilités surcharge dates from January 1, 2024, not 2025, and under-18s have been exempt for years, not “since April 2025”.
- January 1, 2026. National ceilings revalued by 1.8% (the 2024 inflation figure excluding tobacco). The palace ceiling moved from €4.80 to €4.90, which took the Paris palace band to €15.93 a night. Lyon, Bordeaux and Strasbourg, which charge the ceiling, moved with it.
- January 1, 2024. A 200% surcharge for Île-de-France Mobilités was added to every tourist-tax bill in the Paris region by the 2024 budget law, on top of the 15% Grand Paris surcharge that dates from 2019.
France tourist tax in 2026 runs from €0.22 per person per night at a basic Lyon campsite to €15.93 in a Paris palace, and the number on your bill depends on three things: the city, the accommodation’s star rating, and which regional surcharges that city carries (DGFiP tourist-tax register, 2026). Paris is the outlier. Everywhere else, a 4-star room costs €2.75 to €3.74 a night in tax; in Paris it costs €8.45.
I rebuilt this page as a tracker because the old version only answered the Paris question properly. Below you get every band for seven cities, each with its own section so you can jump straight to Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux, Strasbourg or Corsica, the legal mechanism that moves the rates each January, who is exempt, and what the 2027 budget bill does and does not change.
Disclosure: Some links in this guide may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend.
Disclosure: Some links in this guide may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend.
Key Takeaways
- France tourist tax in 2026 ranges from €0.22 a night (Lyon, 1 to 2-star campsite) to €15.93 (Paris, palace); a 4-star room is €8.45 in Paris and €2.75 to €3.74 in the other six cities tracked here (DGFiP register, 2026).
- Paris is expensive because of two Île-de-France surcharges, 15% for the Grand Paris rail builder and 200% for Île-de-France Mobilités, that no other region has. Nice, Marseille and Bordeaux add 34% for their new rail lines; Lyon, Strasbourg and Ajaccio add only the 10% departmental tax.
- Under-18s are exempt everywhere in France, and there is no monthly cap: a 30-night stay pays 30 nights.
- The 2027 ceilings are already published and unchanged, because 2025 inflation was only 0.9%. Marseille is the only tracked city with a voted 2027 rise (palace €5.76 to €7.06). The 2027 budget bill reshuffles the Paris surcharges between two public bodies without changing the traveller’s total; the Assemblée has not voted on it yet, and its vote on the budget’s first part is now set for November 3.
- What Is France’s Tourist Tax, and How Is It Set?
- France Tourist Tax by City: 2026 Rates at a Glance
- Paris City Tax Rates
- Lyon City Tax Rates
- Marseille City Tax Rates
- Nice City Tax Rates
- Bordeaux City Tax Rates
- Strasbourg City Tax Rates
- Corsica City Tax Rates: Ajaccio
- Who Is Exempt, and Is There a Cap?
- What Changes in 2027?
- How France Compares With Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome and Lisbon
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Bottom Line
Table of Contents
What Is France’s Tourist Tax, and How Is It Set?
France tourist tax, the taxe de séjour, is a per-person, per-night charge that the hotel, host, campsite or booking platform collects and passes to the commune. Anyone who is not a resident of that commune pays it, and it shows up as a separate line at checkout rather than inside the room rate (service-public.fr, taxe de séjour, 2026).
Each commune or metropolitan council votes its own rate per accommodation category, inside a national floor and ceiling fixed by article L. 2333-30 of the local government code. The 2026 ceilings, published by the Direction générale des collectivités locales, are the figures below, and a city such as Paris, Lyon or Bordeaux simply charges the ceiling in every band (DGCL, barème 2026, 2026).
| Category | 2026 floor | 2026 ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| Palace | €0.70 | €4.90 |
| 5-star hotel, résidence or furnished rental | €0.70 | €3.60 |
| 4-star | €0.70 | €2.60 |
| 3-star | €0.50 | €1.70 |
| 2-star, 4 and 5-star holiday villages | €0.30 | €1.00 |
| 1-star, chambres d’hôtes, hostels, 1 to 3-star holiday villages | €0.20 | €0.80 |
| Campsites 3 to 5-star, motorhome pitches | €0.20 | €0.60 |
| Campsites 1 to 2-star, marinas | €0.20 | €0.20 |
| Unclassified or awaiting classification | 1% of the price per person | 5%, capped at the city’s highest band |
The ceilings are not frozen. The same article revalues them every January 1 by the inflation rate, excluding tobacco, of the year before last, rounded to the nearest 10 cents. For 2026 that meant the 2024 figure, +1.8% (INSEE, Informations Rapides n° 6, 2025), which lifted the palace ceiling from €4.80 to €4.90. There is no annual decree: the increase is automatic by law, and communes that charge the ceiling inherit it without voting.
On top of the base rate sit the additional taxes, and this is where cities diverge. A 10% departmental tax applies wherever the département has voted it. Five regional surcharges fund rail projects: 15% for the Société des grands projets and 200% for Île-de-France Mobilités in the Paris region, and 34% each for the new Provence Côte d’Azur line, the Grand Projet du Sud-Ouest around Bordeaux and the Montpellier to Perpignan line (DGCL, 2026). Every figure in this tracker is the net amount with those surcharges included.
Unclassified accommodation, which covers most Airbnb-style rentals without a star rating, is taxed differently: 1% to 5% of the price per person per night before VAT, plus the same surcharges, capped at the city’s highest classified band. Paris, Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux, Strasbourg and Ajaccio all use 5%; Marseille uses 4%. The per-person price is the room price divided by everyone in the room, children included, so a €200 Paris apartment for four is taxed on €50 a head (Ville de Paris, 2026 rate sheet, 2026).
For the full trip-planning picture, see my complete France travel guide.
France Tourist Tax by City: 2026 Rates at a Glance
Here is the whole France tourist tax picture for 2026 in one table: the amount a traveller actually pays per person per night, surcharges included, in the seven cities this page tracks. Each figure comes from the city’s own deliberation as published on the DGFiP register (linked in each city section below), with the statutory surcharges added on top.
| Category | Paris | Lyon | Marseille | Nice | Bordeaux | Strasbourg | Ajaccio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palace | €15.93 | €5.39 | €5.76 | €6.43 | €7.06 | €5.39 | €5.06 |
| 5-star | €11.70 | €3.96 | €4.32 | €4.69 | €5.18 | €3.96 | €3.63 |
| 4-star | €8.45 | €2.86 | €3.25 | €3.48 | €3.74 | €2.86 | €2.75 |
| 3-star | €5.53 | €1.87 | €2.16 | €2.28 | €2.45 | €1.87 | €1.76 |
| 2-star | €3.25 | €1.10 | €1.30 | €1.34 | €1.44 | €1.10 | €1.10 |
| 1-star, B&B, hostel | €2.60 | €0.88 | €1.09 | €1.07 | €1.15 | €0.88 | €0.88 |
| Campsite 3 to 5-star | €1.95 | €0.66 | €0.80 | €0.80 | €0.86 | €0.66 | €0.66 |
| Campsite 1 to 2-star | €0.65 | €0.22 | €0.29 | €0.27 | €0.29 | €0.22 | €0.22 |
| Unclassified rental | 5%, max €15.93 | 5%, max €5.39 | 4%, max €5.76 | 5%, max €6.43 | 5%, max €7.06 | 5%, max €5.39 | 5%, max €5.06 |
| Surcharges on the base | +10% +15% +200% | +10% | +10% +34% | +34% | +10% +34% | +10% | +10% |
Classified furnished rentals and résidences de tourisme pay the same as a hotel of the same star rating, and a chambre d’hôtes pays the 1-star band everywhere. The gap between the cities is almost entirely the surcharge column: Lyon, Strasbourg and Ajaccio add only the 10% departmental tax, Nice adds 34% and nothing else, Marseille and Bordeaux stack 10% and 34%, and Paris stacks three.
For everything else you need before you land, my France entry requirements guide covers the passport, EES and ETIAS rules.
Paris City Tax Rates
Paris city tax in 2026 is €15.93 per person per night in a palace, €11.70 in a 5-star, €8.45 in a 4-star and €5.53 in a 3-star, with every category rising on January 1 when the ceilings were revalued (Ville de Paris, 2026 rate sheet, 2026). Read each total as four stacked lines, not one tax: the municipal base, the 10% departmental tax, the 15% regional surcharge for the Société des grands projets (the Grand Paris Express builder) and the 200% surcharge for Île-de-France Mobilités. Paris charges the national ceiling as its base in every band.
| Category | Base | +10% dept. | +15% Grand Paris | +200% IDF Mobilités | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palace | €4.90 | €0.49 | €0.74 | €9.80 | €15.93 |
| 5-star | €3.60 | €0.36 | €0.54 | €7.20 | €11.70 |
| 4-star | €2.60 | €0.26 | €0.39 | €5.20 | €8.45 |
| 3-star | €1.70 | €0.17 | €0.26 | €3.40 | €5.53 |
| 2-star | €1.00 | €0.10 | €0.15 | €2.00 | €3.25 |
| 1-star, B&B, hostel | €0.80 | €0.08 | €0.12 | €1.60 | €2.60 |
| Campsite 3 to 5-star | €0.60 | €0.06 | €0.09 | €1.20 | €1.95 |
| Campsite 1 to 2-star | €0.20 | €0.02 | €0.03 | €0.40 | €0.65 |
| Unclassified rental | 5% of the price per person | +10% | +15% | +200% | capped at €15.93 |
The 200% line is the one that makes Paris look expensive, and it is younger than most guides suggest. The 2024 budget law created it, codified at article L. 2531-18 of the local government code, and it has applied since January 1, 2024, under a 2023 financing protocol between the State and Île-de-France Mobilités that runs to 2031 (Sénat, written question 00766, answer of April 3, 2025).
The 15% line is older, created in 2019 for the Grand Paris Express. Both apply across the whole Île-de-France region, not just inside the périphérique, so a hotel in Versailles or near Disneyland carries them too (DGFiP register, Ville de Paris, deliberation of June 3, 2025).
On a real trip it adds up: two adults for seven nights in a 3-star pay €77.42 in tax, €118.30 in a 4-star and €223.02 in a palace, by my arithmetic from the rate sheet. I have watched a booking total jump at the final screen more than once because the search results never showed the tax. Fold it into the room rate when you compare where to stay in Paris, and if you are renting an apartment, the Paris rental rules explain why the registration number on the listing matters as much as the price.
Lyon City Tax Rates
Lyon city tax in 2026 is €5.39 per person per night in a palace, €3.96 in a 5-star, €2.86 in a 4-star and €1.87 in a 3-star. The Métropole de Lyon charges the national ceiling in every band and the Rhône’s 10% departmental tax is the only surcharge, so every figure is simply the ceiling plus a tenth (DGFiP register, Lyon, deliberation of June 23, 2025; Métropole de Lyon, 2026 rate sheet).
| Category | Base | +10% dept. | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palace | €4.90 | €0.49 | €5.39 |
| 5-star | €3.60 | €0.36 | €3.96 |
| 4-star | €2.60 | €0.26 | €2.86 |
| 3-star | €1.70 | €0.17 | €1.87 |
| 2-star | €1.00 | €0.10 | €1.10 |
| 1-star, B&B, hostel | €0.80 | €0.08 | €0.88 |
| Campsite 3 to 5-star | €0.60 | €0.06 | €0.66 |
| Campsite 1 to 2-star | €0.20 | €0.02 | €0.22 |
| Unclassified rental | 5% of the price per person | +10% | capped at €5.39 |
Lyon is the cheapest big-city tax bill in France at the top end: a week in a 4-star costs a couple €40.04 in tax, against €118.30 in Paris. If Lyon is on your shortlist, my comparison of what a Lyon stay costs beyond the tax prices it against Bordeaux.
Marseille City Tax Rates
Marseille city tax in 2026 is €5.76 per person per night in a palace, €4.32 in a 5-star, €3.25 in a 4-star and €2.16 in a 3-star. Marseille’s own rates are below the national ceiling (its palace base is €4.00, not €4.90) and have not been re-voted since a 2018 deliberation, but two surcharges sit on top: the Bouches-du-Rhône’s 10% and the 34% regional surcharge for the new Provence Côte d’Azur rail line (DGFiP register, Marseille, 2026).
| Category | Base | +10% dept. | +34% rail line | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palace | €4.00 | €0.40 | €1.36 | €5.76 |
| 5-star | €3.00 | €0.30 | €1.02 | €4.32 |
| 4-star | €2.25 | €0.23 | €0.77 | €3.25 |
| 3-star | €1.50 | €0.15 | €0.51 | €2.16 |
| 2-star | €0.90 | €0.09 | €0.31 | €1.30 |
| 1-star, B&B, hostel | €0.75 | €0.08 | €0.26 | €1.09 |
| Campsite 3 to 5-star | €0.55 | €0.06 | €0.19 | €0.80 |
| Campsite 1 to 2-star | €0.20 | €0.02 | €0.07 | €0.29 |
| Unclassified rental | 4% of the price per person | +10% | +34% | capped at €5.76 |
Marseille is also the only city here that taxes unclassified rentals at 4% rather than 5%, and the only one with a confirmed increase for 2027. A council deliberation of June 26, 2026 lifts every base to the national ceiling from January 1, 2027, so a palace night becomes €7.06, a 5-star €5.18, a 4-star €3.74 and a 3-star €2.45, level with Bordeaux, and unclassified rentals move to 5% (Ville de Marseille, 2027 rate sheet, 2026). The city’s own tourist-tax portal already shows the 2027 grid, so check the year on any sheet you read. The rest of the trip is priced in my Marseille travel guide.
Nice City Tax Rates
Nice city tax in 2026 is €6.43 per person per night in a palace, €4.69 in a 5-star, €3.48 in a 4-star and €2.28 in a 3-star. The Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur sets a €4.80 palace base and €3.50 for 5-star, slightly under the national ceiling, and adds the 34% Provence Côte d’Azur rail surcharge. Unlike Marseille, the Alpes-Maritimes does not levy the 10% departmental tax, so 34% is the only addition (DGFiP register, Nice, deliberation of July 10, 2024).
| Category | Base | +34% rail line | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palace | €4.80 | €1.63 | €6.43 |
| 5-star | €3.50 | €1.19 | €4.69 |
| 4-star | €2.60 | €0.88 | €3.48 |
| 3-star | €1.70 | €0.58 | €2.28 |
| 2-star | €1.00 | €0.34 | €1.34 |
| 1-star, B&B, hostel | €0.80 | €0.27 | €1.07 |
| Campsite 3 to 5-star | €0.60 | €0.20 | €0.80 |
| Campsite 1 to 2-star | €0.20 | €0.07 | €0.27 |
| Unclassified rental | 5% of the price per person | +34% | capped at €6.43 |
Nice’s table dates from a July 2024 deliberation, so its 2026 palace and 5-star bases still sit at the 2025 ceilings, and the Métropole’s tourist-tax portal states that 2027 rates stay identical (Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur, 2026 rate sheet, 2026). That is why the Riviera’s top band (€6.43) beats Marseille’s (€5.76) in 2026 but trails Bordeaux’s (€7.06), and why Marseille overtakes it in 2027. For the choice between Nice and its neighbours, see my Nice travel guide.
Bordeaux City Tax Rates
Bordeaux city tax in 2026 is €7.06 per person per night in a palace, €5.18 in a 5-star, €3.74 in a 4-star and €2.45 in a 3-star, which makes it the most expensive city outside Paris. Bordeaux Métropole charges the national ceiling in every band, the Gironde adds 10%, and a 34% regional surcharge funds the Grand Projet du Sud-Ouest, the new high-speed line towards Toulouse and Dax (DGFiP register, Bordeaux, deliberation of June 6, 2025).
| Category | Base | +10% dept. | +34% rail line | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palace | €4.90 | €0.49 | €1.67 | €7.06 |
| 5-star | €3.60 | €0.36 | €1.22 | €5.18 |
| 4-star | €2.60 | €0.26 | €0.88 | €3.74 |
| 3-star | €1.70 | €0.17 | €0.58 | €2.45 |
| 2-star | €1.00 | €0.10 | €0.34 | €1.44 |
| 1-star, B&B, hostel | €0.80 | €0.08 | €0.27 | €1.15 |
| Campsite 3 to 5-star | €0.60 | €0.06 | €0.20 | €0.86 |
| Campsite 1 to 2-star | €0.20 | €0.02 | €0.07 | €0.29 |
| Unclassified rental | 5% of the price per person | +10% | +34% | capped at €7.06 |
Few travellers expect Bordeaux to out-tax Nice, but the two 34% rail surcharges (Sud-Ouest and Provence Côte d’Azur) explain it: Bordeaux stacks the departmental tenth on top, Nice does not. Bordeaux Métropole also sets a €30 minimum nightly rent below which the tax is waived, the highest floor of the seven cities.
Strasbourg City Tax Rates
Strasbourg city tax in 2026 is €5.39 per person per night in a palace, €3.96 in a 5-star, €2.86 in a 4-star and €1.87 in a 3-star, identical to Lyon. The Eurométropole de Strasbourg charges the national ceiling and the Collectivité européenne d’Alsace adds the 10% departmental tax; there is no regional rail surcharge in the Grand Est (DGFiP register, Strasbourg, deliberation of June 27, 2025).
| Category | Base | +10% dept. | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palace | €4.90 | €0.49 | €5.39 |
| 5-star | €3.60 | €0.36 | €3.96 |
| 4-star | €2.60 | €0.26 | €2.86 |
| 3-star | €1.70 | €0.17 | €1.87 |
| 2-star | €1.00 | €0.10 | €1.10 |
| 1-star, B&B, hostel | €0.80 | €0.08 | €0.88 |
| Campsite 3 to 5-star | €0.60 | €0.06 | €0.66 |
| Campsite 1 to 2-star | €0.20 | €0.02 | €0.22 |
| Unclassified rental | 5% of the price per person | +10% | capped at €5.39 |
The rate applies all year, so a December room during the Alsace Christmas markets carries the same €2.86 a night in a 4-star as a quiet March one; it is the room rate, not the tax, that triples.
Corsica City Tax Rates: Ajaccio
Ajaccio’s tourist tax in 2026 is €5.06 per person per night in a palace, €3.63 in a 5-star, €2.75 in a 4-star and €1.76 in a 3-star. The Communauté d’agglomération du Pays Ajaccien set its bases in June 2023, a little under today’s ceilings (palace €4.60, 5-star €3.30, 4-star €2.50), and the Collectivité de Corse levies the 10% departmental tax on top (DGFiP register, Ajaccio, deliberation of June 22, 2023).
| Category | Base | +10% dept. | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palace | €4.60 | €0.46 | €5.06 |
| 5-star | €3.30 | €0.33 | €3.63 |
| 4-star | €2.50 | €0.25 | €2.75 |
| 3-star | €1.60 | €0.16 | €1.76 |
| 2-star | €1.00 | €0.10 | €1.10 |
| 1-star, B&B, hostel | €0.80 | €0.08 | €0.88 |
| Campsite 3 to 5-star | €0.60 | €0.06 | €0.66 |
| Campsite 1 to 2-star | €0.20 | €0.02 | €0.22 |
| Unclassified rental | 5% of the price per person | +10% | capped at €5.06 |
Corsica has no regional rail surcharge, so Ajaccio is the cheapest of the seven cities above the 2-star band. Rates elsewhere on the island are set commune by commune (Porto-Vecchio, Bonifacio and Calvi each vote their own), and the DGFiP register linked above is the place to check the exact village before you book a gîte or campsite there.
Who Is Exempt, and Is There a Cap?
Four groups are exempt from France tourist tax everywhere in the country: children under 18, seasonal workers employed in the commune, people in emergency or temporary housing, and anyone whose rent falls under a minimum the council has set (service-public.fr, 2026). The under-18 rule is the one that changes a family budget: a couple with two teenagers in a Paris 4-star pays €16.90 a night, not €33.80.
That minimum-rent exemption is real but rarely bites. Bordeaux Métropole waives the tax below €30 a night, Nice below €23, Lyon and Strasbourg below €1, so it only ever covers near-free stays.
There is no monthly cap. The tax is charged per person for every night of the stay, and the only ceilings in the law are the maximum nightly rates per category listed above. For slow travellers and digital nomads the lever is the category you book, not the length of the stay: thirty nights in a classified Paris 2-star costs €97.50 a person in tax, thirty nights in an unclassified apartment at €60 a head costs about €292.
Can you avoid it by booking a certain way? Not really. Airbnb alone collected and passed on more than €210 million in tourist tax to over 26,600 French communes in 2025, €5.6 million of it to Nice, €3.2 million to Marseille and €2.2 million to Lyon (Airbnb newsroom, April 2026). Whatever you book, budget for the line item, and fold it into your full France trip budget before you commit.
What Changes in 2027?
Two things decide 2027 rates: the automatic ceiling revaluation, which is already settled, and the 2027 budget bill, which is not.
The revaluation is settled because it uses the year-before-last’s inflation. INSEE put 2025 consumer prices excluding tobacco at +0.9% on an annual average (INSEE, Informations Rapides n° 8, January 15, 2026), and at that rate no ceiling clears the law’s 5-cent rounding threshold: €4.90 times 1.009 is €4.94, which rounds back to €4.90.
The DGCL has published the 2027 schedule and every floor and ceiling is identical to 2026 (DGCL, barème 2027, 2026). Cities that already charge the ceiling (Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg) therefore keep the same base in 2027. The one city on this page that did vote a change before the July 1, 2026 deadline is Marseille, whose bases rise to the ceiling (palace €7.06, 4-star €3.74 net); Nice has said its 2027 rates stay identical, and Ajaccio’s 2023 bases stand until its council re-votes.
The budget bill is the open question. Article 42 of the projet de loi de finances pour 2027, tabled on October 1, 2026, rebalances the two Île-de-France surcharges: the Île-de-France Mobilités share would drop from 200% to 145% and the Société des grands projets share would rise from 15% to 70%, by rewriting articles L. 2531-17 and L. 2531-18 of the local government code (Assemblée nationale, projet de loi n° 3210, 2026). The sum stays 215%, so the traveller’s total does not move by a cent.
What moves is about €90 million a year from the transport authority to the Grand Paris Express builder, whose surcharge yield would reach €114.8 million in 2027 (Hospitality ON, October 7, 2026).
Where it stands as of October 20, 2026, and this is the part I will keep updating: the finance committee rejected the revenue half of the bill on October 9, so the Assemblée is debating the government’s original text, and amendments to delete the transfer have been tabled, including one from the Droite républicaine group citing the 2023 protocol that promised Île-de-France Mobilités the full 200% to 2031 (Assemblée nationale, PLF 2027 dossier, 2026).
The floor debate on the first part opened on October 13 and had reached Article 41 when it paused after the October 19 sitting, so Article 42 itself has not been voted. The October 20 vote I flagged did not happen: the Assemblée turned to the social security budget that day, resumes the first part from October 27 to November 2, and votes on the whole first part on November 3 (Assemblée nationale, 2026). The text then goes to the Sénat; nothing applies before the law is promulgated at the end of December. If Article 42 fails, the 200/15 split simply continues. Either way, your Paris bill in 2027 is €8.45 a night in a 4-star.
Île-de-France Mobilités’ president has threatened to delay Grand Paris Express openings if the transfer is not compensated, which is a transport story rather than a traveller one, but it is the reason this clause may still change in the Sénat. I will log the outcome in the change log at the top of this page.
How France Compares With Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome and Lisbon
The fair comparison is one person, one night, in a 4-star hotel, because that is the only unit the five systems share. On that basis Paris sits near the top but not alone.
Amsterdam charges 12.5% of the room price before VAT, which on a €200 room is €25 a night or €12.50 a head for a couple (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2026 tax rates, 2026). Barcelona moved on April 1, 2026, when the Catalan tourist tax for a city 4-star doubled to €3.40 and the municipal surcharge rose from €4 to €5, giving €8.40 per person per night, with the surcharge due to climb to €6 in April 2027 (Agència Tributària de Catalunya, 2026).
Rome charges a flat €7.50 per person per night in a 4-star (€10 in a 5-star, €6 in a B&B), capped at ten consecutive nights, under a schedule in force since October 2023 (Roma Capitale, 2026). Lisbon is the cheapest of the group at €4 per guest per night in every category, capped at seven nights, doubled from €2 in September 2024 (Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, 2026).
Two structural differences matter more than the headline numbers. Paris and Amsterdam tax every night of a stay, while Barcelona and Lisbon stop after seven and Rome after ten, so on a two-week stay a Paris 4-star costs €118.30 a person against €58.80 in Barcelona and €28 in Lisbon. And child exemptions differ: France at 18, Barcelona at 17, Lisbon at 13, Rome at 10, Amsterdam none, because its tax is on the room rather than the person. So is Paris expensive by European standards? For a weekend, no. For a slow month, yes, and that is the version of the question most of my readers are asking.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the tourist tax in France in 2026?
France tourist tax runs from €0.22 per person per night at a 1 to 2-star Lyon campsite to €15.93 for a palace room in Paris, depending on the city and the accommodation’s star rating. A 4-star room is €8.45 in Paris, €3.74 in Bordeaux, €3.48 in Nice, €3.25 in Marseille, €2.86 in Lyon and Strasbourg and €2.75 in Ajaccio, surcharges included (DGFiP register, 2026).
Is the tourist tax included in my hotel or Airbnb price in France?
Usually it is shown as a separate line at checkout rather than folded into the nightly rate, and platforms collect it for the commune. Airbnb alone passed on more than €210 million to over 26,600 French communes in 2025 (Airbnb newsroom, 2026). Hotels must display the rate and print it on the invoice.
Are children exempt from France’s tourist tax?
Yes. Under-18s are exempt everywhere in France, in every category, along with seasonal workers employed in the commune, people in emergency housing and stays below a council-set minimum rent (service-public.fr, 2026). For an unclassified rental the room price is still divided by everyone in the room, children included, before the percentage is applied.
Is there a limit to how much tourist tax I can be charged?
No. The tax is charged per person for every night of the stay, with no weekly or monthly ceiling; the only limits are the maximum nightly rates per category fixed by law and the cap on unclassified rentals at the city’s highest band (service-public.fr, 2026). A two-month stay in a Paris palace pays €15.93 a night throughout, so book a lower category for long stays.
Will the Paris tourist tax go up in 2027?
Not from the law as it stands. The 2027 national ceilings are published and unchanged, because 2025 inflation excluding tobacco was 0.9% and the law rounds to 10 cents (DGCL, 2026). Article 42 of the 2027 budget bill reshuffles the Paris surcharges from 200/15 to 145/70 between two public bodies, but the total stays 215%, so a 4-star night stays €8.45. The Assemblée has not voted on it yet; the vote on the first part of the budget is now set for November 3, before the Sénat reading. The one tracked city with a confirmed 2027 rise is Marseille, whose palace band goes from €5.76 to €7.06.
The Bottom Line
Budget for France tourist tax the way you would budget for a museum ticket: small per night, real over a week, and set by the city rather than the country. Paris tops out at €15.93 per person per night, Bordeaux at €7.06, Nice at €6.43, Marseille at €5.76, Lyon and Strasbourg at €5.39 and Ajaccio at €5.06. Kids under 18 stay free, there is no monthly cap, and the 2027 ceilings are already fixed at 2026 levels.
- Paris 2026 ceiling: €15.93 a night for a palace, €8.45 for a 4-star, three surcharges stacked on the base.
- Outside Paris a 4-star costs €2.75 to €3.74 in tax; Bordeaux, not Nice, is the dearest.
- Under-18s are exempt nationwide, and there is no monthly cap.
- 2027: ceilings unchanged, Marseille rises to Bordeaux’s level, and Article 42 moves money between two Paris bodies without touching your bill. No vote yet; the Assemblée votes on the first part on November 3.
France pulled in a record 102 million international visitors and €77.5 billion in tourism revenue in 2025 (Atout France, bilan touristique 2025, 2026), and every one of those travellers paid some version of this tax. Build it into your budget before you book, not after.
Planning the rest of the trip? Before you book anything else, it’s worth reading my complete France travel guide for the full trip-planning picture, checking what you need to enter France right now so the paperwork’s sorted before you land, and picking the month that keeps room rates down, since the tax is the one line that does not change with the season.
