Alternative Athens: Neighbourhoods, Street Life & Technopolis

I’ll be honest: the first time I visited Athens (a long time ago), I wasn’t particularly taken by it. I remembered pollution, scruffiness, crowds, and intense heat. But I’ve been back several times since, and by avoiding the chaos of high summer it’s been much easier to relax and enjoy the city. And that’s especially true once you’ve seen the classic sites. Ancient history may make Athens one of the most historically important and fascinating cities in the world, but it’s still worth spending a little more time, wandering the neighbourhoods and looking beyond the predictable.

We tend to wander rather than follow a checklist, often away from the main tourist drag. So I’m sharing what I found of the more alternative Athens, based on those wanderings. It isn’t a definitive guide to each and every neighbourhood. Instead, it’s a snapshot of the pictures, places, and quirky corners we came across on our last visit.

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Koukaki – A practical base south of the Acropolis

Staying on the edge of Koukaki, just south of the Acropolis worked well. Magenta Luxury Suites. was excellent value at around €55 a night, in February. The room was great and everything was spotless,

Koukaki also worked well for eating and drinking. As craft beer drinkers we were exceptionally well covered, with Pulp Tap Room, Strange Brew Taproom & Bottleshop, and Blame the Sun all close by. We also ate exceptionally well at Mani Mani an award-winning restaurant serving traditional, chef-led Greek food tucked away up some stairs a few minutes walk from the our room. The restaurant is popular with locals, not just visitors and it was easy to see why. A world away from some of the tourist restaurants in Plaka area (booking recommended)

From Koukaki it’s easy to walk north into Thissio and beyond, or up towards the Acropolis and the busy city centre,

Thissio – Pedestrian streets and plenty of cafes

Thissio sits just west of the Acropolis and feels noticeably calmer than the areas around it and a little smarter too. This is where pedestrian streets, low-rise buildings and relaxed café terraces start to dominate. It’s close enough to major sights but not overwhelmed by tourism.

It was my favourite neighbourhood. With its pedestrianised streets there was no need to dodge traffic and less graffiti too. Here’s a picture of one of those streets and Cafe-Bar Kirios Xou which was my favourite. Their fresh prepared smoothies and matcha tea making a change from my usual coffee.

Psyri – Artisans, street art and craft beer

Psyrri is a lively, bohemian neighbourhood with a mix of workshops, street art, small artisan shops, and traditional tavernas, particularly busy in the evenings, It’s still centrally located and within easy walking distance of the Acropolis and Syntagma.

We found Beer Time, a craft beer bar, sitting on the edge of Psyrri near Varvakios Market. The clock tome was wrong, we didn’t start drinking that early, honestly! But we did make it in time for happy hour, which gave us 2 beers for one, which is just as well, with some of the beers priced at €8,50 for a half litre. We tucked in to Yemista, a vegetarian moussaka which cost about the same as the beer. All in all this was a top place, despite the price. I’d recommend.

We found such a pretty cocktail bar named Boo! Wisely sticking to the beer, we didn’t go in, but if you’re a cocktail drinker, I’d definitely visit. Or there’s the roof top bar and restaurant at City Circus Athens Hostel which looked tempting. And we found another craft beer bar and bottle shop! Barley Cargo sits just outside the neighbourhood on the walk towards Syntagma. Two more pricey beers. If you want a regular Mythos lager it’s a lot cheaper with the going rate around €4 a half litre.

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Exarchia – Bookshops, politics & graffiti

Exarchia is one of Athens’ most distinctive neighbourhoods, scruffy, intellectual, and unapologetically independent. Long associated with students, writers, political activism and counterculture, it’s a place full of bookshops, second hand vinyl and coffee shops.

But the over-riding theme is street art and graffiti, it’s everywhere. You’re either going to love this part of the city or hate it, depending on where you sit on the continuum between ‘graffiti as art’ or ‘graffiti as public vandalism’.

So while street art, graffiti, slogans and crumbling buildings are the vibe, it’s not true to stereotype the whole area this way. There’s grand neoclassical buildings like the National Archaeological Museum in the neighbourhood and other classically styled museums and university institutions on the periphery, So that explains why Exarchia has always been a centre for debate, books, and political thought, But nothing is spared from the graffiti, even the neoclassical buildings.

Technopolis – Athens industrial past repurposed

I love former industrial areas turned into alternative and cultural centres, which maybe makes sense given we live in Sheffield, the UK city where stainless steel was invented. We have a home just a stone’s throw away from Kelham Island, an industrial area now full of craft beer, hipsters and a former iron foundry, turned industrial museum. Technopolis occupies the site of Athens’ former gasworks, an industrial complex that once supplied the city with gas for lighting and cooking. So we were right at home here!

Inside, much of the original infrastructure has been left in place, including large furnace walls and pipework that make it easy to understand how physically demanding and dirty the work would have been. It’s not prettified or overly explanatory. it speaks for itself.

Around the preserved buildings is a large open-air space now used for events, exhibitions and festivals, from fashion shows to jazz and food events. When we visited it was quiet and almost empty, but apparently that’s not common and we’ve seen pictures of it full of people, stalls and music.

Just nearby, we also visited the Benaki Museum / Mentis Spinning – Antonopoulos, a small, specialist museum focused on traditional textile production. As a (lapsed) hobby seamstress, this again was right up my street. Staff were genuinely pleased to see visitors and eager to demonstrate the machinery, showing us how braids, cords, lace and fabric were made using historic equipment. There was no English spoken, but we got by in French, and enthusiasm. I don’t really feel I’ve visited a place properly until I find something random like this which I know won’t be on most tourists ‘to do’ list.

Omonia – Not quite as advertised

It’s hard to spend any time in central Athens without passing through Omonia, an area that often gets written off as rough or unwelcoming. By day, though, it felt more workaday than threatening,

There’s large landmarks like the Church of St Constantine and Varvakios Central Market. You’ll find a steady stream of people passing through, some shopping or en-route to other neighbourhoods. We also came across traditional street vendors, including this chap with his hand painted cart, brewing Greek coffee over charcoal and serving it out of an enormous brass coloured coffee pot.

Map of Athens Highlights

Here’s a map of some of the places mentioned here and also those on another of my Athens articles: Classic Athens: Top Sights and Ancient Landmarks for your First Trip to The Greek Capital which you can save for your trip.

Athens Street Art

If you love finding and photographing street art then Athens should be on your list for a visit. It’s everywhere. While I’ve covered some of the more informal side where graffiti and street art merge together, do look up on the sides of apartment blocks and all around you. There’s plenty to see like these.

If you’re interested in craft beer, independent food, or simply seeing a different side of the city, these neighbourhoods are easy to explore on foot. As these are not your usual attractions in Athens, here’s the classic sites to visit when in Athens.

We made the trip to Athens from Thessaloniki and passing through Meteora. The monasteries, impossibly hanging on the cliffsides, is one of my highlights for the whole of Europe and in Athens, you are well places to visit them.

If you’re visiting Athens I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, and do let me know in the comments.

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