Life in Spain’s most liveable city

The third place.

A shopkeeper was once asked if the pedestrianisation of Pontevedra’s historic centre would affect business. “Well, I’ve never had a car come in to buy a book,” he said. A little over twenty years later, the plan to put its people before vehicles has propelled Pontevedra — 30 kilometres north of Vigo — to case study status. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo described the project as “visionary.”