Where To Stay in Athens

Where To Stay in Athens

Introduction

Given that it is one of the most ancient cities in the world, Athens is also one of the most interesting to explore. Offering the modern-day traveler a chance to experience what the world was like over 4,000 years ago, Athens has landmark after landmark to discover. With its heart very much in 800 B.C, Athens’s head is very much in the 21st Century, from the urban anarchy of Exarcheia to the classy cafe-lined streets of Kolonaki, a neighborhood that suits every subculture and travel style in central Athens. Though it will always seem odd to be standing in front of a modern fast-food chain restaurant and looking up to see the Acropolis off in the distance, this juxtaposition makes Athens such an exciting city to visit.

You could spend a lifetime exploring Athens and the world of the ancient civilizations who built this great city, but even on a short visit, you can get more than a taste of their wealthy disposition. Let’s look at where to stay in Athens so you can find a neighborhood that suits your style and ideal itinerary.

Neighborhoods & Area Guide

• The Best Neighborhoods in Athens are Plaka, Monastiraki, Koukaki, Syntagma, Kolonaki, and Psirri. Those with early morning ferries may consider staying in Piraeus near the port, but staying in Athens is strongly recommended.
• Best Places for Sightseeing: Most neighborhoods in Athens have at least a few attractions, whether museums or ruins, but Plaka and Monastiraki neighborhoods have the most. Both neighborhoods grew up around the ancient heart of Athens and are within short walking distance of the Acropolis. Plaka, Monastiraki, and Koukaki neighborhoods all sit at the base of the Acropolis and face toward the Parthenon. Several hotels, restaurants, and bars in the three areas have views of the Parthenon.
• Best Places for Shopping: Monastiraki and Kolonaki are the best neighborhoods for shopping. Monastiraki is the better-known and busier of the two, with its 1.5-kilometer-long shopping street Ermou running all the way through the neighborhood and the Monastiraki Flea Market covering a few blocks along Ifestou Street. Kolonaki is a more upmarket neighborhood with its two main shopping streets, Voukourestiou and Stadiou, boasting luxury brand boutiques and the high-end department store Attica.

• Best Places for Families: Plaka, Monastiraki, and Syntagma are the best areas for families. These areas are all very safe, offer easy transportation, and are walkable to Athens’ best dining and attractions. The farther north you go (away from Plaka and closer to Omonia), the uglier and sketchier the city gets. Stay south of Sofokleous Street to avoid the worst areas, though even these places are pretty safe.
• Best Places for Living Like a Local: Koukaki and Kolonaki are wonderful, less touristy neighborhoods in Athens. Koukaki has plenty of local restaurants and cafes, offering stunning Parthenon views and easy walking to museums and sights. Kolonaki is a more upscale, residential neighborhood with high-end boutiques, restaurants, and museums; this area is walkable, but since it’s built on a hill, there are many stairs to navigate in parts.
• Best Places for Dining and Nightlife: Monastiraki offers the best mix of quality food and a charming atmosphere, with plenty of sidewalk cafes serving locals and travelers alike. Psirri is the nightlife hub of Athens, with tons of bars, clubs, cafes, and restaurants all radiating out from its central Hero’s Square (Plateia Iroon).
• Best Places for Short Trips: Monastiraki and Syntagma are ideal for short trips of a day or two. Both areas are well-connected by public transportation. Monastiraki Station offers a direct train to Piraeus ferry port and the international airport. Syntagma Station has direct train links to the airport and the city’s major sights.

Plaka

Many of Athens’ neighborhoods feel like villages set within the city streets. There is a strong community identity from one neighborhood to another, which is undoubtedly true of Plaka. With a distinct personality and a unique community feel, Plaka is an ideal place for first-time travelers to this ancient city. This is one of the oldest areas of Athens, and due to the narrow streets, large areas of the neighborhood are pedestrianized. This helps strengthen the quintessentially Greek feel of the district. Travelers quickly sink into the slower pace of life and lazily wander the slim streets, searching for an ancient treasure. You don’t have to look too far to find evidence of the city’s ancient existence. Standing proudly at the heart of the Plaka neighborhood is the Tower of the Winds. Stop, stare, and marvel – it’s the only thing to do in the presence of such grandeur.

• Suitable For: Active Travelers, Backpackers, Budding Historians, Couples, Culture Vultures, Families, First Time Travelers, Whistle Stop Travelers
• Neighborhood Highlights: Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, Roman Agora, Tower of the Winds, Plaka Anafiotika, Hellenic Children’s Museum, Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments, Frissiras Museum, Athens University History Museum, Museum of Pavlos and Alexandra Kanellopoulou, Museum of School Life and Education, Drapel GRECESC

Hotel Recommendations:

Kolonaki

Kolonaki is a wealthy neighborhood bordering Syntagma and located on the southern slope of Mt. Lycabettus, the tallest of Athens’ 7 hills. A funicular connects Kolonaki to the hilltop peak. Kolonaki is known for luxury shopping, museums, galleries, and chic dining and drinks. Many of its streets are pedestrian-only and brimming with Greek and international designer boutiques, haute-couture shoe stores, and trendy sidewalk cafés, especially along its main shopping streets, Voukourestiou and Stadiou. Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, which makes up Kolonaki’s southern border, is lined with neoclassical mansions converted into museums, including the Benaki Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Athens War Museum, and the Byzantine and Christian Museum. Several smaller museums and galleries dot the neighborhood. Kolonaki is very near Syntagma and about a 15-minute walk from Plaka. Due to its hillside location, there can be a lot of steps depending on where you’re going. The neighborhood is served by Syntagma station on metro lines 2 & 3 and Evangelismos on metro line 3.

• Suitable For: Adventurous Travelers, Backpackers, City Slickers, Culture Vultures, Couples, Off-the-Beaten Track Travelers, Like Local Travelers, Long-Term Travelers, Party People
• Neighborhood Highlights: Lycabettus Hill, Byzantine And Christian Museum, Museum of Cycladic Art, Hellenic Children’s Museum, Benaki Museum, Adrianeos Tanks, Gallery 7, Museum of the History of Greek Costume

Hotel Recommendations:

Psirri

One of the oldest neighborhoods in Athens, Psirri sits northwest of Monastiraki and Plaka and south of Kotzia and Omonia Squares. Psirri has a long, sketchy history – a favorite hideout of revolutionaries and thugs in the 19th Century and the home of rebetiko and mangas into the early 20th Century – though it has undergone a complete revival and is now known for its lively nightlife and authentic dining. This neighborhood is still a solid working class, with many artisan workshops filling all the lanes extending from its main square, Plateia Iroon (Heroes Square). Neoclassical houses that were once abandoned have been renovated and converted into hotels, galleries, tavernas, cafés, clubs, and bars, many with live music. Street art and elaborate murals cover many of the buildings here, and several small shops sell vintage clothes, local spices, vinyl records, original artwork, and much more. Psirri is visited less by tourists and more by locals, despite being a 5-minute walk to Monastiraki Flea Market, 10 minutes from the Ancient Agora, and a 20-minute walk to the Acropolis. Psirri is served by the Monastiraki metro station, with lines 1 and 3 offering direct service to the port and airport, respectively.

• Suitable For: Adventurous Travelers, Backpackers, City Slickers, Culture Vultures, Couples, Off-the-Beaten Track Travelers, Like a Local Travelers, Party People
• Neighborhood Highlights: Iroon Square, Emporikon Theatre, Theatro Kofon Ellados, Spinster Bar, Boiler Bar, The Clumsies Bar, Athens Escape Room, Museum of Greek Gastronomy, Church of Panaghia Kapnikarea, Statue Of Pericles

Hotel Recommendations:

Syntagma

Sitting just north of Plaka and just south of Exarcheia, the tiny neighborhood of Syntagma is often overlooked in favor of these two prominent personalities. Syntagma is a historical neighborhood in the center of the ancient epicenter of Athens. Syntagma Square is home to Greece’s parliament and, as such, holds excellent national significance even to this day. You could spend your whole trip getting clued up about Syntagma Square alone and only scratch the surface. Even in the modern era, Syntagma Square is often the location of choice for protests and political rallies. It is a multifunctional area visited as much by locals as tourists. Syntagma acts as a gateway to the beautiful and ever-floral National Garden. This expansive parkland is a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle of central Athens. It features a smattering of archaeological ruins, a charming children’s library, and, of course, an excellent catalog of flora.

• Suitable For: Active Travelers, Backpackers, Budding Historians, Couples, Culture Vultures, Families, First Time Travelers, Whistle Stop Travelers
• Neighborhood Highlights: Syntagma Square, Hellenic Parliament Building, National Garden, Botanical Museum of the National Gardens, Zappeion, Third Ephorate Of Ancient Antiquities, Statue of Lord Byron, Benaki Museum, Jewish Museum of Greece

Hotel Recommendations:

Thiseio

Sitting on the border of Athens’ historical center is the up-and-coming neighborhood of Thiseio. A foodie’s paradise, Thiseio is home to some of Athens’s best bars and brunch spots. In the daytime, you can venture into the historical center and discover a whole new side of Athens at night, a little closer to the base. Aloustínes is a firm favorite with travelers who rave about their Raki. Raki is a traditional Greek anise-flavored alcoholic aperitif. A glass or two really should be tried while in Athens. The beauty of Thiseio is that it is so close to yet more of Athens’ incredible historic sites. The Temple of Hephaestus is an Ancient Greek place of worship at the foot of the Acropolis. The Sanctuary Of Zeus is a fascinating archaeological museum, and the National Observatory of Athens is rather impressive.

• Suitable For Adventurous Travelers, Backpackers, Budding Historians, City Slickers, Culture Vultures, Couples, Foodies, like-a-Local Travelers, and Whistle-Stop Travelers.
• Neighborhood Highlights: The Temple of Hephaestus, Sanctuary Of Zeus, National Observatory of Athens, Themistoclean Ancient Wall of Pnyx, Areopagus Hill, Church of Agios Demetrios Loumbardiaris, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Ancient Agora of Athens

Hotel Recommendations:

Exarcheia

Sitting on the outskirts of Athens’s historical center but still firmly within the downtown, Exarcheia is best known for being the site of the Athens Polytechnic Uprising in 1973. Fast forward 40 years, and this neighborhood has undergone a total transformation. Certainly retaining its strong and individual personality, Exarcheia is now home to a coffee culture rather than an anarchist movement. Travelers can opt to join one of the neighborhood’s dozens of graffiti tours that showcase the area’s thriving artistic talent and tell the tale of its turbulent past. This is an ideal area for travelers who want to live like a local or long-term traveler looking to gain a taste for life outside the tourist-orientated quarters. The weekend farmer’s market on Kallidromiou Street is a beautiful place to mingle with locals and learn what makes them tick. Kallidromiou Street is the cultural capital of the Exarcheia, with groups of friends gathering here.

• Suitable For: Adventurous Travelers, Backpackers, City Slickers, Culture Vultures, Couples, Digital Nomads, Off-the-Beaten Track Travelers, Like a Local Travelers
• Neighborhood Highlights: Kallidromiou Street, Sunday Farmer’s Market, Epigraphic Museum, National Archaeological Museum, Strefi Hill Park, Opap Play Casino, Street Art Tours, Navarinou Park

Hotel Recommendations:

Monastiraki

For travelers looking to gain insight into old and new Athens, Monastiraki is the best neighborhood. Well known for its flea markets and laid-back eateries, Monastiraki offers you the chance to experience a more encompassing vision of the Greek capital. There are an overwhelming amount of places to shop here. If you have any euros to spare, be sure to stock them up and get spending. Time your visit on a Sunday to experience Monastiraki flea markets. This sees local vendors head out into the main square and bargain off their wares to passing tourists. In terms of evidence of ancient Greece, there is a lot to explore in Monastiraki. Not only is it within a 10-minute walk of Plaka and the Acropolis, but it is home to several historical wonders – Hadrian’s Library, Tzistarakis Mosque, and Stoa of Attalos, to name but a few.

• Suitable For: Budding Historians, Couples, City Slickers, Culture Vultures, Families, First Time Travelers, Foodies, Shopaholics, Whistle Stop Travelers
• Neighborhood Highlights: Hadrian’s Library, Tzistarakis Mosque, Stoa of Attalos, Monastiraki Flea Market, Fethiye Mosque, The Horologion of Andronikos Of Kyrrhos, Temple of Hephaestus, Monastiraki Square

Hotel Recommendations:

Acropolis

When scouring the guidebooks seeking every last hint and tip for your trip to Athens, you will find the ‘Acropolis area’ almost everywhere. The Acropolis area has a very loose definition. Many will refer to all of historical Athens as Acropolis, at least that part that falls within the shadow of the grand palace. To save any confusion, Acropolis refers to the symbol of the city and the immediate vicinity. The Acropolis is one of the most significant historical sites in Western civilization. It has become the most iconic landmark not only in Greece but also in all of Europe. It is true – Athens sits in the shadow of this majestic ruin. The Acropolis Museum is one of the most impressive in the city, and that’s saying something – there are nearly fifty in total. The Acropolis Museum houses fascinating ancient artifacts and helps to provide context for many of the historical sites you will visit in Athens.

• Suitable For: Active Travelers, Backpackers, Budding Historians, Couples, City Slickers, Culture Vultures, Families, First Time Travelers, Whistle Stop Travelers
• Neighborhood Highlights: The Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, The Temple of Asclepius, Erechtheion, Theatre of Dionysus, Temple Of Rome And Augustus, Byzantine Cistern, Propylaea, Areopagus Hill

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