Fodor's Expert Review Monastiraki Square

One of Athens's most popular meeting places, the square is always alive with fruit sellers, bunches of youths hanging out, and street dance performances. If you are coming by metro, look for the special glassed-in view revealing the ancient Iridanos riverbed, where the water still flows. The square takes its name from the small Panayia Pantanassa Church, commonly called Monastiraki ("Little Monastery"). It once flourished as an extensive convent, perhaps dating to the 10th century, and once stretched from Athinas to Aiolou. The nuns took in poor people, who earned their keep weaving the thick textiles known as abas. The buildings were destroyed during excavations, and the train (and later metro) line construction that started in 1896. The convent's basic basilica form, now recessed a few steps below street level, was altered through a poor restoration in 1911, when the bell tower was added.