A walk in the beautiful Athens city center

The ancient history and Greek culture, rich flavors, modern temples of fashion and consumption will fascinate the visitors who will go for a walk downtown.

The history of antiquity and Greek civilization, a varied and rich cuisine, along with the modern ‘temples’ of fashion and shopping will dazzle visitors taking a tour of the capital.

Those who will be in Athens for a few days and will have the chance to walk in the historic center of Athens will be lucky. They will have the opportunity to dive into ancient history, to connect with the rich ancient Greek culture, to taste rich flavors, to visit modern temples of fashion and consumption. So try to dedicate a day to Athens and its historic center, as recommended by the Athens – Attica and Argosaronic Hotel Association.

SYNTAGMA SQUARE – PLAKA – NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM

From Syntagma Square, one can easily get to the narrow streets of Plaka, the oldest and most aristocratic district of Athens. Just a breath away from the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis, every visitor must take this walk. Unique picturesqueness, numerous meandering alleys… it’s like a journey back in time. Its distinctive neighborhood, “Anafiotika”, reminds of an island attached to the north side of the rock. On its main streets, Kydathinaion Street starting from Syntagma and Adrianou Street, you will find many shops with traditional products, souvenirs, folk art and Greek food products. In Plaka you will also find many traditional Athenian taverns and museums. Going uphill the alleys and steps that are flooded with flowers and plants, you will be led to the entrance of the Acropolis. Either through the archaeological site that hosts the Ancient Theatre of Dionysus or through the verdant park and the trails designed by the architect Pikionis, you are on the most beautiful pedestrian street in Europe, Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, and the New Acropolis Museum. The new impressive “home” of the treasures of the Sacred Rock invites you on a journey to the long history of the Acropolis, for a coffee or a snack and for shopping in its two stores. After the operation of the New Acropolis Museum, a new commercial neighborhood emerged around it. The area of Makrigianni Street vies for the attention of Athenians and visitors with brand new artwork stores, restaurants and hotels. The pedestrian street of Dionysiou Areopagitou is essentially a hub for your trails in the historical and commercial center of the city, as it leads to the Philopappos Hill, Thisio, the neighborhood of Ano Petralona, Monastiraki and Psirri area. This is a long circular walk that can end up in Syntagma Square again.

SYNTAGMA SQUARE – KOLONAKI:

Following the pedestrian street of Voukourestiou Street you are in the magical world of international fashion houses and the city’s most expensive and famous jewelry stores. Among the glamorous suggestions for branded purchases you will come across many elegant cafés for a stop or a quick snack. Going uphill you arrive at Skoufa Street and walk to the aristocratic Kolonaki. All the streets around the homonymous square host shops of clothing, shoes, and accessories. A real consumer paradise as you can find famous international brands, Greek designers, art galleries, museums, Greek and international cuisine restaurants, cafés, all side-by-side. A bustling crowd will move around you, especially during lunchtime and afternoon hours, when Kolonaki Square is the favorite place of the Athenians for business meetings or lunch breaks or an afternoon drink after work.

SYNTAGMA SQUARE – ERMOU STREET

Starting again from Syntagma Square, you walk down the pedestrian street of Ermou Street, the oldest commercial street of the city, as it was designed in the late 19th century. Ermou Street is the heart of the city’s traditional shopping centre, defined by Stadiou, Mitropoleos and Athinas streets. These streets form a triangle in which thousands of commercial businesses operate and there are plenty of hotels for your stay.

Ermou Street took its name from the god Hermes, who was also the protector of commerce. Since the 1970s it has been the heart of women’s fashion and even today Athenians consider it a must when it comes to shopping. All the cross streets host shops of all kinds. For handmade silverware, handmade jewelry, beads, hats, tourist items you should head to Lekka Street and the surrounding commercial galleries, as well as Kolokotroni street. A little way along Ermou Street, around the Byzantine church of Kapnikarea, you will find textiles of all kinds at very affordable prices.

ERMOU – MONASTIRAKI:

Ermou Street leads you directly to Monastiraki Square. Here you will be found in a completely different environment. At the foot of the gods’ neighborhood, walk along Pandrosou Street and search for folk art and jewelry, Greek furs and leather, replicas of sculptures, ceramics and traditional woven fabrics. If you get tired of walking, next to you there are some of the most popular shops for the famous Greek fast food “souvlaki” both for the Athenians and for visitors.

Take a walk on Adrianou Street that expands alongside the Ancient Agora and have your coffee or enjoy your meal under the sun overlooking the Acropolis, the Stoa of Attalos and the Temple of Hephaestus. But since you are already there, do not skip a walk in “Yusurum” and in Avissinias Square. A treasure of antiques, old books, vinyl records, artworks is hidden in the antique shops of the area. In fact, every Sunday, a real colorful marketplace is set up in all the paved narrow streets and is a favorite walk for the admirers of old Athens. Most people even combine their walk with a glass of ouzo or wine in the picturesque taverns.

PANDROSOU STREET MARKET:

Pandrosou Street is the small pedestrian street under the Acropolis that connects Mitropoleos Square with Monastiraki. Its market is part of Plaka and Monastiraki, two of the most traditional districts of Athens.

Today, on Pandrosou Street and its cross streets Aiolou, Kapnikareas and Mnisikleous one can find more than one hundred stores, most of which are second-generation family businesses with various and interesting activities. Antiques, jewelry stores, traditional products, folk art products, galleries, clothing and leather goods are some of the choices that the visitors, nowadays, have in Pandrosou street market. But Pandrosou Street is not just a market. It was a mosaic of family businesses from the late 19th century with traditions from various parts of the country.

From the mountains of Thessaly to the islands of the Dodecanese and beyond, it reflected the image of modern Greece.

A beautiful pedestrian street under the Athenian sky that is worth walking and chance to feel the past and the present, as it is captured through our products and services!

MONASTIRAKI – THISIO – PETRALONA:

Your tour continues from the end of Adrianou Street to Thisio, thus circling the Ancient Agora. On the pedestrian streets Apostolou Pavlou and Herakleidon you will come across with additional choices for coffee and food, as well as street artists, in a neighborhood that is young people’s favorite. You can also look for small shops with handmade accessories and walk in a neighborhood that maintains the residential structure of the early 20th century. You will come across two-floor houses with inner courtyards and a traditional Greek neighborhood a breath away from the main street of Thisio: We are talking about Ano Petralona, a neighborhood where time has stopped to a more innocent and romantic era. Until noon it follows the rhythm of any typical neighborhood; but from the afternoon until late at night, cafés, coffee shops, taverns and elegant bars change the scene, which becomes more relaxed and bohemian.

MONASTIRAKI – PSIRRI:

If, from the end of Adrianou street in Monastiraki, you move towards Psirri, you will find yourself in an old small craftsmanship area of the city center that has been transformed, in recent years, into a neighborhood with countless restaurants and places for entertainment that operate from noon until late at night. It also hosts several theatres, as well as modern clothing, accessories and design stores. Old houses that were transformed into modern shops, maintaining, however, their historicity. Antique shops, workshops where you can order a pair of ancient Greek leather sandals tailored made just for you. You will also find daily utensils made of bronze, collectibles, workshops of leather goods.

MONASTIRAKI – OMONOIA:

One of the oldest commercial streets is Athinas Street. It connects Monastiraki Square with Omonoia Square and has long been associated with the food trade, as it hosts the Varvakeios Market. A covered market made of metal and glass in which a meat market, a fish market, vegetables, fruits, spices and nuts shops operate. Athinas Street passes in front of the Town Hall and Kotzia Square with the historic building of the National Bank. There are shopping malls, shops and hotels around the Square. One breath away is the second largest square of the center of Athens, Omonoia Square, with shops of all kinds, restaurants, hotels. It is the second heart of the city as it completes the triangle of the historic and commercial center and is only a few meters away from the National Archaeological Museum and the second large green area of the Center, the Pedion tou Areos.