Mouria coffeehouse unable to renew lease in Exarchia, known for leftwing solidarity, resistance and radicalism

It has been the hangout of writers, artists, poets and politicians, doctors and lawyers, radicals and revolutionaries for as long as anyone can remember. And for 44 years, Christos Vanas, the proprietor of Mouria, has let them all in.

Every day at 7am, the taciturn former waiter has been the first man to step inside the historic cafe in Exarchia, the heart of leftwing Athens. It is a ritual he has kept punctiliously, opening up the famous gathering place before he himself has had his first coffee.

Backlash against content creators includes restricted hours for filming and even outright bans

Stand in any vaguely photogenic spot these days on holiday and the chances are you will come across people posing with raised phones and even ring lights. Some may be influencers with huge audiences on social media, others just overkeen Instagram users. With hotels and beauty spots now so overrun, however, bans on photography are coming into place.

The five-star Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, known for its glamorous clientele, views of the Côte d’Azur and a stunning infinity pool, has brought in rules against photoshoots: no longer allowed without prior permission.

Plans for a 200-room project on an unspoiled beach have pitted developers against the conservationists fighting for smaller-scale schemes to protect the island’s habitat

Visitors to Rocky Point in south-west Tobago are drawn to its sandy beach, fringed by coral reefs and dark rock formations and carpeted with the fruit-bearing trees found on Caribbean coastlines – almonds, sea grapes, coconuts, and the poisonous manchineel. The beach is part of Back Bay, a 500-metre swathe of land, and trekking through its undulating terrain, thickly covered in bush and shrubs, feels akin to walking through a rainforest.

But this still relatively unspoiled location is at the centre of a struggle between two opposing interests – those who see large-scale development as the most profitable path and those who believe smaller, incremental developments owned by the community would be best.

Authorities crack down on trade they says risks spiralling out of control – but operators say they are being targeted unfairly

On the edge of Piazza Navona, one of the grandest squares in central Rome, Barry and Linda, visitors from Texas in the US, stepped out of a golf cart. They planned to cross the square on foot, perhaps stopping to admire Lorenzo Bernini’s 17th-century Fountain of the Four Rivers, before being picked up by their driver at the opposite end.

The couple had already done a walking tour on day one of their trip, and had been so exasperated by a stifling three-hour shuffle along a corridor towards the Sistine Chapel on day two that by the third day they wanted to give their tired feet a rest.

In Japan leiden die Einheimischen unter Touristen, die sich in Privatunterkünften einmieten, aber nicht an die Regeln halten. Das soll sich jetzt ändern.

Shinjuku ward targets accommodation in residential areas and near cultural sites as locals complain visitors disposing of rubbish improperly and being too noisy

A neighbourhood in Tokyo popular with foreign tourists will ban visitors from using thousands of short-term rental accommodations after a slew of complaints about behaviour.

In the latest sign that Japan’s patience with mass tourism is wearing thin, Shinjuku ward – home to the notorious Kabukicho nightlife district and the world’s busiest railway station – will prevent visitors from using private lodgings in residential areas and near schools and important cultural sites, Japanese media reported this week.

6000 Liter Urin fließen täglich im Everest-Basislager – Forscher haben nun berechnet, wie viel Gletschereis dadurch wegschmilzt. Die Ergebnisse heizen die alte Debatte an, wie lange das Lager noch nutzbar ist.

The coastal community in California had already been devastated by landslides and wildfires before a fatal crash

California’s rugged Big Sur coastline is often called a slice of heaven, 120 miles (195km) of unspoiled rocky promontories, sandy beaches and redwood forests at the foot of the Santa Lucia mountains. This year, it has endured a long summer of hell.

Wildfires, road closures and repeated disruptions to the local hotel, restaurant and campsite businesses all have posed significant challenges in an era of climate change and unpredictable weather patterns. One large fire broke out in the highlands east of Big Sur in early August and is still less than 25% contained. A second fire erupted 30 miles to the south two weeks later and is so inaccessible to firefighters that it has grown bigger than the first and is barely contained at all.

This summer has been a tipping point. But it’s not too late to save what makes this place unique

When I first started visiting Marseille more than 20 years ago, few could have predicted that France’s then beleaguered second city would become one of the most popular destinations in the most-visited country in the world. Tarnished by stereotypes and home to some of Europe’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, the port city seemed down on its luck, unloved and, in the eyes of many, somewhere to avoid. Tourists stopping at the city’s Saint-Charles station would clutch their bags while waiting for their connecting train to rural Provence, or the beaches of the Côte d’Azur.

Two decades on, poverty and drug gang violence still affect parts of Marseille, but this rough diamond has been reinvented as a modish holiday destination. Last month, I saw a local TV channel asking whether Marseille had become France’s capital of tourism, after Booking.com revealed it had surpassed Paris and Nice as the most searched-for destination for French users of the site. Breathless foreign media coverage – the New York Times published a “36 hours in Marseille” guide in 2019 and another one in 2025 – has driven the number of overseas visitors. From seaside petanque to vocoder rap and pizza served on aluminium plates, influencers revel in the golden-hued aesthetic of the urban riviera and promote the city’s most Instagram-friendly corners. Tourist numbers are expected to reach almost 7 million this year.

As holidaymakers descend on Brittany this summer, trebling the population of some villages and towns, local people are unimpressed

Name: “Parisians out!”

Age: It officially commenced at the start of August.

Alpine communities hit out after influencer videos draw huge queues to Friedrich August refuge in Dolomites

Hundreds of people overwhelmed a mountain hut in the Italian Dolomites, not for the panoramic views but in search of a creamy pastry, reigniting the debate about social-media-driven tourism.

The visitors ventured en masse to the Friedrich August refuge – perched at 2,300 metres (7,500ft) above sea level, between Col Rodella and Passo Sella in Val di Fassa – some reportedly waking up at dawn or camping overnight, just to ensure they could buy a freshly baked krapfen, a traditional German pastry similar to a doughnut, before they ran out.

Wer oberkörperfrei oder im Bikini durch Varenna am Comer See läuft, muss fortan bis zu 200 Euro Strafe zahlen. Es ist eine von vielen strengen Touristenregeln in Italien – einige sind begründet, andere absurd.

From Albania to Portugal, privatisation of the coastline is bringing locals out on to the streets. For them, the economic benefits are few and far between

Few scenes better capture the essence of a European summer than the terminals of our airports in the early hours of the morning. Britons necking pints like a football match is on, German couples eagerly murmuring about their cycling tour across Croatia, and passengers sleeping peacefully on corridor floors. This holiday season, millions will embark on an annual pilgrimage to the hotspots of Mallorca, Corfu and Albufeira to enjoy a much-anticipated break in the sun.

But it’s increasingly likely that they will face some kind of hostility there. In Barcelona, demonstrators might spray them with water pistols or tape off the entrance to their hotel. In Tenerife, visitors might see “tourists go home” graffiti on the side of the road as they drive their rental car down to the beach.

Adam Almeida is a writer and researcher living in London

Day trippers face fines for entering Austrian city’s old town during July and August to curb ‘chaotic traffic situations’

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Salzburg has begun enforcing a summer ban on visitors driving into its historic centre, picking up a policy modelled by other car-choked European cities plagued by overtourism.

Authorities in Austria’s fourth largest municipal area said they hoped the “less traffic, more city” restrictions in July and August would reduce the number of vehicle entries by 1,000 a day.

Exclusive: Tourism minister says another likely record year of visitor growth is not a worry amid move to welcome tourists out of season and market less frequented areas

Spain is redoubling its efforts to push its tourist appeal beyond the familiar “sun and sand and coast” model as it prepares for another record-breaking year in which the number of foreign visitors could reach 100 million for the first time, the country’s tourism minister has said.

Speaking to the Guardian, Jordi Hereu rejected suggestions that Spain was now saturated with tourists but said it had become clear that the “old formulas no longer work”, especially amid growing concerns about overtourism and the effects of the climate emergency.

Simone Venturini says proposal aimed at discouraging arrivals in ‘periods of heightened tourist pressure’

Venice’s new mayor has said he hopes to raise a controversial entrance fee for day-trippers to the lagoon city to as much as €50 (£43).

Simone Venturini, the rightwing former tourism councillor who was elected as mayor in late May, said the proposal was aimed at further discouraging arrivals “during periods of heightened tourist pressure”.

José Antonio Donaire is not against tourists but wants to return the city to its residents – and he is starting with its most iconic market

After decades of relentlessly marketing their vibrant Mediterranean city, the Barcelona authorities have appointed a man on a mission to say “no more” – and, he says, to return its most iconic market back to local residents.

Last year, the Barcelona area attracted 26 million visitors, up 2.4% on 2024. The appointment of José Antonio Donaire as the city’s first commissioner for sustainable tourism represents a significant change of heart and a shift away from viewing tourism as an unalloyed good to believing it is alienating citizens and eroding the Catalan capital’s identity.

Haris Doukas warns that with 700,000 residents and 8 million tourists, people are being pushed out of their neighbourhoods

In the heart of ancient Athens, on narrow streets and around archaeological sites, visitor groups appear to be everywhere, snaking their way behind tour guides.

At other times, officials would have welcomed such scenes. But for Haris Doukas, the socialist mayor who is determined to reclaim the capital’s congested city centre for its citizens, the start of the tourist season leaves much of its historic heart at risk of “over-saturation.” Entire neighbourhoods, he believes, are in danger of losing their authenticity because of uncontrolled tourist development.

Police catch woman, 28, climbing colossal 16th-century statue of Neptune to touch its genitals as a dare

A tourist has been charged after allegedly climbing a colossal marble statue in Florence to touch its genitals for a pre-wedding prank.

Experts said the woman caused thousands of euros of damage to the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria.

As Barcelona groans under a surfeit of generic cafes, a grassroots movement is reviving the traditional ‘fork breakfast’. Anyone for pigs’ trotters?

There are many worse ways to start your day than with eggs royale. The contrast in textures between a soft poached egg and a coarse, toasted English muffin is a thing of beauty, and the combination of smoked salmon and a lemony hollandaise sauce ties it together perfectly. The term “brunch” was coined in an essay in Hunter’s Weekly in 1895, and while you’re unlikely to find too many fans in foodie circles, or among those who have to work the shift (“nothing demoralises an aspiring Escoffier faster”, wrote Anthony Bourdain), they aren’t lacking in number. It clearly has its place. The problem is the place it currently occupies: in our gentrifying cities, brunch has acquired a symbolism that goes far beyond the food itself.

After the quieter winter months, Barcelona is one of many European cities gearing up for another holiday season of heightened tensions around tourism. Feeling increasingly embattled amid soaring rents and an overcrowded, blandified city centre, Barcelona residents have made their voices heard through increasingly voluble protests. Beyond the general “Tourist, go home!” slogan, you’ll see specific pain points addressed via placards, chants and graffiti across the Catalan capital: specifically, “Ban Airbnb”, and perhaps more surprisingly, “Stop brunch!”