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Athens

marble memorial depicting a sleeping woman in Stamboltzi tomb, Athens First Cemetery
Greece, Travel Guides

Athens First Cemetery: An Open-Air Sculpture Gallery

September 2, 2025

Not Just a Cemetery For nearly 25 years, I’ve walked the same path through the Athens First Cemetery —not as a tourist, but as a daughter. Early on, I realized this place was different. It’s the grandest cemetery in metropolitan Athens—and arguably in all of Greece. Think of it as the Père Lachaise of Athens: a resting place for prominent Greek families, artists, writers, and statesmen, rich with sculptural artistry. And yet, for all those years, I only saw the memorials lining my personal route to my family’s tomb. I never wandered the other paths or paused to admire art…

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inside Cpco Mat Jumelle hotel, Athens
Greece

How to plan your Visit to Open House Athens

March 27, 2023

I’ve been visiting Open House Athens events since 2017. I have a loose way of organizing which places I want to visit and in which order. My goal is to see as many buildings as possible in one day, with the least amount of queueing. The inspiration for putting my strategy in writing was a lady I met at last year’s Open House Athens. She was behind me in the queue for the Italian Embassy and holding the Open House map. The map had many notes on it and even information on which buses to take. I found it interesting…

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Nolan Fried Chicken
Food & Drink

Nolan Restaurant Athens

March 5, 2020

Nolan is a minimal restaurant included in Michelin’s Bib Gourmand guide. This guide includes little restaurants selected by Michelin guide inspectors for their very good value for money. Nolan’s chef Sotiris Kontizas was a judge in Greek Master Chef recently. This appearance boosted the restaurant’s recognition. The restaurant is located near Syntagma square. It’s opposite a favorite chocolate place of mine. I wanted to visit for years, and only recently took the plunge. Nolan menu Nolan has a minimal menu with 18 dishes and 3 sides. When we arrived at the restaurant the waitress informed us that all the dishes…

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almond croissant at Queen Bee Athens
Food & Drink

Queen Bee Athens

February 5, 2020

I’m a little late to reviewing Queen Bee Athens since it’s open for almost 2 years. It took me 3 visits to finally get some good photos to go with my review. Queen Bee is a small corner bistro in Kolonaki. It’s a popular brunch place and makes delicious croissants. The best I’ve eaten in Athens so far.  The baked goods in this restaurant are what sets it apart from other brunch places in Athens. The owners contacted renowned French baker Kamel Saci. He supervised the bread, croissants and all those goodies included in the menu. Queen Bee menu Let…

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soft ice cream at Dickie Dee Athens
Food & Drink

Dickie Dee Athens: Not Another ice cream parlor

November 25, 2019

Update August 2025: This establishment has rebranded and I haven’t tried their new offerings yet You can check out other ice cream parlors in Athens on my ice cream trial post! I’m always up for trying new ice cream shops in Athens. So, I was very excited to spot Dickie Dee when it opened last year. Did I mention that it’s located very close to my office? What sets it apart from other ice cream parlors in Athens is that it offers soft-serve ice cream. It is inspired by the namesake Canadian company which operated until 2002. Dickie Dee menu…

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view from the Pinnacle Hotel Athens
Greece

Exploring Athens Trigono

June 25, 2019

Last month I took part in yet another Open Walk by Atenistas. This time we explored the city’s commercial area called Athens Trigono (meaning Triangle). The borders of this area are Athinas, Evripidou, Praxitelous and Athinaidos streets. This area was Athens’ original commercial center.  It is full of old buildings and crafter workshops. In Athens Trigono you will fabric stores, hardware stores, hobby stores, food stores and it goes on. A lot of new cafes and restaurants have also popped up in the area. During the walk, we discovered new places and got in buildings that we wouldn’t otherwise. Oh…

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two tables with chairs and portraits on the wall
Food & Drink

Spitjack Rotisserie, Athens

May 29, 2019

A few years ago, I didn’t even know where Skoufou street is. But new restaurants (small but trendy) started popping up there. The latest addition (and current favorite) is Spitjack. As with most of my discoveries, I found about Spitjack through social media and quickly added it on my “to visit” list. The food Spitjack is a rotisserie restaurant. It offers juicy meats roasted on the spit. One of the things I love in this restaurant is its minimal menu: 4 types of meat (duck, chicken, pork, beef), 4 sauces, 4 sides, 4 salads. On the photo above you can see…

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