Has Barcelona gone loco in its battle against tourists?
In a bid to mitigate the effects of overtourism, the Catalan city has hit on a novel idea: a bus route used by those heading to the magnificent Parc Güell has been deleted from visitor maps and apps – with instant results. But, says Paul Clements, that still leaves it with one big problem
There’s something about Parc Güell that makes locals go loco – or boig, as they prefer we say when in Catalonia. Barcelonans are rightly proud and protective of their green lung, a vast, forested wonderland on a ridge overlooking the city that’s full of mind-bending, mosaic-tiled design touches, all inspired by nature: a giant, snaking bench, a colonnade shaped to look like tree trunks, a grand flight of steps in the form of a salamander…
Kitted out in spectacular Catalan art nouveau by Antoni Gaudí, the renowned architect who gave art-loving Barcelona its most recognisable landmarks, Parc Güell has in recent years become a flashpoint for concerns about overtourism – and what exactly can be done to limit it.
Alarmed by the 40-acre public space having hit nine million visitors a year, wardens of the city’s second most-visited attraction have tried introducing increasingly draconian measures to limit that number and the damage they can do to a fragile and unimprovable Unesco world heritage site.
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