The bright lights and clattering entertainment of Brighton Pier will soon have a price. From May 25, the seaside landmark will charge a £1 entry fee. These will help tackle maintenance costs, which owners say have risen by a third in the past five years. Built at the end of the Victorian period, the attraction has long been the main place for day trippers to find fish and chips and fairground rides, but - at least for now - its future depends on ticket revenue.
It's a small fee, but one that feels like a big change for the attraction. And there are similar cases in the UK and beyond, from the white sands of Sardinia to Hagia Sophia. Here are some of the other places that have charged entrance fees in recent years.
Mount Fuji
Overtourism in Japan has reached a crisis point this year, prompting drastic measures. Kyoto has introduced measures to prevent visitors from harassing geisha, while a popular lake town has erected a barrier to prevent tourists from taking photos of Mount Fuji. It is on this mountain that the problems with crowds have reached a peak. To limit visitor numbers, climbing it - for the first time ever - now costs 2,000 yen (or about £10). The fee, payable online, allows access beyond the entrance to the popular Yoshida Trail. According to officials, the proceeds will be used to cover maintenance costs and disaster response services.
As annoying as it is to pay to enter a natural monument, there is precedent. About a quarter of national parks in the US charge entrance fees, ranging from $10 (£8) per person to $35 (£28) per vehicle - again to maintain the infrastructure that makes visits possible.
The Pantheon
The Pantheon is one of Italy's most visited attractions, functioning as both a Roman temple and a Catholic church during its 2,000-year history. Now tourists have to pay €5 (£4.30) to enter (with some exceptions, such as for residents and children). The levy is part of the Italian government's broader plan to increase revenue from tourist attractions.
The Ministry of Tourism will reportedly receive around 70 percent of the profits from the measure to preserve this and other old buildings across the country. It doesn't seem to discourage visitors; in its first month the ticket price raised over €865,000 (£750,000).
Venice
Perhaps even more incendiary was the introduction of an entrance fee for the whole of Venice. The €5 (£4.30) ticket, which was widely followed and now much mocked, was met with protests on its first day. "No one has ever done this before," Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, told reporters before the experimental measures were introduced. "We are not closing the city, we are just trying to make it livable." For residents, however, the effort does not go far enough, and many feel its introduction will do little to stem the tide of 4.9 million tourists a year.
Hagia Sophia
One of the most spectacular buildings in Istanbul, Hagia Sophia - initially a church, then a mosque, then a museum and now a mosque again - has been a focal point for visitors to the city since its inception. Until this year the place of worship was free to enter, but now tourists must pay a €25 (£21) contribution to fund its conservation. The domed roof and gold mosaics remain beautiful, but it had become somewhat worn from 3.5 million visitors a year and years of poor maintenance.
The Turkish authorities have followed UNESCO's advice (Hagia Sophia is a World Heritage Site) and introduced new security measures, in addition to security cameras and communication systems, to modernize the tourist offer. For now, entrance fees do not seem to diminish the mosque's appeal.
Wells Cathedral
Paying to enter religious buildings always feels quite fraught, but the recently introduced entrance fees at Wells Cathedral in Somerset have been largely welcomed. As with Hagia Sophia and other major churches in Britain, visitors now have to pay an entrance fee (£14). Tickets include a guided tour of the ground floor, access to cathedral exhibitions and re-entry for a year. There are also exceptions: people living within the parish boundaries of the City of Wells, plus parishioners in the diocese, under-18s and carers can all enter for free. Those who wish to worship are also exempt from the fees. As with most new entrance fees, the measures come as maintenance costs - currently £4,500 per day - continue to rise.
The beaches of Sardinia
Sardinia's beaches - all white sand and wide horizons - have long been overcrowded in the summer months. The Italian island's response has been to gradually take measures to reduce numbers: in some cases by limiting the number of holidaymakers who can visit the most popular spots such as Cala Coticcio and Cala Brigantina. At La Maddalena, only 60 people per day are allowed entry with a €3 (£2.60) ticket. For Pelosa Beach, tickets now cost €3.50 (£3), plus visitors are only allowed to bring mats for sunbathing, rather than beach towels, as the former holds less sand. And for the beaches where there are currently no entry fees, other rules include time limits of 90 minutes and fines of up to €3,500 (£3,000) for stealing sand.
Where could the next one be?
Authorities on the South Korean island of Jeju are reportedly considering a fee of 8,170 won (£4.75) to provide higher quality tourist facilities. The World Heritage Site was visited by almost 14 million people last year, and authorities estimate the fees could raise around 141 billion won (£82 million) annually to help with environmental sustainability. The idea was first mooted in 2012, but faced public backlash; Whether the authorities will succeed in implementing it this time remains to be seen.
Changes also come closer to home. Museums in Wales, which have long been free, may also have to charge ticket fees after the Arts Council's budget was cut. Between April and November last year, almost 260,000 people visited the National Museum in Cardiff, while almost half a million people went to St Fagans National Museum of History and paid no entry fee. But now top cultural institutions may have to put an end to this practice.
