openwalk

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…

Another edition of me exploring unknown buildings in Athens is here. It all started when I came across Atenistas’ Hidden Athens open walk two years ago. Since then I’ve explored the neighborhood of Pagrati and hidden courtyards in Plaka. Last November it was time for the second edition of hidden Athens. This time I explored buildings around Syntagma and Monastiraki areas. Let’s see what was on the menu this time around! We started the walk from the Lyceum club of Greek women. Kalliroi Parren founded the club in 1911 as a volunteer organization. It plays an active role in the…

Back in May, I embarked on yet another Open Walk by Atenistas. This time I explored the hidden courtyards of Athens located in Plaka. It was sweltering hot that day, but equipped with a wide brimmed hat and water I explored as many as I could. Courtyards are typical in the old houses and especially in Plaka. They are not gardens though, but many of them had some trees and flowers. The first stop is the mansion of Benizelos family. It is the older house in Athens dating to the 16th century AD. It is the family home of Saint…

Last month I embarked on a different walk around Athens, following Atenistas’ Open Walk. The walk’s purpose is “[…] to help Athenians get to know hidden and unknown parts of the city and its people. The sixth consecutive OWA comprises of locations in the center that we walk by every day but may never have been made aware of the treasures that are hidden within them, in their basements and on their rooftops.  The purpose of the OWA is to showcase these points and inform the citizens of Athens of the invisible treasures of the city.” The Open Walk map…