Naked people ride the escalator and lie down in the park. Two young women pose naked on the steps of a famous monument for a fashion magazine. The pamphlet makes Barcelona look like a haven for nudists.

Two thousand such pamphlets were handed out in recent days by nudists wearing only a smile.

But publicity from the pamphlets, produced with government aid, forced the mayor on Monday to come out and say the city did not encourage people to "go nude in the street".

"If someone is walking the streets naked, the police will invite him to get dressed," a city spokesman said on Tuesday.