Athenian Neighbourhoods

Omonia

Omonia Square is the oldest square in Athens . It is surrounded by hotels and fast food outlets, and contains a train station used by the Athens Metro and the Ilektrikos, appropriately named Omonoia Station. The square often becomes the focus for celebration of sporting victories, as seen after the country's winning of the Euro 2004 and the Eurobasket 2005 tournaments.

Omonia Square , located in the heart of the city, is regarded as the transportation center of Athens .

Psirri and Gazi

The reviving Psirri neighbourhood - aka Athens 's "meat packing district" - is dotted with renovated former mansions and artists' spaces and small gallery areas . A number of its renovated buildings also now host a wide variety of fashionable bars, making it a hotspot for the city in the last decade, while a number of live music restaurants known as "rebetadika", after Rebetiko, a unique form of music that blossomed in Syros and Athens from the 1920s until the 1960s are also to be found. Rebetiko is admired by many, and as a result rebetadika are often crammed with people of all ages who will sing, dance and drink till dawn. The Gazi area, one of the latest in full redevelopment, is located around a historic gas factory, now converted into the Technopolis cultural multiplex, and also includes artists' areas, a number of small clubs, bars and restaurants, as well as Athens' nascent "Gay Village". The metro's system recent expansion to the western suburbs of the city brought easier access to the area since spring 2007 as the blue line now stops at Gazi (Kerameikos station).

The historic and luxurious Grande Bretagne Hotel in Syntagma Square .

Syntagma Syntagma Square , is the capital's central square, lying adjacent to Parliament and the city's most noted hotels. Ermou Street , an approximately 1 km-long pedestrian road connecting Syntagma Square to Monastiraki, has traditionally been a consumer paradise for both Athenians and tourists. Complete with fashion shops and shopping centers promoting most international brands, it now finds itself in the top 5 most expensive shopping streets in Europe , and the tenth most expensive retail street in the world. Nearby, the renovated Army Fund building in Panepistimiou Street includes the " Attica " department store and several upmarket designer stores.

Plaka, Monastiraki, and Thission

Plaka , lying just beneath the Acropolis , is famous for its plentiful neoclassical architecture, making up one of the most scenic districts of the city. It remains a traditionally prime tourist destination with a number of picturesque tavernas and live performances. Nearby Monastiraki, for its part, is well-known for its string of small shops and markets, as well as its crowded flea market and tavernas specialising in souvlaki . Another district notably famous for its student-crammed, stylish cafés is Theseum or Thission, lying just west of Monastiraki. Thission is home to the remarkable ancient Temple of Hephaestus , standing atop a small hill.

Kolonaki The Kolonaki area, area, at the base of Lycabettus hill, is full of boutiques catering to well-heeled customers by day, and bars and more fashionable restaurants by night, but at other points also a wide range of art galleries and museums. This is often regarded as one of the more prestigious areas of the capital. Exarcheia Exarcheia , located north of Kolonaki, has a mixed reputation as the recent or current location of the city's anarchist and drug scenes and as a culturally active student quarter with many cafés, bars and bookshops. Exarcheia is home to the Athens Polytechnic and the National Archaeological Museum; it also contains numerous important buildings of several 20th-century styles: Neoclassicism, Art Deco and Early Modernism (including Bauhaus influences).

Café and bars in the central Kolonaki district.