Central Market

Central Market Review

The market runs along Athinas: on one side are open-air stalls selling fruit and vegetables at the best prices in town, although wily merchants may slip overripe items into your bag. At the corner of Armodiou, shops stock live poultry and countless varieties of olives. Across the street, in the huge covered market built in 1870, the surrealistic composition of suspended carcasses and shimmering fish on marble counters emits a pungent odor that is overwhelming on hot days. The shops at the north end of the market, to the right on Sofokleous, sell the best cheese, olives, halvah, bread, and cold cuts, including pastourma (spicy cured beef), available in Athens. Small restaurants serving patsa, or tripe soup, dot the market; these stay open until almost dawn and are popular stops with weary clubbers trying to ease their hangovers.