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La Concha Beach, assisted bathing service
The tide makes it difficult to install permanent footbridges during the summer season, however, the La Concha Beach has an assisted bathing service. The latter includes the use of an “amphibious vehicle” that, with the help of one or two monitors, allows mobility both on the sand and in the water. This system allows people with reduced mobility to enjoy the beach. Find out more at: https://accessibility.sansebastianturismoa.eus/en/what-to-visit/beaches/la-concha-beach#barrier-free-bathing 12
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Accessibility on the Poniente Beach
The Poniente Beach in Gijón offers an accessible area for people with disabilities. Operational since 2015, many facilities are available, such as two adapted toilets and showers, an accessible beach library, amphibious chairs and crutches, and the Audioplaya support system. Find out more at: https://en.asturias.com/west-beach/ 11
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Facilitated beach access for people with disabilities
Entrances to the city center beach are equipped with posts for the blind with pictograms and Braille description of the 10 direction which is facilitated by wooden ramps. A playground with equipment for children with disabilities is also provided along with umbrellas for sun protection. The city center beach offers toilets and showers for people with disabilities and people with mobility impairments can take advantage of bathing chairs at the bathing site (so-called amphibian). Gdynia's beaches provide accessibility audits describing and illustrating access to them. The city’s lifeguards have been trained to communicate with people with sight, hearing or multiple disabilities and have trained methods and techniques for transferring, supporting and assisting people at the bathing sites. Find out more at: https://www.inyourpocket.com/gdansk/travelling-with-a-disability-in-gdansk-sopot_77157f
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Inclusive initiatives
Accessibility is also about inclusion and Aarhus is an open and innovative city with a great diversity of people. Aarhus has a strong LGBTQ+ community and every year, the Aarhus Pride parade celebrates diversity in Aarhus and contributes to the respect for and acceptance of all LGBTQ+ persons. Also, the Aarhus City Council has a strong focus on making Aarhus a better and more attractive city and a better and more attractive workplace for LGBTQ+ persons. As the first city in Denmark, Aarhus in 2019 joined the Rainbow Cities Network, including 33 cities in 17 different countries, actively working to improve conditions for LGBTQ+ citizens. Aarhus also hosts ‘KØN – Gender Museum Denmark’ presenting the cultural history between genders, equality, body and sexuality. A comprehensive policy of the City entitled ‘Aarhus for us all’ is addressing accessibility issues for people with special needs. The policy reflects the fact that the City has a holistic approach to creating an accessible environment for everyone, with a focus on people with disabilities. Aarhus wants everyone to feel valued and have equal opportunities when it comes to making use of the city. Based on the City’s three values, Reliability, Respect, and Commitment, Aarhus wants to ensure that people with all types of disabilities are given the option to live an independent life and opportunities to participate on their own terms. Find out more at: https://www.aarhus.dk/english/collaborate-with-the-city/inclusive-citizenship/inclusion/
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From the Den Gamle By (The Old Town)
an open-air museum dedicated to the urban history and culture in Denmark through three centuries, to the ARoS Museum of Art, which ‘Rainbow Panorama’ makes ARoS one of the most popular contemporary art museums in Scandinavia, the museums in Aarhus present history innovatively in a breath-taking architectural setting. Aahus is home to some of the most impressive and popular museums in Denmark, most of them located in beautiful surroundings overlooking the forest and the sea. Likewise, the city is known as a gastronomic powerhouse that in 2017 was awarded the permanent, honorary title of European Region of Gastronomy.Find out more at: https://www.europeanregionofgastronomy.org/platform/aarhus-central-denmark-2017/
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The Modernist Centre of Gdynia
a port city located on the Baltic Sea, is unique as a heritage site of European town planning and architecture in which the ideals of Modernism have been confronted with the changing needs of a growing city and port, in consequence creating a place with a clearly modern character but at the same time without any doctrinaire traits. It is a typical starting point for tourist routes that make up the Gdynia Modernism Route. Gdynia Modernism provides excellent examples of industrial, port and residential buildings, including villas, but also the silhouettes of streamlined blocks, bringing to mind the ship architecture. 450 modernist buildings are currently included in the Gdynia Modernism Route. The buildings open their doors during cyclical events including the ‘Open House Gdynia’, ‘the Weekend of Architecture’ or the ‘Modernism in Gdynia – Modernism in Europe’ conferences.Find out more at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6431/
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Do better with less
Such is the essence of the Darwin Ecosystem, a collective geared towards a green economy, now one of the most visited sites in Bordeaux. This former military barracks is home to an urban farm, the largest organic restaurant in France, plus its organic delicatessen, all showing a way of “consuming differently”. It’s a place of diversity and innovation where you can find skateparks, an open-air gallery for graffiti artists, as well as co-working spaces and entrepreneurs working in the green economy. The place is also committed to welcoming refugees and hosts a second-hand boutique.Find out more at: https://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/sites-monuments/darwin-alternative-and-inspiring-urban-ecosystem
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Inspired by the Roman heritage of Minho’s capital
Altice Forum Braga is a multi-purpose structure, dedicated to exhibitions, congresses and other events of a socio-cultural, scientific, recreational and sports nature as well all kinds of recreational and entertainment shows. The Altice Forum Braga is the result of the complete redevelopment of the former Braga Exhibition Park and has become a flagship venue in the North of the country. Find out more at: https://www.forumbraga.com
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The bustling walled city of Dubrovnik
hosts its spectacular and one of the oldest European festivals that annually, for 47 summer days, presents rich and vibrant theatre, dance, opera, classical music, jazz, visual arts, film and folklore programme. The Dubrovnik Summer Festival is recognised as one of Europe’s most distinguished cultural festivals. Relying on the City’s and its own rich and living heritage, the festival continues to promote its site-specific policy, combine tradition and modernity, and connect local, national and international creativity. The festivals’ catalogue, during the seven decades of existence, comprises more than 120 various venues, which covers almost the entire city and the sea surrounding it, resulting in a unique bond between the city and the festival. Find out more at: https://www.dubrovnik-festival.hr/en/
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In 2015
opened in the historic building of the Marine Station. It is the first museum in the country that is dedicated to the history of Polish emigration. The permanent exhibition tells the story of the departure and fate of Polish people around the world in the past and in close connection with the present day. Through the stories of Polish women and men, visitors get a chance to learn about the history of the city from where Polish transatlantic ships sailed for decades. The museum has an inclusive character as it provides a free offer tailored to the needs of people with disabilities or special needs.Find out more at: https://polska1.pl/en/home/
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The Lousiana Museum of Modern Art
located in Copenhagen was nominated by the network ‘Leading Culture Destination’ for best digital museum experience with the ‘Louisiana Channel’. It is a non-profit website based at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark. With Louisiana Channel as a platform, Louisiana supplies culture to the Net that extends beyond the museum’s own events. The Louisiana team produces videos about art and culture on an ongoing basis, and new videos are posted every week. The platform was launched in 2012 and consists today of more than 875 videos about art and culture, free and accessible to all.Find out more at: https://channel.louisiana.dk/
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Located in Ljubljana
the BTC Company, along with the AV Living Lab company, created the BTC City one of the largest shopping centres in Europe, as a lab test environment: an ecosystem of more than 3000 companies, developing advanced mobility, a digital park, an ABC accelerator twice awarded with the CESA award for best accelerator programme. BTC company not only provides the possibility of sharing electric vehicles in the area but also the option of paying with bitcoin, thus making Ljubljana the first bitcoin city in the world.Find out more at: https://www.visitljubljana.com/de/poi/btc-city/
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Smart lifebuoys for safer beaches
Feeling safe during bathing is an important factor in attracting people to the beaches and this is what Helsingborg’s smart lifebuoys are contributing to. Helsingborg is the first city in the world with lifebuoys that, with the help of magnetic sensors, automatically sound an alarm when they are removed from their holders. The magnetic sensors alert the authorities straight away whenever a buoy is removed, which allows them to quickly replace it. This creates safer bathing experiences for residents and visitors and also helps to save lives. Find out more at: https://innovation.helsingborg.se/en/initiative/smart-lifebuoys-make-be-beach-walks-safer/
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Discovering through augmented reality
The “Stadtgeist Karlsruhe” app is an augmented history app that revives stories of, with and around Karlsruhe and makes exciting audio and video contributions available free of charge by collaborating with the city archive. The app is considered as a national pioneer and won the German AppCampus Award in 2013 and was implemented as part of the SmarterCity initiative in Karsruhe.Find out more at: http://www.stadtgeist-karlsruhe.de/
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Digital Trail Toolkit
The Smart Tourism Programme for Dublin, supported by Dublin City Council, Fáilte Ireland and Imaginear have developed a Digital Trail Toolkit, designed to help identify best practice for destinations and businesses who wish to develop digital trails. The Digital Trail Toolkit is a step-by-step guide to assist industry in Digital Trail App development. Although there are many different types of app and digital trail developments in the tourism industry, there are few examples of toolkits developed specifically for organisations who are interested in building their own digital trail. The purpose of the Toolkit is to help identify best practice examples of digital trails and create a path to development for destinations and businesses who wish to develop digital trails. Find out more at: https://smartdublin.ie/smart-tourism-digital-trail/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=smart-tourism-digital-trail
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Locals’ Guide to Copenhagen:
In the Copenhagen Visitor Service centre, visitors can experience the city through soundscapes, VR-experience and more, before exploring the city for themselves. Visitors can immerse themselves with a VR- bicycle experience in the visitor centre, learning how to navigate the streets of Copenhagen on a bike and what to be aware of. Copenhagen Visitor Service also have a digital guide – Copenhagen Visitor Guide – with selected recommendations for attractions, museums, eateries, shopping etc. which can be accessed in the visitor centre, and on several local tourist information centres in city – and of course on smartphones. Find out more at: https://www.facebook.com/vrpro.dk/videos/927144760774187/
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The ZKM Center for Art and Media based in Karlsruhe
with more than 30 years of work, is considered a “digital Bauhaus” of the 21st century. It is a cultural institution of all media and genres, whether space- or time-based and belongs to the world’s most important cultural institutions listed by ArtFacts.net, the world’s largest art database which ranked the ZKM behind international giants like MOMA in New York or the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The ZKM Center and media art in general have a strong appeal in superregional marketing. Media art is one aspect that the city focuses on and is proud of. Karlsruhe was named Germany’s first UNESCO City of Media Arts in 2020 since it presents digital and analog art a tangible experience in public spaces for locals and visitors, for example through the annual Seasons of Media Arts festival.Find out more at: https://zkm.de/en and https://www.cityofmediaarts.de/
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Supporting local goods and business
By launching the initiative “Shop in Porto” the municipality has created a digital platform which is dedicated exclusively to traditional street commerce and promotes the visibility and attractiveness. The platform gathers information’s about all the shops, its products, locations and promotes in force allowing the creation of personalised itineraries. To date, 1,600 traders have allowing for a comprehensive overview of the locally source and traditional commercial street vendors of Porto. In doing so, the city has digitalised and modernized a traditionally non-digital aspect of its commercial scene. Find out more at: https://www.porto.pt/en/video-clip/shopinporto-en
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HERIT-DATA project
The city of Florence is also one of the pilot sites of the HERIT-DATA project. The key objective is to develop and test a new management system and AI tools through the collection of existing, and generation of complementary, data (Big Data, Open Data, IoT, data provided through sensors, local systems & cameras, etc.). The treatment of inputs (data) from citizens, visitors, companies, public administrations, and the sites themselves will bring benefits to different stakeholders from an improved quality of life to information for better decision-making. Read more about HERIT-Data here https://herit-data.interreg-med.eu
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‘Dublinked’
Dublin’s National Open Data Strategy 2017-2022 encourages public bodies to make data available for everyone. Thus, its open data platform called ‘Dublinked’ hosts over 300 data sets, including many tourism databases that are used to build better tourism experiences by managing data feeds in digital city kiosks so visitors can navigate the city better. Additionally, open data challenges are run, and teams are invited to build helpful city solutions using open travel data sets. Find out more at: https://www.dublincity.ie/business/economic-development-and-enterprise/smart-cities/dublinked
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Find a parking spot online
About 1900 sensors were installed in Dubrovnik with the aim of finding a free parking space and reducing traffic jams. Given the number of sensors and the fact that they are installed throughout Dubrovnik, it is one of the largest integrated smart parking solutions implemented on the Narrowband Internet of Things network worldwide. For drivers to be able to see which parking space is free at any time, and therefore plan where they could park, a special application for mobile devices has been created and is available to everyone, both the citizens of Dubrovnik and tourists. This saves drivers time looking for a free parking space and reduces congestion caused in large part by drivers circling the streets in search of an available space to park. In some places in the city, a system of twenty public information displays has been set up to enable those citizens who do not use the application to see the free parking spaces a few streets earlier and to be able to see which place is available in time. Find out more at: https://hrturizam.hr/en/u-dubrovniku-pokrenut-jedinstven-sustav-pametnog-parkiranja/
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Smart travel plan
In addition, the digital route planning service ‘Rejseplanen’ (the Travel Plan) that guides travellers from A to B on their itinerary, now includes not only public transportation, but also services such as city bikes, city cars and ridesharing, which are displayed in those areas where the services are available. Find out more at: https://www.rejseplanen.dk/webapp/?language=en_EN#!P|TP!histId|0!histKey|H662483
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Decentralisation at the heart of tourism
In order to relieve pressure of high demand areas and facilities Porto has, as a part of its municipal master plan, promoted the dispersion of tourist flows and the creation of new centralities as well as stimulating the extension of stays. The decentralisation of tourism accommodation is encouraged by municipal regulations, and creation of new accessibilities and requalification of infrastructures have also had a pollinating effect, attracted new investors, and contributed to physical, economic, and social regeneration of these areas. Dispersion of fairs and markets has also created new poles of interest and attractiveness, reducing socio-spatial asymmetries. Find out more at: https://www.investporto.pt/en/news/porto-city-council-approves-new-municipal-master-plan/
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UNESCO Dublin Bay Biosphere, Where People and Nature Connect
Dublin city is home to the Dublin Bay Biosphere which has a unique UNESCO designation, as it is the only Biosphere Reserve worldwide which includes within its area a national capital city. It recognises the biodiversity of the area, as well as the economic, cultural and tourism importance of this biodiversity, and the need for an ecologically sustainable economic model for the Biosphere. The Biosphere was expanded in 2015, now covering the whole of Dublin Bay, extending to over 300km2. Over 300,000 people live within this newly enlarged Biosphere. The buffer zone comprises 82km2 of public and private green spaces such as parks, greenbelts, and golf courses, which surround and adjoin the core zones. The transition zone comprises 173km2 and forms the outer part of the Biosphere. It includes tourism hot spots, residential areas, harbours, ports, and industrial and commercial areas. The Biosphere has three main goals: conservation, which focuses on promoting the conservation of landscapes, habitats, wildlife, and cultural values; learning, which emphasizes supporting education and research for a better understanding of nature and global issues, and development, which aims to fostering a sustainable economy and society for people living and working in the area. It operates important programmes to help foster economic and environmental sustainability. To build on this success, the partnership has developed a five-year Conservation Programme, a five-year Research Strategy, a three-year Business Development Plan and an Education and Awareness Programme. Within the Dublin Bay Biosphere, which includes three Blue Flag beaches, are exceptional recreation areas for both Dubliners and tourists alike. Visitors who use wheelchairs can now access these amenities due to the introduction of special ‘beach wheelchairs’ which are available free of charge at North Bull Island and Dollymount Strand. For visitors, another popular way to explore the biosphere is on the award-winning Biosphere Discovery Tour which is run by Dublin Bay Cruises. Furthermore, 1600 Dublin bikes and explore the Biosphere on Dublin’s newest Coastal Mobility Route, which comprises over 3.6km of cycling and walking path along Dublin’s coastline which was opened in 2020. Since opening, the Coastal Mobility Route has become an important sustainable transport corridor for Dublin which helps to spread our visitors more sustainably throughout the city. The route is also fitted with smart sensors to measure its usage. Its success has transformed how people get around Dublin, with over 20,000 cycle trips being recorded every week, a 100% increase since 2019.Find out more at: https://www.dublinbaybiosphere.ie
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The Ocean Race Project
The Ocean Race is an epic adventure in which the world’s top sailing teams circumnavigate the planet powered only by the wind. While the first Ocean Race in Europe has arrived in Genoa in June 2021, the Grand Final and the project ‘Racing with Purpose’ will take place in 2023. The sustainability programme brings together a range of tangible ways that will positively impact the marine environment such as rolling out initiatives for cleaner, healthier seas and a learning programme. Genoa as host city makes use of the Ocean Race by contributing vital scientific data to aid the understanding of ocean health and the effects of climate change by using our race boats to collect valuable data on sea surface temperature and ocean acidification. Moreover, the city will ensure that every element of the race village is sustainably produced: from being free of single-use plastic to the seafood served on site and invite people who visit the events to help protect the ocean. In overall, the city will use the Ocean Race Summits series as an occasion to change the way people behave towards the ocean for good. It will therefore host innovation workshops for sailing clubs and offer learning programmes for adults and schoolchildren about the issues affecting the ocean. When in June 2021 the Ocean Race arrived in Genoa, the whole race village was powered by 100% renewable energy and the Race was climate positive, supported by blue carbon projects. This will inspire others to act on climate change. Find out more at: https://www.visitgenoa.it/en/evento/genova-will-host-finish-ocean-race-europe