Acropolis now: crisis as soaring visitor numbers overwhelm Greek treasure

[robinjojo]

On the tourism front, the latest from Athens:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/09/acropolis-greek-tourists-cruise-ships-athens-controls

 

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Amazing increase in the number of visitors. I imagine giant cruise ships also visiting the Greek islands are to blame. In Egypt they are hoping to have a good problem on their hands with the new Grand Egyptian Museum opening instead of the old quaint and colonial era Egyptian museum in Cairo. The country is still suffering from problems caused by hard line Sunnis and Islamists though especially in Upper Egypt and the Sinai.

Edited July 10 by Ancient Coin Hunter

[kirispupis]

I visited the Akropolis in April and even then it was packed. Here's a photo I took at the distance where you can see the crowds - which are far worse in the summertime.

IMHO they should limit entries further, similar to what they do for popular monuments in other countries.

 

Here are others I took. I compensated for the crowds by either visiting immediately when it opened or taking the photos from our hotel.

[robinjojo]

Venice, in the past, was plagued with issues connected to the huge ocean liners, which, in addition to bringing swarms of tourists also created wakes during their passage in and out of the city, along with their displacement, that damaged the lagoon.  Since 2021 those ships have been banned from the area, forcing the very large cruise ships to dock at nearby harbors.