If you live in the painted houses, you already know the rule: the streets of the historic centre are not for driving. The town hall’s ordinance for the centre turns them into a restricted-access zone. Vehicles go in through control points that can read number plates, only authorised vehicles are allowed, and even those may stay for no more than 30 minutes.
That is a good thing on an ordinary day. It is worth understanding on the day you are locked out.
Which streets are inside
The ordinance lists them: carrer Major, Fray Posidonio Mayor and its side street, the plaza de Castelar, the church square, María Amada, Pozo, Bigueta, Archivos, Traveseret, Vallet, San Benito, Trinidad, Costereta, Pal, Santa Marta, San José, San Cristóbal, San Pedro, San Telmo, and stretches of Arsenal.
The control points are three: the climb up to the plaza de Castelar (in and out), the corner of Arsenal and San Telmo (out only), and the corner of Avenida Dr. Esquerdo and the Paseo San Pedro (in only). Since June 2026 the bollards on calle Canalejas, just outside the walls, also open only for authorised and emergency vehicles.
What it means for the locksmith
Authorisation goes to residents, owners, guests of registered hotels and tourist flats, removals and building works. A locksmith answering a call is none of those, so the van stops outside the zone and the locksmith walks in with the tools. It adds a short walk to the journey, and it goes fastest when the walk starts from the right place.
So the useful information is not your postcode. It is:
- The street and the number, and whether the number is on a door at street level or up a flight of steps.
- The nearest square or landmark: the church, the plaza de Castelar, the Paseo San Pedro below.
- Which way you would walk in yourself. Residents usually know which entrance is shortest; say it.
- A WhatsApp location pin sent from the doorstep, not from the café where you realised the keys were gone.
Waiting in a narrow street
The old town is small and its streets are narrow, so you are rarely far from a bench or a bar. Stay where you said you would be, or send a new pin if you move. If you are inside and cannot get out, rather than outside and cannot get in, say so first: that changes the order of things.
If you were relying on someone with a car to bring a spare set, remember they face the same rule. A neighbour on foot may be quicker than a relative driving round to the one entrance that lets them in.
The doors behind the checkpoints
Doors in these streets are often old wooden doors with mortice locks, on houses that are part of a protected historic ensemble. Getting one open without damage is a different job from opening a modern armoured door, and so is repairing it afterwards. If the door has been sticking since a recent repaint, read the door sticks after the façade is repainted once you are back inside.
If an older relative lives on one of these streets, the access rules are worth planning around before anything happens: see an elderly parent living alone in the old town. And for how old doors and locks are handled in the walled town, see the old town locksmith service.