A popular slogan from the Parisian May of '68 famously stated, "beneath the paving stones, the beach"; six decades later, it vividly summarizes the tourist experience of major European metropolises. A carefree, hybrid capitalism of "authentic" experiences, driven by short-term rentals and alternative entertainment, transforms once-degraded neighborhoods.

However, the price of "cities that never sleep" is high: the working and middle classes are leaving them, housing and living costs are peaking, infrastructures are bending under the congestion, while the economy becomes addicted to easy profits, lagging behind necessary technological and productive transformations. Ultimately, is the tourist city truly a "living city," or does it mask a profound existential crisis?

Series: SOCIAL STUDIES

Series Editor: Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos

The Social Studies series is a platform for expressing vibrant, predominantly young forces from the broad field of social sciences in our country. It welcomes the historical origins of social processes, tests classical and contemporary theories, grapples with cutting-edge issues, and focuses on the lived experiences of people.

Without undermining the methodological requirements and scientific integrity of each research project, it ensures to address a wide audience of informed readers rather than exclusively the scientific community.

Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos, Associate Professor of Sociology, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens