Bikinis banned in Barcelona streets
By Chloe Turgis, Yahoo! UK Travel
Heading to Rome and planning on visiting Vatican City and St Peter's Square? Then make sure that along with your camera and sun cream, you also pack a shawl, shirt and some long trousers - or face being banned.
The Catalan capital has introduced regulations making it illegal to expose too much skin in public, as part of an attempt to clean up the city's image.
Under the new law, anyone caught wearing a bikini or swimming trunks in the streets of Barcelona faces fines of between €120 ($213) and €300 ($533). People caught nude will have to pay between €300 ($533) and €500 ($888).
[See also: Things you're not allowed to wear abroad]
The local police force will be allowed to give fines on the spot to those unwilling to cover up. Wearing beachwear is, however, still allowed on the beach itself, its promenade and nearby streets.
The new rules follow a campaign from local residents who disapprove of tourists baring flesh on the streets of the city.
Assumpta Escarp, a Barcelona councillor who defended the ban, told The Times: "Some people who live here are bothered by tourists who go about wearing just a bikini in the street, or men with their shirts off. We have to maintain standards."
A report suggests the city also wants to change its reputation as a hotspot for stag and hen parties. According to The Telegraph, about half a million British visitors flew to the Spanish city last year, with many taking part in stag or hen dos.
The new measure follows another recent ban on the city's streets; it is now forbidden to drink from bottles or cans on the streets of the Catalan capital.
