Soutzouki, pastirma, spices from all over the world and hundreds of different herbs have transformed Evripidou Street, from Aiolou to Menandrou Street, into the (literally) hottest spot in town. Fifteen shops are filled to the rafters with every conceivable spice; herbs for every possible use or ailment; beans of every size, color and origin; and all the most famous “super-foods” which promise: health, weight loss and body toning, mental acuity and balance – and even longevity. Interspersed among these stores are numerous shops with hams and sausages swinging above our heads – while the smell of country sausages cooking on the grill promise another kind of “forbidden” pleasure.
Traditional products from all over Greece - in line or online.
And in between healthy spices and herbs and those more “sinful” delights are a host of traditional products of every kind: honey, homemade pasta, grains, teas, olives - the list is long and as varied as Greece itself – or like your stroll along Evripidou Street if you stop to explore even a fraction of its fascinating shops.
And if you don’t fancy standing in line with the many loyal customers, make a note of the items you’d like to buy, and ask for the store’s email address. Most of the shops will handle your orders online and will bring your purchases to your home at your convenience.
Philopappou Hill, also known as the Hill of the Muses, is one of Athens’ most beautiful spots of greenery. It stands 147 meters tall just southwest of the Acropolis and provides an outdoor balcony with a view that takes your breath away. It is a place of great historical and cultural significance as well as a favorite spot for both locals and visitors of all ages.
Τhe road and footpaths of Dimitris Pikionis
The mosaic-like road and footpaths which take you up Philopappou Hill are the creation of the architect and landscape designer Dimitris Pikionis, who, in a space of three years (1954-1957), created one of the most beautiful pedestrian walkways in all of Athens. Its design is influenced by Greece’s folk tradition and by the spare elegance and harmony of the Japanese school of architecture and landscape design. If you don’t go off on one of the natural paths leading to the left and right as you begin to ascend the hill, Pikionis’ road leads you the little chapel of Saint Demetrios Loumbardiaris, built in 12th century, and the small café of the same name, which, although now closed, still recalls a more leisurely era and the hum of conversation that used to spill out into the surrounding woods.
Αscending toward the summit
Follow one of the paths which wind along the side of the hill and take you to the summit, where the monument of Philopappos (10 meters tall and built between 114 and 116 A.D.) looks out over the Parthenon, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the marble Panathenaic Stadium and the sparkling mosaic of modern Athens, chaotic but charming.
Athens’ first stoa
Athens’ first arcade, Stoa Mela, is located at #54 Ermou Street (named after Hermes, the patron god of merchants and travellers). It was built in 1883 following the architectural trends of civic authorities in Paris and London to construct gracious “open-air” (but covered) commercial spaces for the ease and recreation of urban residents. Such arcades became a safe “refuge” from the clamor of city life, where strollers could shop, explore and relax. However, already in ancient Athens, stoas provided a shady passageway through the busy Agora, a means of escaping the intense midday sun and a favourite meeting place for the city’s notoriously sociable citizens. Most famous of Athens’ great stoas – and the prototype for today’s commercial malls and shopping centres – is the splendidly restored Stoa of Attalos.
The stoas back then…
Stoas or “arcades” in western European cities were usually created as covered passageways between and connecting large parallel streets. They usually had high glass ceilings to let in natural light and were often elaborately decorated. And in order for these arcades to function properly in a commercial sense, they required plenty of shopping traffic and offered a variety of activities, services and distractions. The majority of stoas, in Athens, both large and small, were fully operational and popular with the public until the beginning of the 21st Century. They are still characterized by their lively flows of foot-traffic, small shops of all kinds and the hosting of exhibits and displays – thus making a valuable contribution to the commercial and cultural life of the city. A good example of an old-time Athenian arcade is the Stoa Arsakeiou, also known as the Stoa of Books, running between Panepistimiou and Stadiou Streets. Built around 1900 according to plans by renowned Bavarian architect Ernst Ziller, the Stoa Arsakeiou, with its amazing glass roof, used to house a wide variety of publishers’ bookstores – as well as literary discussions and lectures, while today it mostly serves as a passageway between the two avenues. Beneath the arcade you will also find the famous “underground theatre” of Karolos Koun.
… and today
Most of the famous stoas of Athens, which used to pulse with life and activity, are only remarkable today for their architectural uniqueness and beauty and no longer have much commercial traffic. A notable exception is the busy and beautiful Stoa Spyrou Miliou in Syntagma, also known as “Spyromiliou”, which unites Amerikis Street and Voukourestiou Street and boasts many cafés and refurbished high-end stores featuring major international and Greek luxury brands, and which lies next to the Pallas Theatre. Walking down Kolokotroni Street, at number 25, the Stoa Praxitelous, built in 1920 by Vassilios Kouremenos, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts, has become the open-air court of a bar featuring a serene and timeless atmosphere. A stoa created by another graduate of the famous École des Beaux-Arts, Alexander Nikoloudis, on Panepistimiou #41, Stoa Nikoloudi is small but lovely and has recently begun to rediscover its former aristocratic self. On Adamantiou Koraï, located between Panepistimiou and Stadiou, Stoa Koraï hosts the Astor Cinema and its regular patrons, mostly students, artists and journalists. Two music-centered arcades, the Stoa Pesmazoglou and the Stoa Opera, are the city’s main hangouts for musical romantics who still enjoy browsing and buying classic vinyl and rare CDs.
From Ermou and Voukourestiou in the heart of the city, to gorgeous Herakleidon in the Thisseion neighborhood with the Acropolis in the background, and from the famous narrow lanes of Plaka to the peaceful ones of Mets – with or without shops, bustling with crowds or almost always quiet – our pedestrian streets let you stroll without a care, without danger from cars, and almost always under sunny Attic skies.
The main commercial pedestrian streets
Even in the middle of winter, from morning to night, Ermou, Voukourestiou and Aiolou – the first street laid down in Athens, running from Athinas Street to Kotzia Square and the capital city’s neoclassical Municipal Hall – all around this area tiny streets buzz and bustle with throngs of pilgrims and passers-by, shoppers visiting their favourite stores and markets and regular customers of the countless cafés, bars and restaurants.
The “historic” pedestrian streets
Herakleidon, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Hadrianou and all the little vertical streets and alleys which run uphill and downhill through Plaka and up to the tiny old enclave of Anafiotika – some are filled with people nearly every day of the year, while others remain quiet and peaceful, without shops or cafés, and recall the Athens of yesteryear, all among the living relics and monuments of the ancient city. They are all linked. They all connect. And on a Sunday morning, starting from the highest point in Plaka wind your way down to Monastiraki, and from there saunter up the broad pedestrian thoroughfare to Thisseion, a walk filled with surprises and emotions and, at the same time, a stroll through history.
The little side-streets and alleyways
Although they may be short in length, Haritos in Kolonaki, the pedestrian street of Nikiforou Theotoki with its dozens of old mansions in Mets, Georgiou Olympiou and Drakou in Koukaki and Valtetsiou and Messolonghiou in Exarchia are some of the favourite places for native Athenians to stroll and unwind – providing a respite from the car-choked streets of the city center.
