The sight of so many people queuing at the Acropolis ticket box office calls to mind images of the pre-pandemic years. Tourists are returning to Athens, Plaka, Monastiraki and the city’s monuments and museums in droves. With them come the challenges of mass tourism and the proper management of urban spaces that appeal to everyone.

Indicatively, in the first four months of 2019, 178,702 people visited the Ancient Agora. The number in the same period this year amounted to 125,082 people. Visitors to Hadrian’s Library in 2019 were 67,996, versus 41,392 people in the same period this year.

In the first four months of 2019, the Acropolis was visited by 742,220 visitors, compared to 466,324 people in the same period this year.

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.