Barcelona's Park Güell is one of the world's top tourist attractions.
According to National Geographic, Güell was the most searched park on Google Maps in 2023.
It was precisely on the basis of this high demand that Barcelona decided to - literally - turn the tables on tourists.
The bus that takes visitors to the park - located at one of the highest points in the city - has mysteriously disappeared from Google Maps.
This happened after the local authorities had promised measures to residents who complained that the buses were always full.
The "116", bound for the La Salut residential neighborhood and with a capacity of just 20 people, stops right outside Park Güell.
The small bus exists to transport residents - most of whom are elderly - to and from that steep area of the city, with limited access. However, tourism has distorted its function.
Since last Thursday, as La Vanguardia describes, most of the tourists who used the "116" to get to Güell have "magically disappeared " - coinciding with the day the bus disappeared from Google Maps.
Luz López, 75, told elDiario.es that she knew people who no longer waited for the bus, "because it was always full, so they walked".
Stephen Burgen
"It used to be so full that people couldn't catch it (...) sometimes we had to wait for the next one because there was never room," says the resident of the La Salut neighborhood.
Park Güell was the brainchild of Eusebi Güell, designed by Antoni Gaudí and built between 1900 and 1914 - precisely for residential rather than tourist purposes.
The park - with panoramic views of the city - was opened to the public in 1926 and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.
