architectureart

Kolonaki: the smart quarter on the slopes

Designer streets, the Benaki, and the café tables of Plateia Kolonakiou under Lycabettus.

Photo: Giorgoos / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

2.6 km

Time

~ 70 min

Difficulty

Moderate

Start

Syntagma (Metro M2/M3)

End

Evangelismos (Metro M3)

Best at

afternoon

Right now

33°C· Clear

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

Kolonaki is where Athens dresses up. It climbs the lower slopes of Lycabettus in a grid of designer streets, small galleries, and café squares, and it knows exactly how good it looks. Walk it in the afternoon, when the gallery doors are open and the square is settling into its long, watchful evening.

Arrive up Voukourestiou, the jeweller's street, and let the city change register as you climb into Kolonaki. Plateia Kolonakiou is the hinge — take a table, watch the volta (the evening stroll) begin. Then the gallery streets, Skoufa and Anagnostopoulou, where contemporary spaces hide between the boutiques and most will wave you in for free.

The two museums are the weight of the walk: the Benaki for the sweep of Greek history in a neoclassical house, the Cycladic for the spare marble figures that look three thousand years ahead of themselves. Do them lightly. Finish up the leafy steps toward Dexameni, where the quarter goes green and residential under the hill, and drop down to Evangelismos.

The route

On the map.

A soft dashed line, numbered stops. It’s a suggestion, not a turn-by-turn.

Elevation

↑ 186 m·↓ 115 m·111–192 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

01
1
Voukourestiou and the arrival into Kolonaki
Come up from Syntagma along Voukourestiou, the jeweller's street, and feel the city change register as you climb. The shopfronts get quieter and more expensive; this is the front door to *Kolonaki*.
01
Voukourestiou and the arrival into Kolonaki
Come up from Syntagma along Voukourestiou, the jeweller's street, and feel the city change register as you climb. The shopfronts get quieter and more expensive; this is the front door to *Kolonaki*.
02
2
Plateia Kolonakiou
The square that gives the quarter its name and its rhythm: café tables under the trees, a slow *volta* (the evening stroll) in the making, the well-dressed watching the well-dressed. Take a table and join the watching.
02
Plateia Kolonakiou
The square that gives the quarter its name and its rhythm: café tables under the trees, a slow *volta* (the evening stroll) in the making, the well-dressed watching the well-dressed. Take a table and join the watching.
03
3
Skoufa and Anagnostopoulou (the gallery streets)
Cut along these two streets for the contemporary galleries tucked between the boutiques. Push the door of any that's open — most are free and used to browsers. The art turns over often; whatever's up will be current.
03
Skoufa and Anagnostopoulou (the gallery streets)
Cut along these two streets for the contemporary galleries tucked between the boutiques. Push the door of any that's open — most are free and used to browsers. The art turns over often; whatever's up will be current.
04
4
Benaki Museum
The great private collection of Greek art and history, Byzantine to modern, in a fine neoclassical house. You needn't do all of it — an hour in two floors is plenty. The rooftop café has the Acropolis in the window.
04
Benaki Museum
The great private collection of Greek art and history, Byzantine to modern, in a fine neoclassical house. You needn't do all of it — an hour in two floors is plenty. The rooftop café has the Acropolis in the window.
05
5
Museum of Cycladic Art
A few minutes on, the spare marble figures that made Cycladic art famous — three thousand years old and startlingly modern. The building is as considered as the collection. Small enough to do well in forty minutes.
05
Museum of Cycladic Art
A few minutes on, the spare marble figures that made Cycladic art famous — three thousand years old and startlingly modern. The building is as considered as the collection. Small enough to do well in forty minutes.
06
6
The leafy steps toward Dexameni
Climb the shaded stone steps that thread up toward Dexameni Square, where the quarter softens into something residential and green under Lycabettus. End here with the city below, then Evangelismos Metro is a short walk down.
06
The leafy steps toward Dexameni
Climb the shaded stone steps that thread up toward Dexameni Square, where the quarter softens into something residential and green under Lycabettus. End here with the city below, then Evangelismos Metro is a short walk down.

Kolonaki: the smart quarter on the slopes

On the map.

Things to notice.

Voukourestiou and the arrival into Kolonaki

Voukourestiou and the arrival into Kolonaki

Plateia Kolonakiou

Plateia Kolonakiou

Skoufa and Anagnostopoulou (the gallery streets)

Skoufa and Anagnostopoulou (the gallery streets)

Benaki Museum

Benaki Museum

Museum of Cycladic Art

Museum of Cycladic Art

The leafy steps toward Dexameni

The leafy steps toward Dexameni

Two more, on similar days.

Panepistimiou: the neoclassical spine

The Museum Mile: Vasilissis Sofias