Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
Sorry! We don't have any recommendations for Athens right now.
For serious retail therapy, most Athenians head to the shopping streets that branch off central Syntagma and Kolonaki Squares. Syntagma is the starting point for popular Ermou, a pedestrian zone where large, international chains like Zara, Sephora, H&M, Massimo Dutti, Mothercare, Replay, Nike, Accessorize, and Marks & Spencer have edged out small, independent retailers. You'll find local shops on streets parallel and perpendicular to Ermou: Mitropoleos, Voulis, Nikis, Perikleous, and Praxitelous among them. Poke around here for real bargains, like strings of freshwater pearls, loose semiprecious stones, or made-to-fit hats. Much ritzier is the Kolonaki quarter, with boutiques and designer shops on fashionable streets like Anagnostopoulou, Tsakalof, Skoufa, Solonos, and Kanari. Voukourestiou, the pedestrianized link between Kolonaki and Syntagma, is where you'll find luxury boutiques: Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Polo Ralph Lauren, and similar brands. In Monastiraki Flea Market on Pandrossou (which also operates on Sundays) there's a mishmash of tourist trinkets, clothing, footwear, jewelry, and rugs; in Psirri you'll find coppersmiths selling wine jugs, candlesticks, cookware, and more for next to nothing. Athinas Street is loaded with stores selling everything from homewear to DIY tools, leather goods, plastic flowers, incense, and foods, and if you walk down "the spice street" of Evripidou and turn into Menandrou, you'll discover an area where migrants mainly from India and Pakistan have set up a whole different style of stores, barbershops, and restaurants (only venture there by day). Meanwhile, to get a feel of the local shopping lifestyle of Athens it's well worth getting lost in the mazelike backstreets of Monastiraki (start from Aiolou and turn anywhere). This area has flourished over recent years and is packed with quirky stores, eateries, bars, and yoga studios.
Many stores in Athens are open from 9 am to 3 pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, while on Tuesday shops on Ermou Street remain open until 5 pm. On Thursday and Friday, shops operate from 9 to 2 and then again from 5:30 to 9.
Urban design hipsters will love this T-shirt shop. It has a collection humorously and lovingly "commemorating" living in Athens in the years of the economic crisis, with such classic print logos as "Ich bin ein Athener, Athens needs love" and "eat more feta to reduce greek debt."
Medical research lauding the healing properties of gum mastic, a resin from trees found only on the Greek island of Chios, has spawned a range of exciting wellness products, from chewing gum and cookies to liqueurs and cosmetics. The chain was originally founded by the Chios Mastiha Growers Association.
Exceptional modern versions of ancient jewelry designs are available in the gift shop of this museum, where you can also find museum replicas and inspired ceramics.
Old coins, from Greece and around the world, are for sale at this antiques shop, along with stamps, engravings, antique toys and radios, musical instruments, and medals.
Fashion designer Dimitris Parthenis opened his first boutique in 1970. Today his daughter Orsalia continues the family tradition of creating urban chic fashion with a Bohemian hint. Natural fibers such as wool, silk, and cotton are used to create relaxed, body-hugging silhouettes. There is an eyewear line and a wedding collection, too.
Browse among the classic designs in gold, diamond, and gemstones but, happily, there are less expensive trinkets, like silver worry beads that can be personalized with cubed letters in Greek or Latin and with the stone of your choice.
Hand-painted ceramic pomegranates—a symbol of fertility and good fortune—are one of the most popular of the multitude of Greek decor items in one of the city's oldest gift shops.
This unique shop sells items made exclusively of olive wood, such as salad bowls and tongs, wall clocks, jewelry, and even backgammon sets. Alas, the beautiful specially made olive wood Gibson-style guitar is not for sale.
Shop for perfect pearls, rare diamonds and bright rubies set into unique jewelry pieces.
Since it opened in 1895, this jewelry boutique has been favored by Athens's crème de la crème, visiting dignitaries, and grateful receivers of magnificent gold gifts. Designs inspired by ancient Greece and Byzantium are as stunning as the modern ones.
The art shop of this respected private art gallery stocks some beautiful objets d'art, including candlesticks and other decor, in addition to gifts like limited-edition silkscreens by famous Greek painters Yiannis Moralis, Nikos Xatzikyriakos-Gikas, Yiannis Tsarouchis, and many more.
Sign up for Travel Tips & News
Thank you for your interest!
