Exploring Athens: Where History Meets Modern Chic in Greece’s Capital

How do you make probably the most of your time in a metropolis like Athens? Whether or not you’re a frequent customer, or discovering its attract for the very first time, it appears there are at all times extra of this capital’s treasures to discover than time permits, however your efforts might be richly rewarded nonetheless.

At any time when I discover myself on the capital’s labyrinthine streets, inhaling its explicit fragrance of bitter oranges and rosemary, I wish to base my itinerary on tried-and-true favorites, supplemented by new suggestions from associates and taste-makers that seize among the grit and the glamour of this dynamic fashionable metropolis. Typically this takes me to the newest hip eating spot hidden behind graffiti-covered metal shutters in less-frequented neighborhoods. Different instances it leads me down elegantly shaded streets which might be house to luxurious boutiques and the Zeus+Dione-clad stylish crowd who lunch there… Like the right DJ set, it’s actually all in regards to the combine. So, on this spirit, I current my very own information to among the metropolis’s most unmissable spots, with a bit room for improvisation and recent flavors alongside the best way. And sure, that’s proper, you’ll want good strolling sneakers!

The middle of city

An ideal day of meandering round downtown Athens at all times begins with a espresso. Town is abuzz with cool, up to date java joints lately; one in every of my private favorites is Samba Espresso Roasters (36 Solonos) in Kolonaki, the place the hum of dialog competes with the thrum of mopeds on the road. The pleasure isn’t restricted to sampling the darkish arts of the knowledgeable baristas, who marry flavors with unmatched ability; it’s additionally about tuning into the power of the place.

From Samba Espresso Roasters, it’s only a leisurely saunter to the legendary purchasing road of  Voukourestiou, the place a modern fleet of luxurious flagship retailers (Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Rolex) progressively give strategy to quirky unbiased boutiques, and a few distinctive retro stylish purchasing spots. Greek-Egyptian designer Irene Hussein (42 Voukourestiou) presents a beautiful line of vividly coloured pop ceramics, in addition to crocheted trinkets which might be good for gifting, or for carrying to the seaside. 

Excessive glamour and informal stylish

Athénée – the long-lasting 85-year-old restaurant – sits on the nook of Voukourestiou and Panepistimiou (one way or the other it’s at all times cocktail time inside its storied wood-paneled partitions). From this den of movie-star glamour, I wish to meander westward, having fun with the old school grocery shops providing sweet and nuts piled excessive in large baskets, the favored retro emporiums akin to Modernon (3 Aghias Irinis), and the full of life bar scene. Search out Six d.o.g.s. (6-8 Avramiotou) – half cocktail bar, half pop-culture legend – and revel in an apéritif in its courtyard because the solar goes down. It’s the right prelude to watching a film below the celebs at open-air cinema Cine Thision (7 Apostolou Pavlou), awash within the heady perfume of the big basil vegetation.

Shut by, the enchantingly eclectic streets of Psyrri (historically the town’s central craft district) teem with odd retailers, quirky bars and packed eateries. Right here and there, surreal rope and cord sculptures – a nod to the neighborhood’s artisanal roots – are suspended from the higher flooring of the buildings. The impact is theatrical and otherworldly.

Wealthy flavors in Pangrati

There’s a culinary motion going down throughout Athens with the rise of “easy” eating places (utilizing native seasonal substances on pared-down menus) pushed by among the nation’s most acclaimed cooks returning to their roots and riffing on the earthy (typically plant-centric) cooking they ate at their grandmother’s. At Akra (12 Aminta), the newest talked-about venue in the newly fashionable neighborhood of Pangrati (a 15-minute cab trip east of Psyrri), cooks Ioannis Loukakis and Spyros Pediaditakis have created an area not not like an area bakery, however be warned – you will have to combat modern diners to get a desk. Inside, the scenes of open-fire cooking and the shut proximity of cooks busy creating dishes within the open kitchen are intoxicating… and that’s earlier than you get to the tempting wine record. As for the meals itself, I’m nonetheless swooning over a dish of creamy fava bean purée, served with a lentil salad so piquant it gave me goosebumps.

For post-prandial shopping, head throughout the road to Threesome Ceramics (13 Aminta), the place you’ll discover elegant handcrafted vessels and humorous Lilliputian sculptures displayed with minimalist magnificence and only a pinch of humor. Downstairs is a studio house the place you would possibly catch one of many artists making a piece, or a workshop in full movement.

Thrilling Exarchia

Time for a temper change (and one other cab trip) again west to the road art-daubed buildings of Exarchia, the anarchist district, well-known for its bar tradition, artist collectives and experimental pop-ups. That is the realm that has earned this metropolis its status as the brand new Berlin, a cauldron of uncooked creativity. Go to by day to browse the paperback bookstores, to select up classic garments, or to hearken to musicians training behind yawning rehearsal-room doorways. Come night, cease for a drink at Stroll In (56 Mavromichali) or seize a desk at Pharaoh (54 Solomou), the most well liked restaurant on the town.

At 18:00, the closely graffitied shutters are flung open and the hollowed-out industrial bones of the constructing play host to a modern crowd. Star chef Manolis Papoutsakis commutes from Thessaloniki, bringing the strong fragrant substances of northern Greece with him. A altering vinyl playlist printed contained in the menu is a cute contact, and half parts might be served to permit diners to pattern extra dishes (a genius thought). On a current go to, I ate treacly sourdough bread, woody mushrooms and grilled wild greens with manouri cheese, paired with an orange, pure skin-touched wine. It was all voluptuous and intense – the flavors match this seductive and stressed metropolis to perfection. The place to complete the night? Within the casually decadent Artwork Deco ambiance of the wine bar Gamay (42 Zoodochou Pigis), the final cease of an extended day.

So what precisely is particular about this metropolis? Identical to that cup of espresso with which we began our morning, it’s the mix of outstanding components that makes an Athenian journey irresistible.

Artwork & historical past

“Athens is the town that by no means sleeps,” says my photographer pal Terry Tsiolis, a New Yorker, albeit one who has lived in Athens for prolonged durations. “I like the depth of the place. I like that you simply make plans for a night with one pal and find yourself in a gaggle of ten for dinner.” But it surely’s not simply meals for the physique that tempts him: “I additionally like to go to the Stavros Niarchos Basis Cultural Heart at sundown and stroll by means of the gardens – the sunshine and the breeze are magical.”

I second that emotion. Even to these on a comparatively quick sojourn within the metropolis, I like to recommend visiting one or two of the spectacular museums and historic archaeological websites. The Acropolis Museum (15 Dionysiou Areopagitou), with its heart-stopping views and serene fashionable galleries, by no means fails to astonish. The Acropolis itself is totally unmissable, and so is the Historical Agora. The Kerameikos archaeological website, too, transports you again in time to the Golden Age of Greece. The Nationwide Archaeological Museum (44 Patission) is the most important museum in Greece and a veritable treasure trove of distinctive artifacts; the luxurious Mycenaean Assortment on the bottom flooring options the glistening Masks of Agamemnon.

The Museum of Cycladic Artwork (4 Neofytou Douka), whose contemplative modernist inside – courtesy of architect Yiannis Vikelas – is house to a rare assortment of gorgeous early Cycladic figures and hosts fascinating non permanent exhibitions; it additionally has a trendy café. In case you’re after one thing extra fashionable, the Allouche Benias Gallery (1 Kanari) is shut by; it places on daring, provocative up to date reveals that at all times intrigue, problem and even, now and again, seduce their viewers.

At the Basil & Elise Goulandris Basis (13 Eratosthenous), there are artworks by Cézanne, Picasso, Kiefer, Monet, Braque, Miró, Botero, Bacon, Lichtenstein and lots of others. The Greek artists featured listed here are additionally superb; it’s definitely worth the value of admission simply to spend time with the huge panoramic road scenes of Panayiotis Tetsis, the Hydra-born painter.