Barcelona City Council expands the restrictions on opening souvenir shops

The ban on opening new souvenir shops is being expanded around the Sagrada Família and the Sant Antoni neighbourhood, as well as in the areas around Camp Nou, Park Güell and Casa Vicens.  Barcelona City Council’s plenary session definitively approved modifications to the “Special plan for the management of commercial establishments dedicated to the sale of souvenirs in Barcelona”.

This measure aims to update regulations that already placed restrictions on opening this type of business in the district of Ciutat Vella and around Park Güell and the Sagrada Família. The council is keen to maintain a balance in the city's neighbourhoods and protect traditional commerce by restricting the presence of new souvenir shops, due to their impact on the urban landscape in certain areas of the city, which were starting to suffer the consequences of mass tourism.

The activities listed in the regulation include everything from the sale of typical souvenirs, shirts and caps to articles for the home and tableware, as well as jewellery and leather goods.

The plan aims to protect the commercial fabric of the city’s neighbourhoods and prevent this type of establishment from displacing traditional commerce, with all the inconvenience this brings to the quality of life of city residents.

Sagrada Família

The measure agreed by the City Council expands the ban to cover the whole of Avinguda Gaudí and six further blocks in the area delimited by Passeig de San Joan, Avinguda Diagonal, Carrer Nàpols and Carrer Rosselló. In total, 15 blocks have been added to the restricted zone.

Sant Antoni

Faced with the growing pressure from tourism identified in the Sant Antoni neighbourhood, especially around the recently renovated market, the agreement extends the current ban on opening souvenir shops in this area, introduced in 2017. The area is delimited by Carrer de Casanova, Ronda Sant Antoni, Avinguda del Paral·lel, Carrer de Calàbria and Carrer de Sepúlveda. It covers 23 Eixample blocks, including the market itself. 

Camp Nou

The attraction that Camp Nou has for visitors makes it necessary to enforce a ban on Travessera de Les Corts, leading to the stadium from the Les Corts metro station. This area is seeing more and more traffic from both pedestrians and public transport.

Park Güell

The forecasts of tourist pressure on Park Güell made by the districts of Gràcia and Horta Guinardó have also led to an expansion of the current ban on opening souvenir shops. In the case of Gràcia, this covers the typical routes from the metro stations up to the park entrance: Travessera de Dalt, Avinguda de Vallcarca, Passeig de la Mare de Déu del Coll and Carrer Santuari. In Horta-Guinardó, the delimited area is between Travessera de Dalt and Plaça Alfons X (Ronda Guinardó with Carrer Praga) and the modernist complex of Sant Pau and its surroundings.

Casa Vicens

The forecast of a large influx of visitors to Casa Vicens, designed by Gaudí, which opened to the public in November 2017, has led to the expansion of the special protection area , delimited by Carrer Gran de Gracia, Avinguda Príncipe d Asturias (on both the Gràcia and Sarrià-Sant Gervasi sides), and Rambla del Prat. These are the routes from the L3 Lesseps and Fontana metro stations and the Gràcia FGC train station.

New regulations on shops selling 20% souvenir stock

The plan also includes a change to the regulations on shops with up to 20% of their surface area  dedicated to souvenirs, in addition to their main products. As well as grouping these products in a section clearly separated from the other stock, the section must also be labelled and not visible from the street. Likewise, it is established that the shop windows of these stores should be used exclusively to display their main products, with the aim of avoiding the impact that displaying souvenirs usually has. Existing shops will have a period of three months  to adapt to the regulations,from the moment the plan enters into force.