Seville, Spain, introduces an entrance fee to the main square

The Spanish city of Seville has decided to restrict the entrance of tourists to the central square of the city, Plaza de Espana.

As the mayor of the city, Jose Luis Sanz, explained on his page on the social network X, the Plaza de Espana will not be completely closed - residents of the city and the province will still be able to enter it without restrictions, but tourists will be able to get to the main square of the city for a fee.

"We will charge tourists a fee, as is done in most cities around the world. We can neither preserve our heritage nor guarantee the safety of the monument using the city council budget alone," he explained.

The mayor of Seville also posted a video showing what Plaza de España looks like now - with many street vendors right on the steps, as well as shabby walls, broken tiles and knocked out railings.

In addition to controlling the flow of tourists, this solution has another goal - to reduce the amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere, as the port of Barcelona is the most polluted in Europe.

As TravelWise wrote, Seville is among the top 5 places to visit in Spain in 2024.