Greece is rolling out a major digital upgrade aimed at transforming how visitors access its most famous cultural landmarks, including the world famous Acropolis. With millions of visitors every year, the Acropolis of Athens ranks among the planet's most crowded UNESCO World Heritage Sites. On Thursday, however, Greece's culture ministry revealed a brand new online platform called the Hellenic Heritage (hh.gr), which will centralise ticket bookings for more than 100 archaeological sites and museums across the country.

The system is designed to ease congestion, cut waiting times and modernise visitor access to Greece's archaeological sites, monuments, and museums. Set to go live in April, the portal will eventually provide information on more than 350 cultural sites in eight languages.

Tourists will be able to purchase e-tickets in advance, while businesses such as tour operators will have access to a dedicated section showing real-time availability for group bookings, AFP reported.

The new system builds on Greece's push towards electronic ticketing, which has already seen significant uptake. Last year alone, around three million digital tickets were issued for the Acropolis, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the offical presentation.

He said the move is part of a broader effort to improve the visitor experience and encourage deeper engagement with Greek culture.

Mitsotakis said: "Our ambition is for the traveller to be able to establish a personal connection with each monument.

"The truth is...that the majority of visitors, even today, do not come to our country to experience Greek culture. This is something that must change."

Between January and October 2025, Greece welcomed 35.26 million visitors, up from 33.79 million during the same period in 2024, according to data published by the Bank of Greece.

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said visitors with disabilities and their companions will be able to request elevators, lifts or wheelchair access during the booking process.

The platform was presented by the Hellenic Organisation of Cultural Resources Development (ODAP) and funded through the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility under the NextGenerationEU programme, Greek newspaper To Vima reported. The project's total budget exceeds €27 million (about £24.5 million) and forms part of a wider modernisation of Greece's cultural infrastructure.

Once fully operational, all cultural sites will operate under a unified digital system, with the aim of improving accessibility, increasing public revenue and strengthening Greece's cultural profile internationally.

However, some travel operators at the presentation raised concerns about the tight rollout timeline. One warned that a surge of users logging in when the platform launches on April 1 could place strain on the system.