Alternative Athens City Walk

Información

Join this one-of-a kind walking tour off the beaten path and understand how Athens has evolved to the city it is today: A city in layers, where the ancient, the ottoman, the neoclassical and the modern city coexist.

During our tour you will experience how Athens –a small town of 10.000 citizens in the early 1830s- transformed into the capital of the new Greek State in 1834. You will visit some landmark buildings that were pivotal to planning a contemporary European capital from scratch after centuries of oriental influence.

Our steps will take you to neighborhoods where the footprint of the Ottoman Empire is still present, to understand how the old city and its traditions mixed – or didn’t– with western European values and ideas.

As our walk continues you will grasp a true sense of orientation in the city and start making sense out of the apparent chaos of modern day Athens and its people. Behind the sometimes disconcerting, great contrasts, you will discover the missing link between the glorious ancient past and the frantic, modern present.

Meeting/pick-up point: Your meeting point is the lower part of Syntagma Square. It is a very central place, as it is Athens' main square. You can get there easily either by metro. When you get to Syntagma, you need to get to the lower part of the square, where all the taxis, bus stops and shops are. You will also see a McDonald’s and a Nike store, at the beginning of a pedestrian street called ERMOU. Your exact meeting point is in front of EUROBANK, which is located next to the NIKE store. This is where your guide will wait for you (be careful not to confuse it with another EUROBANK on Othonos street, it is NOT that one).
Duration: 4 hours.
Start/opening time: Daily at 9:30am.
Languages: English and French.
Others: Not included: entry fees, food and drinks, gratuities (optional).