A welcome sign (or gateway sign) is a

road sign Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduce ...

at the border of a jurisdiction or region that introduces or welcomes visitors to the city/county/state/province/prefecture/canton/region. Examples of welcome signs can be found near political borders, such as when entering a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, or

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

, and they are increasingly found in neighborhoods and private communities. In European countries under the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

, a welcome sign may be found at borders between countries. Its purpose is partly informational, to inform drivers where they are, and partly for

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

, as it affords an opportunity to advertise features within the region to people who are entering it. A welcome sign is a type of

town sign A town sign or city limit sign is a road sign placed at the side of the road or street at the boundary of the territory of a city, town, or village. Town signs may be placed for reading both by drivers entering the town and, in a different format, ...

—a sign placed at the entrance to and exit from a city, town, or village. In many jurisdictions, the format of town signs is standardized; in some, welcome signs may be distinct from the legally mandated town sign. A municipality's welcome sign may give its population or date of foundation, list twinned towns or services within the town, or depict the town's

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

, typical local products, or the

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

of sponsor organizations which maintain the sign (such as the local

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

Gallery

File:Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign.jpg ,

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is a Las Vegas landmark funded in May 1959 and erected soon after by Western Neon. The sign was designed by Betty Willis at the request of Ted Rogich, a local salesman, who sold it to Clark County, Nevada. ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, Nevada File:New York - JFK Airport Exterior 008 (14358629893).png, Welcome to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York File:Welcome to Moscow, Idaho.jpg , Welcome sign in

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

File:RosenbergWelcome.jpg , Welcome sign in

Rosenberg, Texas Rosenberg is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the Greater Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area and Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County. The population was 38,282 at the 2020 census, up from 30,61 ...

File:2016-03-23 08 00 16 "Welcome to Florida" sign along southbound Florida State Route 97 entering Escambia County, Florida from Atmore, Alabama.jpg, Welcome to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Image:WelcomeDCPennAve2.jpg ,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Image:Bienvenue à Chambéry.JPG ,

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chambér ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Image:KenovaWV sign.jpg ,

Kenova, West Virginia Kenova is a city in Wayne County, West Virginia, United States, situated at the confluence of the Ohio and Big Sandy Rivers. Located near a tristate border, the city's name is a portmanteau of Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia (Va). Founded in 1 ...

Image:PANNEAU ENTREE MELUN.jpg ,

Melun Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Ma ...

, France Image:WelcometoCollegeStation.JPG ,

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. ...

Image:Napa Valley welcome sign.jpg ,

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Image:Mission's welcome sign.JPG , Mission, Canada Image:Chillingham vill sign.JPG , Chillingham, Australia Image:2005-0623-VK-OgdenSign.jpg ,

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

"Maryland Welcomes You" road sign, c. October 1981.svg, Maryland welcome sign, c. 1980s File:Welcometomississippi i-20.jpg, The

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

welcome sign Image:Witacz1.jpg, Szydłowiec, Poland File:0904 Witacz Police ZPL.JPG,

Police, Poland Police are organizations established to maintain law and order. Police may also refer to: Police agencies National * Algerian police * Australian Federal Police (nationwide; see also various state-wise police forces) *Federal Police (Belgium) *Bo ...

File:Beregszasz_city_limit_sign_rovas_script.JPG, Bilingual entry signs in Beregszász / Berehove / Берегово (

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) - with

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

letters (for Ukrainian),

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and rovas letters (for Hungarian). File:RIAN_archive_1052479_Work_of_border_guards_on_Russian-Lithuanian_border_in_Ribachy_village,_Kaliningrad_region.jpg, Bilingual welcome sign in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

on Russian border,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. File:Taba_Border_Terminal_(Egypt).JPG, Bilingual welcome sign in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian-

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Taba Border Crossing The Taba Border Crossing also known as the Menachem Begin Crossing ( ar, معبر طابا, he, מעבר מנחם בגין formerly he, מעבר טאבה) is an international border crossing between Taba (Egypt), Taba, Egypt, and Eilat, Israel ...

, Egypt File:Welcome sign in Loburn New Zealand, 2013.jpg, Welcome sign in

Loburn Loburn is a rural community in North Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is located ten kilometres northwest of Rangiora and nearly 50 kilometres north of Christchurch. Loburn is a small community, with no shops. Local industr ...

, New Zealand. File:StBarths2.JPG,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, French and

welcome sign in Gustavia, France. File:AlaskaSign.jpg,

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

welcome sign File:YukonSign.jpg,

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

larger than life sign File:BritishColumbiaSign.jpg,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

sign along Klondike Highway, Canada File:Welcome sign on Farm Gunsteling, Namibia.jpg, Welcome sign on Farm ''Gunsteling'' in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, c. 2017 File:Méribel welcome sign.jpg,

Méribel Méribel () is a ski resort in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps. Méribel refers to three neighbouring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie department of France, near the town of Moûtiers (), called Méribel Centre, Méribel ...

welcome sign, placed between different areas of the linked ski resort

Les Trois Vallées Les Trois Vallées (; ''The Three Valleys'') is a ski region in the Tarentaise Valley in the Savoie department of Southeastern France, to the south of the town of Moûtiers, partly in Vanoise National Park. Since 1971, it has been possible to ...

References

External links

* {{commons category inline Signage Street furniture Tourism Traffic signs