At a glance
🚶 15 minutes
From Ioulianou 50 to Exarchia Square, on foot.
📚 Books
The densest cluster of bookshops and publishers in Athens.
🌲 Strefi
A hill with pines and views of the Acropolis and Lycabettus.
🥬 Saturday
Street market on Kallidromiou Street, in the morning.
Exarchia in a nutshell
Exarchia is a small, dense neighbourhood between the Polytechnic, Lycabettus and Pedion tou Areos. The name, they say, comes from Exarchos, a 19th-century merchant who had a big grocery store here. For decades the neighbourhood was home to students, writers, publishers and political movements, and you can still see it on the walls, in the posters and in the bookshops.
Its heart is Exarchia Square, small, with trees and cafés all around. On one corner stands the Blue Condominium, from 1932–33, one of the first modernist buildings in Athens, designed by the architect Kyriakos Panagiotakos. The dark blue of its façade was chosen by the painter Spyros Papaloukas.
Small, with trees and cafés all around.
A square inside a dense city.
From 1932–33, one of the first modernist buildings in Athens.
From up high, the Rock rises above the rooftops.
Photos: C messier (CC BY-SA 4.0), StrangeTraveler (CC BY-SA 4.0), Badseed (CC BY-SA 4.0), Contaminadas (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
🗺️ The walk: from Ioulianou to Exarchia and back
This walk needs no metro. It starts at the apartment door, passes the area’s big park, climbs Strefi Hill and comes down to the square, then returns past the Polytechnic and the Archaeological Museum.
- Pedion tou Areos. The big park, east of Victoria. Walk under the trees.
- Strefi Hill. Climb the steps for a view over the whole city.
- Kallidromiou Street. Neoclassical houses and, on Saturday mornings, a street market.
- Exarchia Square. Coffee and the Blue Condominium.
- Polytechnic. The courtyard with the 1973 memorial.
- National Archaeological Museum. Right next door. See our guide to the Archaeological Museum.
If you only want the route to the square, see the 15-minute walk from Victoria.
🗺️ The Exarchia walk, from your door
A loop that starts and ends at Ioulianou 50: about 4.5 kilometres, an hour and a half on foot without stops, half a day with coffee and a museum. Strefi Hill has a climb and steps. Tap each number to see what it is.
Bookshops, publishers and talking walls
In Exarchia and the streets around it, towards Akadimias and Solonos, are most of Greece’s publishing houses. You’ll see shop windows full of books on every block, second-hand bookshops, small shops for political theory and poetry, and cafés where people sit with a book.
The walls are covered in graffiti, posters, slogans and murals. Some of it is art, some is political messages. Look at it with interest, but don’t treat it as decoration. And in the side streets of Stournari, with its arcades, you’ll still find shops selling computers and electronics.
Arcades, posters and electronics shops.
Graffiti, posters and stencils, everywhere.
Closed shops become canvases.
Publishing houses and bookshops side by side.
Small bookshops on every corner.
Photos: Stolbovsky (CC BY-SA 3.0), Yair-haklai (CC BY-SA 4.0), Jean Housen (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Strefi Hill and Kallidromiou Street
Above Exarchia rises Strefi Hill, a small park with pines, paths and stone steps. It’s named after the Strefis family, who had a quarry here and donated the hill to the city in 1963. From the top you see the Acropolis, Lycabettus and the city down to the sea, often with far fewer people than on the better-known hills.
At its foot, Kallidromiou Street is one of the neighbourhood’s prettiest streets, with neoclassical houses, trees and Lycabettus in the distance. Every Saturday morning it fills with stalls of fruit, vegetables, cheese and flowers: the Kallidromiou street market is one of the liveliest in Athens.
The big park, ten minutes from Ioulianou.
Neoclassical houses, trees and Lycabettus in the distance.
Pines, cypresses and a view.
A green island among the apartment blocks.
Photos: Sp!ros (CC BY-SA 4.0), Yair-haklai (CC BY-SA 4.0), Albtalkourtaki (free use), George E. Koronaios (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
The Polytechnic and the neighbourhood’s memory
South of Exarchia, on Patision Street, stands the neoclassical complex of the National Technical University of Athens, the Polytechnic. In November 1973 students occupied it and rose up against the military junta. At dawn on 17 November a tank brought down the main gate. The old gate still survives in the courtyard, next to a sculpture. Every year on 17 November, Athens marks the anniversary with events and a march.
Exarchia also holds a more recent memory: in December 2008, fifteen-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was killed by a police officer on Mesologgiou Street. The spot now has a memorial plaque. If you pass by, stop for a moment with respect.
The old gate that the tank brought down, next to the sculpture.
A bronze head, in front of the neoclassical building.
Next to the Polytechnic, ten minutes from Ioulianou.
Photos: StrangeTraveler (CC BY-SA 4.0), Yair-haklai (CC BY-SA 4.0), Jebulon (CC0), George E. Koronaios (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Coffee and food
Exarchia is one of the cheapest and liveliest neighbourhoods in the centre for coffee and food. You’ll find small specialty cafés, music bars, tavernas and ouzeries with meze, falafel, souvlaki and plenty of vegan options. In the evening the bars around the square and Kallidromiou fill with students and residents.
- Coffee: on the square and the surrounding pedestrian streets, from the morning.
- Tavernas and ouzeries: simpler and cheaper than in Plaka, often with a garden or courtyard.
- Quick food: falafel, souvlaki and pies, for a few euros.
- Music: small bars with rock, jazz or rebetiko. Check the programme before you go.
What to know
Exarchia isn’t a dangerous neighbourhood for visitors by day, and in the evening the main streets are busy. But it is a politicised neighbourhood, and that comes with a few simple rules:
- Photos: photograph buildings and walls, not people, without asking.
- Anniversaries: around 17 November and 6 December there are marches and sometimes tension. On those days, pick another walk.
- Pockets: the usual care, as anywhere in the centre.
- Respect: people live here with strong views about their city. Don’t treat them as a sight.
Practical tips
- Best time: Saturday morning for the market and Strefi, afternoon for coffee, evening for bars.
- Strefi Hill: it has steps and a climb. Don’t go up after dark.
- Wheelchair: Pedion tou Areos and Patision Street are easy. Exarchia has slopes and narrow pavements, and Strefi has steps.
- Museum: the National Archaeological Museum needs at least two hours. Check the opening times before you go.
🚶 How to get there from Ioulianou 50
- Ioulianou 50 → Pedion tou Areos: about 10 minutes east, past Victoria.
- Pedion tou Areos → Exarchia Square: 5–10 minutes south, through the side streets.
You don’t need the metro. If you’d rather not walk, a taxi takes five minutes. On the way back, the Archaeological Museum is ten minutes from Ioulianou.
Where it is in relation to the apartment
📍 From Angels Athens to the «Exarchia» neighbourhood
See at a glance how to get from the apartment at Ioulianou 50 to the heart of the neighbourhood. Drag the map and zoom in for details.
Frequently asked questions
Is Exarchia safe?
Yes, for visitors walking by day and in the evening on the main streets. Avoid the anniversary days and don’t photograph people without asking.
When should I go?
Saturday morning, to see the Kallidromiou market and climb Strefi before the heat.
How far is it from the apartment?
About 15 minutes on foot to the square. It’s the closest neighbourhood.
Where should I go next?
From here, Kolonaki is ten minutes south, with a completely different character: museums, boutiques and pricey coffee.
— Kathy
