A Walk around
Kolonaki
This walk around the Kolonaki neighbourhood of Athens starts and ends
in Syntagma Square and takes you to several museums, Kolonaki Square and Mount
Lykabettos.
The Kolonaki Neighbourhood in Athens
Start/end point: Syntagma Square
Distance: 3 kms (1.9 miles)
Time: 90 minutes without stops, 2–3 hours with stops, or all day if you
also visit any of the museums.
Walk Around Kolonaki:
Directions
From Syntagma Square walk up Vasilissis Sofias, the main
road to the left of the imposing National Parliament Building. If you're here on the hour you might want to watch the Changing of the Guard, which takes place at the top end of Syntagma Square every hour, on the hour, every day of the year.
The Benaki Museum
Photo by Dimboukas
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
At the fifth junction on your left, along Vasilissis Sofias, on the corner with Koumbari, stands the Benaki Museum. The museum houses the art collection of a wealthy Greek merchant, Antoine Benaki. See our full page about the Benaki Museum.
Our Pick of the Athens Guides
To Kolonaki Square
Turn left by the museum, up Koumbari to Kolonáki Square. Kolonáki
is one of the most fashionable districts of Athens, the kind of place where
well-to-do Greek ladies walk their dogs. Kolonáki Square is surrounded by
designer stores, cafés, and smart gift shops.
Mount Lykabettos as seen from the Acropolis
To Mount Lykabettos
Cross the square and leave it at the far right corner along
the main road, Patriarchou Ioakim. Cross two junctions; at the third, at the
first set of traffic lights, turn left up Plutarchou. This steep street leads towards Mount Lykabettos, visible at
the top.
At the end of Plutarchou you may appreciate taking the funicular to the top of Mount Lykabettos. Enjoy the views over Athens: on a clear day you can see as far as the island of Aegina. See our full page all about Mount Lykabettos.
To the Byzantine and
Christian Museum
Take the zigzag path to the left, going down again through
the lightly wooded slopes of the hill. If you ignore minor paths to left and
right, you emerge on Aristippou, about 100m down from the funicular station.
Head straight down Loukianou, another steep stepped Kolonáki Street, back down
to Vasilissis Sofias, to emerge almost opposite the Byzantine and Christian Museum.
Syntagma Square
Photo credit: puthoOr photOgraphy on Visualhunt
Back to Syntagma
Square
Turning left here and crossing the road would take you to the War Museum and, a
little further on, the National Gallery. If you have had enough walking for one
day, turn right to go back down Vasilissis Sofias and return to Syntagma
Square.
Some other Athens pages
Athens Food Tours are being introduced by new company The Greek Fork, and will include tours of the Central Market, and the best street food.
Easter in Athens is, like everywhere in Greece, the biggest religious celebration of the year and this page tells you what to expect over the Easter weekend.
Athens Airport hotels include the luxury Sofitel at the terminals, Holiday Inn near the airport, and others close by like the Hotel Pantheon.
Greece Travel Secrets chooses its top ten Athens restaurants with Acropolis views, perfect for dining by day or by night, including places with Michelin stars.
In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!
This Athens dining guide doesn't list restaurants but gives practical advice on types of eating places, tipping, hotel breakfasts and picnics.
The Athens War Museum is a fascinating look at Greek history through the lens of warfare from ancient battles to the Greek War of Independence and World War II.
Two of the best cocktail bars in Athens, MoMix Kerameikos and The Clumsies, are making creative cocktails using that most Greek of Greek spirits, Metaxa.
Athens' Benaki Museum is one of the city’s top museums with an outstanding collection, especially of Greek and Egyptian artefacts, in a beautiful mansion.
The best things to do in Athens, Greece, include top archaeological sites like the Acropolis and must-see attractions such as the National Archaeological Museum
The Athens Acropolis has the city's most iconic building, the Parthenon, along with other historic buildings and is where the Elgin Marbles were taken from.
Syntagma Square or Constitution Square is the main square in Athens and has a metro station, the Greek Parliament building, hotels, cafes, and a post office.
This extract of Artistic Athens in the Lonely Planet book Culture Trails takes visitors on a journey through the artistic side of Athens..
Athens in the rain isn’t something you’re likely to experience but here are suggestions for things to do in the rain in Athens including museums and shopping
If you're wondering where to eat in Athens and Piraeus we have a few suggestions including some favorites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square, and Syntagma.
The National Archaeological Museum is one of the best things to see in Athens, and the best museum in the world for seeing Greece's archaeological treasures.
The beach resorts of Athens are easily reached from the city and also close are Cape Sounion with the Temple of Poseidon, ancient Marathon and Rafina's port.
Ten Fun Things to Do in Athens include eating in the Central Market, watching the sun set over the Acropolis and seeing one of the world's oldest theatres.
The Athens National Historical Museum is in the former Greek Parliament building and houses an archive of historical artefacts and documents.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Monastiraki Flea Market, followed by Sunday lunch at Sigalas on Monastiraki Square
The Athens Museum of Cycladic Art houses a remarkable collection of Cycladic figurines and other items and is one of the best museums in Athens.
The Greece Travel Secrets website looks at the Athens weather, the chance of rain, the climate in summer and winter and the best time to visit Athens.
The Changing of the Guard in Athens takes place outside the Parliament building at the top of Syntagma Square and is a must-see for visitors.
The Athens Byzantine and Christian Museum is housed in a beautiful villa with an underground wing and lovely gardens too.
The Greece Travel Secrets guide to the original Athens Olympic Stadium, built for the 1896 Olympic Games and open to the public for jogging and photography.
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