La Salut Barcelona: Popular town in Spain for tourists visiting Park Güell removed off Google Maps to tackle overtourism

A rural Spanish town has been wiped off Google and Apple Maps after being inundated with tourists. Locals are celebrating the move after complaining for years about being unable to get home due to a bus always being packed.

The city council has arranged that the La Salut neighbourhood in Barcelona be removed. Residents had been complaining that they could not get home because the number 116 bus was always crammed with tourists visiting Antoni Gaudí’s Park Güell, the city’s second most popular attraction after the Sagrada Familia basilica.

César Sánchez, a local activist, told the Guardian: “We laughed at the idea at first. But we’re amazed that the measure has been so effective.”

Luz López, 75, told elDiario.es: “Before, the bus was so full even people with walking sticks couldn’t get on.” Over the years visitors have flocked to the area to see Park Güell with its cluster of mosaic-covered buildings, staircases and public squares designed like a fairytale village by renowned architect Antoni Gaudí. It is also famous for its tapas bars and seafood restaurants.

Albert Batlle, deputy mayor of security and coexistence, said that as well as improving mobility around Park Güell, the district in Catalonia needed to eliminate references to the No 116 on the internet.

He declined to say whether the council had asked for the route to be removed. A Google spokesman would only say they would not delete a bus route unless requested to do so by the local authority.