Athens partners up with Google to offer an AR experience of the city

The project aims to showcase the Greek capital as a living, breathing and evolving contemporary museum

Last week, Athens authorities partnered up with Google and launched for the launch of new initiative to promote the city as a tourism destination all year round. The initiative is called “Athens. The city is the museum” and it uses Augmented Reality (AR), helping travellers discover an in-depth look into the secrets of the Greek capital.

The project is part of a sustainable tourism development strategy between the Greek Ministry of Tourism and the tech giant from April 2022. It aims to create a collaborative working relationship between the government and tourism providers, fuelled by Google’s massive outreach and position Greece as a tourism destination all year round.

The intimate side of Athens

“Athens. The city is the museum” is an online experience available to everyone for free on athens.withgoogle.com or as an app. The idea behind the initiative is to present the Greek capital as a multi-faceted living museum – full of street art, music, architecture and diverse cuisine around every corner.

In the app, people can select different walking routes with pins showing locations of interest, similar to Google Maps. However, each stop links to audio content showcasing stories, interviews and audio installations, connected to the actual place.

The audio guide focuses on showcasing the Greek capital as an actual museum, with living and breathing exhibits talking about contemporary culture and art. Steve Vrankis, the Executive Director of Google Creative Lab in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, was quoted in an official statement explaining that Athens and the Athenians have a unique and unexplored side full of authentic and unfolding stories.

The Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, commented on the occasion: "Athens is not only its impressive antiquities and its wonderful museums. The whole city is a unique, living, open, interactive, huge museum that offers hundreds of "scenes", "exhibits" and experiences to its visitors all year round. This is Athens, the official city guide, brings together all the "tools" that help visitors and all of us, to see, taste, experience the city through unique, real and meaningful experiences.”