Acropolis & Old Town
2.5 km · ~half day · Historic center · 6 stops
- Acropolis Museum
- Acropolis of Athens
- Areopagus
- Anafiotika
- Ancient Agora
- Hadrian's Library
106 places · Michelin 2026, 50 Best Bars, Athinorama, Time Out · 5 routes · metro included
Tap a route and it gets drawn on the map, stop by stop.
Tap a pin to see photos, rating and how to get there by metro. Turn on a route to follow the numbered path.
This interactive map of Athens (Greece) brings together 106 hand-picked places: 28 attractions, 42 restaurants, 18 cafés and 18 shops. It also includes 5 walking routes with their stops in order. For every place you get what it is, a practical tip and how to get there by public transport. It is free, works on your phone and needs no sign-up.
· Curated by the HOLASIM team · How we make the maps
Tap a route to see it drawn on the map, stop by stop.
2.5 km · ~half day · Historic center · 6 stops
5.5 km · full day · Museums & art · 6 stops
1.8 km · midday · Market, mezedes & souvlaki · 6 stops
1.6 km · afternoon & night · Cool neighborhood & specialty coffee · 6 stops
4.5 km · sunset · Acropolis views · 5 stops
Acrópolis
The sacred rock towering over the city. Go early or near closing to dodge the heat and the crowds.
Tip: Opens at 8:00; the 5-site combo ticket costs less in winter and the last hour is the quietest.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapAcrópolis
Athena's 5th-century BC temple. Permanently under restoration and it still leaves you speechless.
Tip: There's no shade up top: bring water, a cap and rubber-soled shoes — the marble is slippery.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapAcrópolis
The Caryatids hold up the most elegant porch on the Acropolis. The ones you see are copies.
Tip: Five of the six originals are in the Acropolis Museum; the sixth is in London.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapAcrópolis
Roman theater from 161 AD at the foot of the rock. In summer it fills up with the Athens Festival.
Tip: Entry is with a show ticket only: check the Festival lineup from June to August.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapAcrópolis
Greek tragedy was born right here: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides premiered on these tiers.
Tip: Included in the Acropolis ticket; climb the south slope and come down via the Propylaea.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMakrigianni
Glass, light and the Parthenon frieze at full scale. The transparent floor reveals the excavation below.
Tip: Open until 22:00 on Fridays, and the second-floor café has the best view at normal prices.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMonastiraki
The political heart of classical Athens. Socrates debated right here, among olive trees and ruins.
Tip: Enter via Adrianou and exit through Thiseio; it's included in the Acropolis combo ticket.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapThiseio
Greece's best-preserved Doric temple, more intact than the Parthenon and with no lines.
Tip: It's inside the Ancient Agora; at sunset the light hits it head-on and photos come out crowd-free.
🚇 Thiseio — M1
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMonastiraki
Hellenistic portico rebuilt in the 1950s. The Agora museum is inside.
Tip: Perfect rainy-day refuge: covered gallery and museum are included in the Agora ticket.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMonastiraki
Roman market with the oldest octagonal water clock still standing.
Tip: Small and cheap: half an hour is enough. It sits right at the foot of the climb to Anafiotika.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMonastiraki
Those Corinthian columns you see from Monastiraki were Emperor Hadrian's library.
Tip: You can see almost all of it from the fence on Areos street: short on time, view it from outside.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMakrigianni
Only 15 of the 104 giant columns remain, but they're enough to make you feel tiny.
Tip: It took 638 years to finish. There's no shade: go before 10:00 in summer.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMakrigianni
The gate dividing Theseus' city from Hadrian's. Visible from the street and free.
Tip: Cross Amalias and frame the arch with the Parthenon behind it: the classic shot at zero cost.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapPangrati
All white marble. The modern Olympic Games kicked off here in 1896 and you can run the track.
Tip: The ticket includes an audio guide and the torch museum; climb to the top row for the view.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapExarchia
The world's best collection of Greek art: the Mask of Agamemnon and the Antikythera mechanism.
Tip: You need two hours minimum. Save it for a rainy or scorching day — it's huge and cool inside.
🚇 Viktoria — M1
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKolonaki
A neoclassical mansion with 5,000 years of Greek art, from the Neolithic to independence.
Tip: The terrace café overlooks the National Garden and museum entry is free on Thursdays.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKolonaki
The marble figurines of the Cyclades — the ones that look like modern sculptures from 5,000 years ago.
Tip: Small and well curated: an hour and a half is plenty. The shop has the city's best reproductions.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKolonaki
Icons, mosaics and liturgical garments in a sunken courtyard that doesn't feel like a museum.
Tip: The garden café is free and almost nobody knows it: a great shady siesta plan.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKolonaki
Athens' highest point at 277 meters. Ride the funicular up and walk down through the pines.
Tip: The funicular leaves from Aristippou street; arrive 45 minutes before sunset to grab a spot.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Viral TikTok
Show on mapKoukaki
Stone paths by Dimitris Pikionis and a head-on view of the Parthenon without paying a cent.
Tip: Go up through the Dionysiou Areopagitou gate: 20 minutes of gentle slope and the best photo.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Viral TikTok
Show on mapAnafiotika
A tiny Cycladic village tucked under the Acropolis, built by masons from Anafi in 1860.
Tip: It's a neighborhood, not a museum: go before 9:00 or after 19:00 and keep your voice down.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Viral TikTok
Show on mapSintagma
The Parliament, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the changing of the Evzones guard.
Tip: The guard changes every hour on the hour; the big one, with the band, is Sunday at 11:00.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapSintagma
The 15 hectares of shade that save the Athenian summer, with ducks, turtles and a tiny zoo.
Tip: Open dawn to dusk; enter via Amalias and exit through the Zappeion on the way to the stadium.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKerameikos
The cemetery of ancient Athens, with funerary steles, turtles and very few people.
Tip: Included in the combo ticket and almost always empty: ideal at midday.
🚇 Kerameikos — M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMonastiraki
The bare rock where St. Paul preached. Climb up for free with the Acropolis and the Agora right in front of you.
Tip: The marble is polished and slippery as soap: rubber soles yes, rain never.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Viral TikTok
Show on mapPlaka
The 1862 cathedral and, next door, the tiny 12th-century Byzantine church built with recycled marble.
Tip: The little one, Panagia Gorgoepikoos, is the gem: spot the ancient reliefs reused on the facade.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapGazi
The old gasworks turned cultural center, with an industrial museum and fairs all year round.
Tip: Check the agenda before going: with no event on, it's just a pretty industrial yard. At night the area is buzzing.
🚇 Kerameikos — M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKallithea
Renzo Piano's complex with the opera, the national library and a huge park facing the sea.
Tip: There's a free shuttle from Sintagma; hit the rooftop lookout at sunset, entry is free.
🚇 Kallithea — M1 + bus
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapPangrati
Two Michelin stars since 2002. A Franco-Greek menu in a stone courtyard in Pangrati.
Tip: Book three weeks ahead; in summer ask for the courtyard, the best seat in the house.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Michelin 2026
Show on mapKallithea
Two stars inside the SNFCC. Avant-garde Greek cooking and a killer Greek wine list.
Tip: Tasting menu only, book online; pair it with sunset on the SNFCC rooftop.
🚇 Kallithea — M1 + bus
Featured in: Michelin 2026
Show on mapNeos Kosmos
One star on the seventh floor of the Onassis Stegi, with a terrace overlooking the whole city.
Tip: In summer ask for the terrace; the lunch menu costs quite a bit less than dinner.
🚇 Syngrou-Fix — M2
Featured in: Michelin 2026
Show on mapMetaxourgeio
One star in a restored neoclassical house with a bougainvillea courtyard in Metaxourgeio.
Tip: The area is in transition: take a taxi back at night. The short menu is the most affordable way in.
🚇 Metaxourgeio — M2
Featured in: Michelin 2026
Show on mapIlisia
A temple of dry-aged meat and signature pizza. Ariston Vezenés handles fire like few others.
Tip: Order the tomahawk to share and the mortadella pizza; it's always packed, book ahead.
🚇 Megaro Moussikis — M3
Featured in: Michelin 2026
Show on mapSintagma
A Greek-Japanese fusion Bib Gourmand built on sharing plates. Sotiris Kontizas' kitchen.
Tip: About 45 EUR per person sharing; at lunch you'll get in without a booking if you arrive before 13:00.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Bib Gourmand
Show on mapIlisia
Five top chefs share an open kitchen. Contemporary Greek with seasonal produce.
Tip: The table facing the kitchen is booked separately at no extra cost; the lunch menu is great value.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Bib Gourmand
Show on mapMetaxourgeio
A blackboard that changes daily, market produce and taverna prices. Always full.
Tip: On weekends they don't take phone bookings: show up at 20:00 or wait an hour.
🚇 Metaxourgeio — M2
Featured in: Bib Gourmand
Show on mapPangrati
The hardest mezedopoleio to book in Athens. Sharp small plates and wine by the jug.
Tip: Book days in advance and order the suckling pig and the cod fritters.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Bib Gourmand
Show on mapPangrati
A 1926 taverna with three generations behind it, barrel retsina and a charcoal grill.
Tip: Order the barrel retsina and the kokkinisto; in summer you eat in the courtyard across the street.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Bib Gourmand
Show on mapPsyri
A deli and mezedopoleio of Asia Minor cooking. Pastirma, cured meats and northern cheeses.
Tip: Sit at the counter facing the display and build a mixed platter by pointing at what you want.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Bib Gourmand
Show on mapPangrati
A modern Greek grill house: rare cuts, sweetbreads and pita bread baked on the spot.
Tip: Order the kokoretsi and the feta fries; on Saturdays it's impossible to get in without a booking.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Athinorama
Show on mapMonastiraki
Seventy years making a single souvlaki: pita, yogurt, tomato and onion. Nothing else.
Tip: Closes when the meat runs out, around 17:00. Here it's plain yogurt, not tzatziki.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Histórico 1950
Show on mapMonastiraki
Grilled kebab with puffy pita and yogurt, on Monastiraki's busiest corner.
Tip: Order the kebab, not the gyros: it's what made them famous. Service moves at full speed.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMonastiraki
A late-19th-century institution with walls plastered in photos of the famous.
Tip: Very touristy but the meat is good: order souvlaki in pita to go and pay half.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Histórico 1879
Show on mapMonastiraki
Chef-driven gyros with pasture-raised meat and sourdough pita, on Agia Irini square.
Tip: Get the pork belly one; there are tables on the square and Greek beer on tap.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapOmonia
Since 1951 and a single dish: spicy Constantinople-style beef souvlaki. There's no menu.
Tip: It's behind Omonia, inside an arcade; order by number of skewers and add paprika.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Culinary Backstreets
Show on mapAno Petralona
Neighborhood souvlaki in Petralona, with rock at full blast and tables on the locals' square.
Tip: Open at night only; sit on Merkouri square and order kebab in pita with fries.
🚇 Petralona — M1
Featured in: Culinary Backstreets
Show on mapExarchia
One hundred percent vegan gyros of oyster mushrooms in pita. It wins over carnivores too.
Tip: Order the mushroom gyros with sesame sauce; the place is tiny and most orders are takeaway.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapVarvakios
A signless basement with two doors, four dishes and barrel wine. You eat what there is.
Tip: Open 8:00 to 19:00, closed Sundays; order the chickpeas and the sardines, and be ready to share a table.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Culinary Backstreets
Show on mapPlateia Theatrou
A 1927 taverna under a grapevine, with live rebetiko and the slow-cooked stew of the day.
Tip: The music starts around 21:30 Thursday to Saturday; order the baked gigantes beans.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Histórico 1927
Show on mapPsyri
A 1928 wine house in Psyri, with classic mezedes and rebetiko on weekends.
Tip: Book for rebetiko night; the house wine comes by the jug and is very cheap.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Histórico 1928
Show on mapPsyri
A fishmonger turned taverna: grilled sardines, calamari and prices that never changed.
Tip: No bookings and just eight tables: arrive at 19:30 or put your name down and grab a drink nearby.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Culinary Backstreets
Show on mapPsyri
One dish and done: pork chops with fries under fluorescent light, since 1978.
Tip: No menu, no cards: cash, one portion per person and house wine.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Culinary Backstreets
Show on mapVarvakios
Inside the central market, open from before dawn with patsas for butchers and night owls.
Tip: Open 4:00 to 17:00, closed Sundays; if patsas scares you, order the lentil soup.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Culinary Backstreets
Show on mapAno Petralona
A neighborhood taverna where they show you the pots and you choose by pointing at what's there.
Tip: Open at night only and closed at the height of summer; walk into the kitchen and pick by looking in the pots.
🚇 Petralona — M1
Featured in: Culinary Backstreets
Show on mapPsyri
A 1967 mezedopoleio open only until late afternoon, with sidewalk tables in Psyri.
Tip: It runs from midday to mid-afternoon: order keftedes, saganaki and a jug of white wine.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Histórico 1967
Show on mapThiseio
The best lamb chops in Athens, sold by weight, on a pedestrian street in Thiseio.
Tip: You order by the kilo and half a kilo feeds two; there are two branches side by side on the same street.
🚇 Thiseio — M1
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapExarchia
An Exarchia classic with a vine-covered garden and a mezedes cart wheeled to your table.
Tip: Ask for the cart and choose by looking; in summer you eat in the back patio.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Histórico 1978
Show on mapExarchia
A taverna in the courtyard of an 1890 school, in the leafiest corner of Exarchia.
Tip: Book the courtyard in spring; the Cretan mezedes and the house raki are the move.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Athinorama
Show on mapPlateia Vathis
Cretan cooking hidden in an arcade, with snails, dakos and complimentary raki.
Tip: It's on the first floor of an arcade with no clear sign: look for Veranzerou 5 and head upstairs.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Athinorama
Show on mapPsyri
Lebanese lahmacun and peinirli in a tiny spot that blew up on social media. There's almost always a line.
Tip: Order the lamb lahmacun and eat it standing on the steps; it closes early in the evening.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Viral TikTok
Show on mapSintagma
A twelve-seat counter serving Greek-fish omakase. They slice in front of you and there's no menu.
Tip: Book weeks in advance; you eat what's on and it runs around 70 EUR.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Athinorama
Show on mapSintagma
A cocktail bar across three floors of a neoclassical house. On the 50 Best Bars list since 2014.
Tip: By day it works as a café; for the upstairs bar it's worth booking Thursday to Saturday.
🚇 Panepistimio — M2
Featured in: 50 Best Bars
Show on mapKato Petralona
Europe's best bar 2026: house ferments, fruit wines and zero waste in a former warehouse.
Tip: It's far from the center with no sign: note down Agathodemonos 37 and order the ferment flight.
🚇 Petralona — M1
Featured in: 50 Best Bars
Show on mapSintagma
Over 400 rums and tiki cocktails. Winner of the 50 Best's Legend of the List award.
Tip: Order the house daiquiri; on weekdays you walk right in, on Saturdays there's a line at the door.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: 50 Best Bars
Show on mapSintagma
The Clumsies' little sibling, it joined the 50 Best in 2025. A short bar and razor-sharp drinks.
Tip: It's steps from The Clumsies, on Praxitelous: if one has a line, cross over to the other.
🚇 Panepistimio — M2
Featured in: 50 Best Bars
Show on mapMonastiraki
A terrace facing the Acropolis over Monastiraki square. The most photographed rooftop.
Tip: Enter at Miaouli 2 and take the elevator to the top floor; arrive by 18:30 to grab a sunset table.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Viral TikTok
Show on mapMonastiraki
A rooftop hidden inside an arcade, with views from the Acropolis to Lycabettus and good drinks.
Tip: The entrance is a corridor at Normanou 3, easy to walk right past; open from midday.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Viral TikTok
Show on mapPlaka
A 1909 distillery in Plaka with the city's most photographed wall of colored bottles.
Tip: Try the house ouzo and mastiha; in the afternoon the light pours in and the bottle wall glows.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Histórico 1909
Show on mapMonastiraki
A courtyard with trees and hammocks hidden between buildings, plus a live venue in the basement.
Tip: Enter through a corridor at Avramiotou 6-8; a calm café by day, with shows at night.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapSintagma
A Greek wine bar with island labels and native varieties you won't find abroad.
Tip: Order a cheese board and ask them to suggest an assyrtiko or xinomavro by the glass.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Athinorama
Show on mapExarchia
The pioneering roaster of Greek specialty coffee. Championship-winning filters and serious baristas.
Tip: Order a filter brew of the origin of the month; they sell beans to take home.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Specialty coffee
Show on mapThiseio
A warehouse with a patio steps from the Agora, with all-day brunch and barista champions.
Tip: On weekends there's a wait for brunch; on weekdays the patio is nearly empty.
🚇 Thiseio — M1
Featured in: Specialty coffee
Show on mapSintagma
A minimal espresso bar in an arcade by Sintagma, with more grinders than chairs.
Tip: It's for drinking standing up and moving on; ask them to recommend the espresso of the day.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Specialty coffee
Show on mapExarchia
A café by day and bar by night on Valtetsiou street, with outdoor tables and Exarchia's pulse.
Tip: A great stop before dinner in Exarchia; the freddo espresso is the local summer drink.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Specialty coffee
Show on mapKoukaki
A former mechanic's garage turned Koukaki café, with long breakfasts and wifi that actually works.
Tip: Ideal for working in the morning; at night it switches to a bar with drinks and music.
🚇 Syngrou-Fix — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKoukaki
A bookshop and café two blocks from the Acropolis Museum, with tables on the sidewalk.
Tip: Good English-language section and homemade pie: the perfect stop after the museum.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapPsyri
A themed café that redecorates three times a year and takes over an entire street in Psyri.
Tip: The coffee is average and pricey: you go for the photos. Daytime is the better plan if you're traveling with kids.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Viral TikTok
Show on mapPlaka
Tables on the steps of Mnisikleous, the most photographed staircase in Plaka.
Tip: Arrive before 10:00 to sit on the steps; order pie and Greek coffee.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Viral TikTok
Show on mapPlaka
A little café hidden at the foot of Anafiotika, in a lane with no cars and no tour groups.
Tip: It's on Thrasyvoulou street, up from the Roman Agora; perfect for the midday slump.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapVarvakios
A 1922 roastery facing the central market, brewing Greek coffee on hot sand.
Tip: Order the Greek coffee made in a briki and take ground beans home; it opens early with the market.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Histórico 1922
Show on mapSintagma
Specialty coffee and brunch on Apollonos street, steps from Plaka but without Plaka prices.
Tip: A solid breakfast before climbing the Acropolis: opens at 8:00 with tables outside.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Specialty coffee
Show on mapIlisia
Microlots and in-house roasting in Ilisia, away from the center with a neighborhood crowd.
Tip: Worth the detour if you're into specialty coffee; try the V60 of the month's microlot.
🚇 Megaro Moussikis — M3
Featured in: Specialty coffee
Show on mapKolonaki
The Kolonaki institution: you serve yourself at the counter and watch the city go by.
Tip: Order at the counter and pay at the end; sit outside on Tsakalof to watch the parade.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMonastiraki
All-day brunch on Agia Irini square, the epicenter of Athenian weekend coffee.
Tip: Saturday and Sunday there's a 20-minute wait: put your name down and sip a freddo on the square.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMonastiraki
Loukoumades since 1923 on Aiolou street, with honey, cinnamon and kaimaki ice cream.
Tip: Order the honey-and-cinnamon portion plus a bougatsa; it closes early, better to go in the afternoon.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Histórico 1923
Show on mapMonastiraki
The modern take on the loukoumas, filled and topped, right on pedestrian Aiolou.
Tip: The pistachio and white chocolate fillings are the crowd favorites; open late.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKolonaki
Organic food and brunch in Kolonaki with old-Hollywood photos and serious eggs Benedict.
Tip: Book for Sunday brunch; almost everything is organic and there are vegan options.
🚇 Panepistimio — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapPlaka
A tiny Plaka café with chalkboards for drawing and homemade pies. An escape from the tour trail.
Tip: There's chalk on the tables: a lifesaver if you're traveling with kids and the rain rolls in.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapVarvakios
The 1886 meat and fish market. Loud, raw and the liveliest spot in Athens.
Tip: Open 7:00 to 18:00, closed Sundays; cross to the vegetable side and continue along Evripidou.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Culinary Backstreets
Show on mapMonastiraki
Ifaistou and the surrounding streets: vinyl, leather, souvenirs and the odd genuine find.
Tip: The good stalls appear on Sunday morning; haggle and watch your wallet.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapSintagma
The pedestrian shopping street linking Sintagma and Monastiraki. Chain stores, buskers and big crowds.
Tip: Hours 9:00 to 21:00, later on Saturdays; on Sundays almost everything closes.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMonastiraki
The antique dealers' square: furniture, lamps and curios stacked to the ceiling.
Tip: Sunday morning is the big day, and the square's cafés have live rebetiko.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapPlaka
Contemporary Greek design in Plaka: objects, stationery and gifts that aren't fridge magnets.
Tip: The best place for souvenirs with taste; two floors and clear prices.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapPsyri
The poet sandal-maker who fitted the Beatles. A third generation cutting leather to measure.
Tip: They measure you and adjust in 20 minutes; the classic models start around 40 EUR.
🚇 Monastiraki — M1/M3
Featured in: Histórico 1920
Show on mapPlaka
Genuine Greek craft: Karagiozis shadow-theater figures, ceramics and embroidery.
Tip: It's on Kodrou, a quiet street behind Plaka; the owners explain every piece.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapSintagma
A Greek gourmet grocery with cheeses, oils and preserves, plus a restaurant at the back.
Tip: A great spot to buy vacuum-packed oil and mastiha for the plane; open every day.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapOmonia
The home of Greek coffee since 1920, with vintage machines and the smell of roasting out on the street.
Tip: Ask for the fine grind for briki: it's the only one that works for real Greek coffee.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Histórico 1920
Show on mapPsyri
The spice street by the market: saffron, mastiha, mountain oregano and herbs.
Tip: Take home Chios mastiha and Greek oregano; prices are already fair, so haggle little.
🚇 Omonia — M1/M2
Featured in: Culinary Backstreets
Show on mapKolonaki
The luxury pedestrian street: watchmakers, jewelers and big brands between Sintagma and Kolonaki.
Tip: The Lalaounis jewelry house is here; ask for tax free at each store before paying.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKolonaki
The heart of Kolonaki: Greek designers, small boutiques and cafés for people-watching.
Tip: Go up Skoufa and down Tsakalof; many shops close between 15:00 and 17:00.
🚇 Evangelismos — M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapSintagma
Athens' biggest department store, in the City Link arcade next to Sintagma.
Tip: Eight floors with AC and clean bathrooms: the ideal refuge on a scorching or rainy day.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapSintagma
Everything made with Chios mastiha: liqueur, sweets, cosmetics and resin-flavored gum.
Tip: The Mastiha liqueur and the candies are the most Greek gift you can take home.
🚇 Sintagma — M2/M3
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKolonaki
Greek cosmetics made of honey and herbs, with an oil bar where you mix your own blend.
Tip: Ask for the oil-bar experience; the travel sizes go through cabin baggage just fine.
🚇 Panepistimio — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapMakrigianni
Greek jewelry inspired by archaeological pieces, with its own museum behind the Acropolis.
Tip: The museum costs little and the shop has affordable reproductions in silver.
🚇 Akropoli — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapKypseli
A 1935 market reclaimed by locals, with producers, workshops and zero tourists.
Tip: Pair it with a stroll along Fokionos Negri; there's a cultural agenda almost every day.
🚇 Viktoria — M1
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on mapExarchia
A cult record store in Exarchia with Greek vinyl, reissued rebetiko and indie rock.
Tip: Ask for rebetiko and Savvopoulos reissues; they'll play it for you before you buy.
🚇 Panepistimio — M2
Featured in: Time Out Athens
Show on map