Residents of one of London’s most photographed neighbourhoods have had enough with people using their homes as Instagram backdrops.
Notting Hill’s pastel-hued homes have an Instagram problem. Image by Sam Mellish / In Pictures via Getty
The sundae-style homes of Notting Hill in west London, all pistachio, raspberry and lemon-hues, are irresistible to Instagram users. If you search for the Notting Hill hashtag on Instagram, you’ll find a whopping 1.2 million posts. Most are selfies taken in front of homes but some appear to be full-on photoshoots. Leaning on fences, crouching on curbs or sitting on doorsteps, people have been winding residents up the wrong way with their intrusive behaviour in the search of the perfect snap.
One resident of 40 years told The Times, “it’s got worse and worse. They’re sitting on my doorstep. They’re quite rude sometimes, they make a noise.” While her neighbour complained that the area is becoming like “Disneyland” and said that she once discovered people having lunch on her doorstep.
Rue Crémieux in Paris wants the street closed off to visitors at nights and weekends. Image: Alain Kubacsi/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
This sort of intrusive and disruptive behaviour isn’t unique to Notting Hill. Just this April, residents of Rue Crémieux in Paris appealed to the city to close the street to non-residents on evenings and weekends. “It’s become hell,” the vice president of the street association told Franceinfo. “During the week it’s not bad because it’s just tourists and they are not too disruptive. But during the weekend, it’s 200 people outside our windows.”
Across the water, San Francisco’s famously crooked Lombard Street (which attracts two million visitors each year) is also suffering under the weight of its popularity and will soon introduce a $10 visitor toll to deter visitors from clogging the street. It’s another “Insta-famous” spot but locals are concerned that visitors forget it’s actually a residential street and not a tourist attraction.
Tourists may soon have to pay a toll to drive down world-famous Lombard St. Image by Shutterstock
Back in Britain, while tourists can’t be stopped from taking photos on public roads, they are asked to be less intrusive, respect private property and never impose on residents’ daily lives.
The post This colourful London neighbourhood doesn’t want to be on your Instagram appeared first on Lonely Planet Travel News.