Athens is trying to divert tourists from the road

Athens is not just about the Parthenon or the Plaka district that graces the Acropolis. But that is really where the waves of tourists are concentrated. Enough to revive the project to introduce travelers to the other face of the Greek capital, carried out by the Municipality of Athens in collaboration with the Greek Ministry of Tourism and this time with the help of Google tools. Thanks to the website Athens.withgoogle.com, which is currently only available in English, it is possible to be guided by voice commentary. More sophisticated than a healthy stroll, the website takes advantage of immersing users in the daily life of Athenians. So, in Omonia Square we can hear the shouts of joy of the Greeks who gathered to celebrate the victory of their national team in the 2004 European Championship, the food trade auction in the Kypseli district or, again, the graffiti artist guiding us. in his street art pieces.

An immersive trip that fully engages the locals, according to Athens Mayor Kostas Bakogyannis. The capital has welcomed nearly 7 million visitors this summer, almost as many as the country’s population. But for the tourists to be satisfied, the locals must be satisfied. After years of economic crisis, where Athens was shunned by large demonstrations, today life has changed and Athenians want to show their way of life; “.

free WIFI

Therefore, seven courses should be studied through the website, ” especially since wifi is free in several regions of the capital adds the mayor, realizing that the functioning of this city, where almost half of the country’s population lives, must be improved; emphasizing greener measures such as avoiding car use”. Thus, this safari will be a unique opportunity to discover ” a living museum city for Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias.

For his part, Steve Vranakis, CEO of Google Europe, Middle East and Africa Creative Lab, believes that there is: an emotionally charged experience “. This Greek-Canadian wanted to share his childhood memories, specifically when he went on vacation to Greece and that ” even the flight of pigeons amazed me. I am attached to this city, and visitors will inevitably be moved by this light, winter and summer, as they walk through the less touristy neighborhoods. It is a modern city, in constant evolution, loaded with small real and living stories thanks to oral transmission. he emphasizes. He already opened a similar site in 2014, during a night visit to Marseille. The site has become an app that has generated more than 40 million impressions on social networks and even received two awards, such as the Cannes Cyber ​​​​Lion. ” This time the tools are even more sophisticated and we’ve taken the time to excel with them to make the traveler as informed as possible. “He welcomes, assuring that the French version is under preparation.