The Athenian Coastline is an idea that started to take form at the beginning of the 20th century based on the common request for prosperity and modernity. Glyfada’s sea shores, one of its most important components, proved to be the greatest argument in favor of the realization of the idea. The “Blue Coast” of Attica was born during the interwar period as a bourgeois holiday resort, that lacked nothing compared to West Europe’s standards. When the tourist gaze turned on the seas for Greece, Glyfada transformed into one of the most important projects of the post-war tourist policy of the state, along with the construction of the Xenia Hotels. A mix of causes including the emergence of regional destinations in the country and the intensive urbanization of the area, has gradually led to the decline of tourist activity on its beaches, which in the opposite way has come back in the form of creating great leisure complexes and resorts during recent years.
In this context, the project aims to study the case of Glyfada on the development of the tourist exploitation of its coasts. It is composed from three parts: The first part is a brief reference to important political, social and economic events that shaped the region's recent history. The second is devoted to the story of the creation of the sea spa town, its post-war regeneration with "Asteria" beach and the subsequent decline of the resort. The last chapter of the project is the most synchronous, as it refers to the modern management of the coastal front, which aspires to become once again a pole of attraction for tourists and the bourgeois.