A welcome sign (or gateway sign) is a road sign 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 state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers 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 o ...

, 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, 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 wo ...

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, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquarter ...

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 Veg ...

, 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 Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area and Fort Bend County. The population was 38,282 at the 2020 census, up from 30,618 at the 2010 census. The community hol ...

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 ...

Image:WelcomeDCPennAve2.jpg , Washington, D.C. 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 Chamb ...

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 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 state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

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 Szydłowiec (; Hebrew: שידלוביץ, Yiddish: שידלאָווצע; German: ''Schiedlowietz'') is a town in Szydłowiec County, Mazovian Voivodeship, south-central Poland, with 5,243 inhabitants (December 31, 2005). It is the seat of Gmin ...

, Poland File:0904 Witacz Police ZPL.JPG, Police, Poland 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 inva ...

) - with

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking co ...

letters (for Ukrainian),

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

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 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 ...

on Russian border,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

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

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

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, and Eilat, Israel History O ...

, Egypt File:Welcome sign in Loburn New Zealand, 2013.jpg, Welcome sign in Loburn, New Zealand. File:StBarths2.JPG, Swedish,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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 ...

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, for ...

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

References

External links

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