Getting Around The City Of Athens

Acropolis of Athens

Athens City the capital of Greece, might seem like a huge city to the first-time visitor, but what one must always keep in mind is that in reality it’s a collection of many different neighborhoods, each with its own distinctive flair and things to offer that make the city such a fascinating and exciting place to visit and live in.

If you have the time to explore the city of Athens, here are some of the places that you should visit by joining one of tours offered here “Athens sightseeing tours“.
Unless you have a specific goal and limited time, why not just stroll, get lost, and be pleasantly surprised when you discover that you’re on a street where almost all of the shops sell only icons, or where there’s a little park with a bench where you can sit and study your map.
And don’t forget to take in the Archaeological Park, the pedestrianized walkways that stretch from Hadrian’s Gate past the Acropolis on Dionissiou Areopagitou street to the Ancient Agora, past Thissio and on to the Kerameikos.

Plaka the old city of Athens at the foot of the Acropolis Hill
Right below the Acropolis, Plaka is the most tourist-heavy neighborhood in the city. Its maze of narrow medieval streets twist their way through ancient sites, Byzantine churches, offbeat museums, and 19th-century homes. Restaurants and cafes line many streets of this pedestrian neighborhood that is rich in history and character and is undeniably atmospheric, romantic, and nostalgia inducing.

Feel free to lose yourself in the labyrinthine streets because you never know what you’ll find just around the next corner. Maybe you will find the tiny village within a village of Anafiotika, a Cycladic town at the very base of the Acropolis. Strolling through this quirky area will likely be one of the most beautiful moments you will have during your entire stay, so take your time and explore.

Tower of Winds and Roman Forum

Monastiraki – This neighborhood fringes the Agora and the Roman Forum, and the flea markets are open every day but are usually best – and most crowded – on Sunday. Many tavernas, cafes, and shops line the streets, but my favorite street by far is Adrianou, the street that links Monastiraki to beautifully restored Thissio, with restored houses as restaurants and cafes on one side and the Agora on the other – and Acropolis views as well.

Monastiraki Square is the latest square to have been refurbished. Completed in December 2008, the square offers a treat for visitors and locals alike – for the first time in 20 centuries, the bed of the ancient river Eridanos (or Iridanos) is visible once again through a glass cover.

Psirri - Between Athinas and Ermou, Psirri was once derelict and forgotten; now it’s one of the city’s hottest destinations after dark. Slick warehouse conversions; restored neoclassical houses; trendy restaurants, bars, cafes, tavernas, and mezedopoleia (establishments offering smaller dishes of samplings rather than main courses) with live music, clubs, and galleries side by side with some still remaining workshops. This area comes alive in the late afternoon until the early morning hours. It is such a popular destination with so much going on.

Back on the the ancient neighborhood of Kerameikos, undergoing its own reinvention. The little-visited ancient Athenian cemetery is peaceful and green and a delight to visit, with many stunningly beautiful classical sculptures and part of the city’s ancient walls. Psirri and Kerameikos are linked by yet another restored square: Koumoundourou.

Right after Kerameikos and directly across busy Pireos Avenue is Technopolis (Art City), better known as Gazi – once an industrial wasteland that spewed black gas fumes (thus the name Gazi, which means gas) from the foundry’s smokestacks. The factory closed in 1984 but when the city of Athens bought the old foundry and turned it into a stunning multipurpose art and exhibition center. Today the old foundry’s smokestacks are illuminated in arty neon red, and the streets are filled with the edgiest and hippest nightlife in the city and a real downtown vibe – edgy arts spaces, fusion restaurants, art galleries, theaters, bars, cafes, and a gay “village.” The revival is beginning to spread well beyond the neighborhood’s borders into other long-forgotten urban areas, where closed factories are becoming the hottest clubs in town (due to their sheer size) or brilliantly transformed into museums, multipurpose arts centers, and exhibition halls; this is the birthplace of 21st-century City of Athens.

Gazi - Technopolis

A must-see on your stroll here is the beautifully reimagined Technopolis center, which has retained much of its original industrial architecture while being converted brilliantly to a multipurpose complex for shows, festivals, and exhibitions. It also has a cafe and a courtyard used for concerts. The one permanent exhibition here is the small Maria Callas Museum.

To truly understand the renaissance that Gazi started, apart from the many cutting-edge multiuse spaces and sophisticated dining and nightlife options, you must see the ripple effects it has had on the neighboring areas, creating with it new architectural landmarks. Within walking distance of Gazi (along Pireos Ave.) you will find the School of Fine Arts and the glossy Foundation of the Hellenic World (converted from an old warehouse and featuring interactive and virtual tours of ancient Greece) with its striking ribbed dome meant to evoke a Bronze Age beehive tomb. Further along is the Pantheon, a stunning concert and conference hall multiplex. Another new architectural landmark is the new Benaki Museum (called the Beautiful Red Box for reasons you will understand once you see it), which holds temporary exhibitions, film screenings, theater performances, and concerts in its awesome internal courtyard. Further down is the Athinais, a magnificent restoration of a former silk factory into a sophisticated arts complex. Here you will find the Museum of Ancient Cypriot Art, galleries, a concert hall, a theater and cinema, and some excellent restaurants and bars.

At night, be sure to take in the extraordinary buzz of this lively neighborhood. Walk the streets and hop in and out of as many bars as you can, or join the locals as they enjoy their drinks out in the streets after bar capacity has reached its limit; the Kerameikos Metro station smack in the middle of Gazi Square is surrounded by some of the city’s coolest bars and is where locals socialize (drink in hand) when the bars are full, creating a scene that can only be found in the most popular islands like Santorini, Mykonos, Hydra at the height of summer. Gazi is where Athens’s modern heart beats to its own rhythm.

Across Ermou from Psirri, is Thissio. Right on the pedestrianized Apostolou Pavlou, Thissio with its restored neoclassical buildings, uninterrupted Acropolis views, the temple of Hephaestos, and some of the city’s best places to hang out, is the place to be. Charming and old fashioned, modern and happening, it’s unlike any other neighborhood, with hip hangouts. Also be sure to check out the grand National Observatory, a beautiful neoclassical mansion from the late 1800s.

National Archaeological Museum of Athens

A few blocks from the Polytechnic and near the excellent National Archaeological Museum, is Exarchia. Long before Gazi, this was the closest thing Athens City had to an “alternative” neighborhood, which is kind of funny since its neighbor is none other than posh Kolonaki. This bohemian neighborhood – covering 50 city blocks – is a lively area to spend a few hours in, with excellent tavernas on a buzzing square and pedestrian streets, great lounges and bars, plus the city’s finest rock clubs and live music venues. If you have the time, explore Streffi Hill, a little-visited hill, green and lovely, which offers incredible views of the city and the Acropolis all the way to the Saronic Gulf once you reach its top. Across busy Leoforos Alexandras is Athens’s City largest park, Pedion Areos, undergoing an extensive 10 million € face-lift.

Koukaki & Makrigianni - Once the working-class counterpart to Kolonaki, Koukaki has been thoroughly gentrified and is one of Athens’s City most desirable neighborhoods. The district lies at the base of Lofos Filopappou (Filopappos Hill), also known as the Lofos Mousseon (Hill of the Muses). A number of pleasant paths lead from streets at the base of Filopappos up through its pine-clad slopes, some ending at the Dora Stratou Theater or the observatory. Buses and trolleys run along Veikou, the main road through Koukaki, home to unpretentious cafes and restaurants as well as reasonably priced hotels. Enjoy shopping in neighborhood groceries and shops, and don’t mind the 15- to 20-minute walk back into the city center.

Makrigianni, the upscale neighborhood just north of Koukaki, at the southern base of the Acropolis, has more office buildings, shops, and hotels than apartments. You’ll find a few luxurious hotels and several good restaurants, including the popular Strofi and Socrates’s Prison (also known as the Samaria). Makrigianni used to be, along with Kolonaki, the city’s main gay-friendly neighborhood before Gazi took over, but many of the old gay bars are still here and remain very popular. This is a good area in which to stay if you want to be almost as centrally located as you would be in the Plaka or Syntagma. Of course, with the opening of the New Acropolis Museum in Makrigianni and of the Contemporary Art Museum at the Syngrou-Fix Metro and tram stops on the fringes of Koukaki, that will most likely change.

Piraeus City (Pireas)

Pasalimani

The main port of Athens City, Piraeus is a city very much in its own right – although even locals have trouble telling precisely where Athens City ends and Piraeus City begins. Piraeus City prides itself on being rough and tough – a stronghold of communism, the home of rembetika (traditional Greek “blues” music, born out of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1922). This is where you come to catch a boat to the islands from the main harbor (Megas Limani or Great Harbor), or from Zea Marina, also called Pasalimani. Mikrolimano (Little Harbor), also called Turkolimano (Turkish Harbor), is a picturesque harbor with eateries and cafes by the marina. Zea Marina also has countless cafes by the harbor and a bustling shopping center. Nearby is the beautiful neighborhood of Kastella, with its beautiful neoclassical mansions and unbeatable views of the Saronic Gulf. See more information about Pireas City and Port in details.

The Southern Suburbs – Coastal Athens City
The coastal avenue Leoforos Poseidonos begins where Syngrou ends – right by the sea. Easily accessible from downtown Athens via the tram (up to Voula) and further via bus, this is where Athenians love to hang out and party during the hot summer months. Coastal Athens begins at the Metro line 1 stop Faliro and the tram stop SEF (Stadium of Peace and Friendship). Nearby, the revitalized yacht marina of Flisvos (at tram stop Trocadero) is a delight for strolling, with stores, restaurants, cafes, lounges, and bars where you can sit near the water and gaze at the over 200 gleaming yachts. There is also a lovely open-air cinema right by the surf. This is also the marina where the battleship Averoff, which played a decisive role in the Balkan Wars, is berthed and operates as a museum.

As you continue down Leoforos Poseidonos, be sure to take in all the revived coastline has to offer: beaches (which consistently score high on the E.U.’s Blue Flag list of clean beaches), boardwalks, esplanades, marinas, multiplexes, and open-air megaclubs that are as luxurious and glamorous as they are fun. First-rate restaurants along with excellent shopping on pedestrian Ioannou Metaxa in Glyfada combined with top hotels throughout the coast and many sports facilities and watersports options make the coast, a fashionable and addictively fun scene to witness and be a part of. If you’re on a tight schedule and can’t spend any time on the capital’s coast, be sure to join one of the tours starting from the City of Athens to Cape Sounion.