The future of authentic tourism.
Participatory
Sustainable
Affordable
Showcase your local heritage
A house, a church, a forge, a tree... every place has a story worth sharing.
Engage your citizens and local associations
Co-create the content with the help of experts or enthusiasts.
Intergenerational transmission
Create participatory projects by involving all generations.
Your city infrastructure
The connected medals integrate easily into your urban environment.
Analyse and optimise visitor flows
Access precise data on the most visited points of interest.
Develop regional tourism
Create a network of Deep Points of Interest at the scale of your region.
The problem
Europe receives around 740 million tourists every year, but most of them head to a few well-known destinations (Venice, Barcelona, Zermatt…). As a result, nearly 90% of regions remain overlooked, despite their rich cultural heritage.
The solution
Genius Loci makes these regions visible through a new form of tourism infrastructure: thousands of ‘Heritage Medals’ installed in public spaces, paired with a premium digital experience fully managed by your municipality.
Genius Loci, Audience Award and Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva.
Genius Loci, Audience Award and Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva.
Preserve and showcase your local heritage with Genius Loci
Created for the 200,000 towns and villages of Europe, our product is both physical and digital: a 10 cm stainless steel medal engraved with the name of the project and bearing a QR Code. A simple scan reveals an exclusive digital space, unlocking the secrets of the place. The medals work as a network of Deep Points of Interest, enabling large-scale showcasing (multiple municipalities, regions, districts…) so that local players take back control of their narrative, rather than leaving it to the platforms and generative AIs that dictate it today.
Management interface
- Place management
- Content co-creation
- Statistics
Stainless steel medal for every place
Digital interface
- Your content showcased
- One scan, no app needed
- Translations in one click
Preserve and showcase your heritage with Genius Loci.
Created for the 200,000 towns and villages of Europe, our product is both physical and digital: a 10 cm stainless steel medal marked with the name of the project and bearing a QR code. A simple scan reveals an exclusive digital space, unlocking the secrets of the place.
Admin interface
- Place management
- Content co-creation
- Statistics
Digital interface
- Your content showcased
- One scan, no app needed
- Translations in one click
NEW
Genius Loci Pro
Build a regional network of points of interest and interactive maps with the most powerful SaaS tool on the market.
A scalable infrastructure
600
Passionate contributors
50
Territories, across 3 countries
3400
Stories already geolocated
Our Supporters
Genius Loci in the press
More and more cities and villages want to highlight the history of their community
Genius Loci, Stéphane Bern's favourite at the Heritage Salon at the Louvre in Paris!
Thanks to them, our cities and villages will have no more secrets
An innovation to tell the story of heritage
RTS - Forum: Participatory information panels
Scan a medal and unlock the treasures of heritage
Tech serving history — Genius Loci unveils the secrets of heritage
They give a youthful boost to local heritage
Genius Loci — Public Prize and Gold Medal at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions 2023
Rediscover the history and heritage of Evolène on an interactive "treasure hunt"
Connected medals reveal the treasures of the Nord vaudois
Tourism: with Genius Loci, the secrets of the Val d'Hérens hide behind a QR code
Genius Loci, the start-up that enhances heritage
Connected heritage: when the Nord vaudois unveils its secrets
Genius Loci wins the Genilem Prize 2022!
Genius Loci and la Salévienne valorise local heritage
With Genius Loci, Steph Cruchon wants participatory information panels
Steph Cruchon tells us about Genius Loci
How Genius Loci and la Salévienne are reinventing the valorisation of local heritage
FIT Digital supports Genius Loci
Travel less far, but in greater depth
Genius Loci promotes slow tourism that fits today’s world. Our generations are learning to travel differently — spending more time in the same region and discovering less touristy places.
Hidden treasures only the locals know
How does it work?
Cities or villages order a stock of medals
Instant place activation and easy content creation
Installation on the point of interest with two screws
Visitors scan the medal. Instant access
Content is automatically translated into more than 10 languages
Access to visitor statistics
All prices are detailed in our brochure:
Pack
Medals
- 20 medals & the digital solution
- Personalised medals
- Content hosting
- Training videos
Pack
Support package
- 60 medals & the digital solution
- Genius Loci PRO included (1 year)
- Content hosting
- Personalised medals
- An on-site workshop with citizens in your municipality
- 1 dedicated technical contact
- WhatsApp group with assistance
Your citizens are “Geniuses”!
Typically funded by cities, villages or regions, Genius Loci medals give history, architecture and culture enthusiasts a simple, effective way to share what they know, exactly where it matters. They become the keepers of each place’s story.
Our Geniuses are historians, photographers, teachers, travellers, architects, retirees, artists – and anyone with a love for heritage, culture or nature.
Test the design of your medals?
Our Simulator lets you try several variants of your future medal in a few clicks. You can edit the two inscriptions at the top and bottom.
Where to place the medals?
Genius Loci’s mission is to highlight places that are still hidden or little-known. A natural curiosity, an old house, a bench, a statue, a grave, a village square, a remarkable tree…
The medals are designed to blend in elegantly anywhere, ideally as close as possible to the object being highlighted. Geniuses must always ask for permission before installing one. (See the Genius Charter)
AboutGenius Loci
2,000 years ago, the Romans believed every place was protected by a Genius Loci, the spirit of place.
Today, “genius loci” refers to the unique atmosphere of a place – its character, its history. The term is particularly used in architecture.
We have built on this idea to create a tool for showcasing and digitising heritage – driven by citizens themselves.
Founded in Switzerland by the designers of Design Sprint Ltd, Genius Loci SA finally makes hyperlocal destinations attractive. Truly affordable for municipalities, associations and local authorities.
