Walking Tour: Central Athens, Kerameikos & Psirri

Walking Tour: Central Athens, Kerameikos & Psirri

To feel the buzz of the cutting-edge arts spaces sprouting up in Athens's roughneck former industrial district of Gazi, start at Technopolis,a foundry converted to an arts complex. Across the street, you'll reach the beginning of the Unification of Archaeological Sites walkway. Follow the pretty walkway up, where those interested in archaeology should visit Kerameikos Cemetery,the burial ground of ancient Athens's famous citizens. Continue east on Ermou to the intersection with Ayion Assomaton, where the 11th-century church of Ayioi Assomatoi stands.

Nearby, you can visit the Museum of Islamic Art,whose arrival in the neighborhood reinforces its rebirth as an arts community. The quirky, run-down neighborhood of Psirri,which gives you a different view of the city, starts here. After taking some time to explore its narrow streets, make your way to Evripidou and the oddest church in Athens, Ayios Ioannis Kolonastis,at the intersection with Menandrou.

Continue east on Evripidou, lined with aromatic shops selling herbs, nuts, olive oil soap, and household items, until you reach the Central Market,on the corner of Athinas. Hectic, crowded Athinas stretches from Omonia Square to Monastiraki and is replete with vendors of everything from canaries to garlic braids, but the 19th-century meat-and-fish market is the most entertaining spot. Evripidou ends at Klafthmonos Square and what is perhaps the oldest church in Athens, Ayii Theodoroi. Cross Stadiou, walking up the Korai pedestrian zone to the Old University complex on Panepistimiou. Then turn right and head a few blocks down to the impressive Numismatic Museum,ensconced in a neoclassical house. Alternately, continue along Stadiou towards Syntagma to the triangular Platia Kolokotroni, where a statue of the revolutionary war hero General Theodoros Kolokotronis astride his horse marks the entrance to the National Historical Museum.

Timing

Weekday mornings are the best time to take this approximately three-hour walk, including a short visit to one or two of the museums. The Central Market, which is closed Saturday afternoon and Sunday, bustles with pensioners inspecting the produce and cooks exchanging news with the fishmonger. Psirri is liveliest during Sunday afternoons and evenings, when the churches are illuminated and Athenians congregate in its bars and mezedopoleia. The Numismatic Museum is closed Monday, and the Vouros-Eftaxias Athens City Museum is closed several days—plan accordingly.