At a glance
🚇 Akropoli
Line 2. Then ten minutes on foot.
🏛️ First Cemetery
Since 1837. Free entry.
🪜 Steps
Wear comfortable shoes.
⏱️ 2 hours
A walk, the cemetery and a coffee.
A neighbourhood named after a beer hall
Around 1870, when there were still fields here next to the Ilissos, a Bavarian businessman opened a small beer hall below Ardittos Hill. He named it “Mets”, after the French city of Metz. The beer hall is long gone, but the name stuck to the whole neighbourhood.
The houses were built from the late 19th century onwards: two-storey homes with tiled roofs, neoclassical houses with balconies, courtyards with lemon trees and jasmine. Many still stand between the apartment blocks. The streets climb steeply, and where the slope gets too much, the street turns into steps.
Low houses with courtyards, next to the centre.
Steps, plants and hardly any cars.
Ivy covers the whole façade.
Photos: Dimorsitanos (CC BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
🗺️ The walk: from the Kallimarmaro to Akropoli
The route has a few steps at the start and then goes downhill. Do it in the afternoon, before the cemetery closes.
- Kallimarmaro. Start from the square in front of the stadium.
- Markou Mousourou. The main street of Mets, with cafés.
- Trivonianou. The steps, between courtyards and old houses. Then follow Trivonianou all the way down.
- First Cemetery. The main gate, at the end of Anapafseos Street.
- Anapafseos. The cemetery street, with marble workshops that make gravestones.
- Akropoli station. Ten minutes further down, Line 2 to Omonia.
🗺️ The Mets walk, stop by stop
From the Kallimarmaro, through the lanes of Mets, to the First Cemetery and Akropoli station: about 2 kilometres, 30 minutes on foot without stops. Tap each number to see what it is.
The First Cemetery: an open-air museum
The First Cemetery of Athens opened in 1837 and is the oldest in modern Athens. Prime ministers, poets, actors and benefactors are buried here. Among the cypresses you’ll see marble tombs that are works of art.
The best known is the Sleeping Girl by Giannoulis Chalepas, on the tomb of young Sofia Afentaki. Chalepas started carving it in 1877: a girl who seems to be asleep, with the sheet slipping off the bed. A little further on, the mausoleum of Heinrich Schliemann, the archaeologist of Troy, looks like a small ancient temple. It was designed by Ernst Ziller.
Entry is free. It’s a working cemetery: walk quietly, keep away from funerals and take photos discreetly.
Cypresses and marble, from the gate inwards.
The cemetery’s best-known sculpture, by Chalepas.
Designed by Ernst Ziller.
An open-air sculpture museum.
Photos: Rakoon (CC0), George E. Koronaios (CC BY-SA 4.0), Pitichinaccio (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Next to the Kallimarmaro
The walk starts at the Panathenaic Stadium, the Kallimarmaro, where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. If you want to see it from the inside, see our guide to the Kallimarmaro and allow an hour before you start the walk.
The walk starts from the square at the entrance.
The stadium and Mets are neighbours.
Photos: George E. Koronaios (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Coffee and food
- Coffee: on Markou Mousourou, between the houses, with tables outside.
- Tavernas: old tavernas with meze and grilled meat, on the edge of Pangrati. Book for the evening.
- More choice: Pangrati is five minutes away, with squares full of cafés and restaurants.
Practical tips
- Best time: afternoon, in the warm light. In summer avoid midday.
- Cemetery: check the opening hours before you go. It closes earlier in winter.
- Steps: Trivonianou has a lot of steps. With a pushchair or wheelchair, follow Ardittou Street.
- Safety: a quiet residential neighbourhood, with no particular issues.
🚇 How to get there from Ioulianou 50
- Ioulianou 50 → Victoria station: 3 minutes on foot.
- Line 1 (green), towards Piraeus: one stop to Omonia.
- Line 2 (red), towards Elliniko: three stops to Akropoli.
- Akropoli: ten minutes on foot to the cemetery, or the other way round, like the walk.
To start from the Kallimarmaro: get off at Syntagma and walk 15 minutes through the National Garden.
🚇 Ioulianou 50 → Mets by metro
Line 1 to Omonia, change to Line 2, three stops to Akropoli. From there, about ten minutes on foot to the cemetery.
Where it is in relation to the apartment
📍 From Angels Athens to the «Mets» 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 Mets worth it?
Yes, if you like quiet lanes and old houses. Combine it with the Kallimarmaro in one afternoon.
Can I visit the cemetery?
Yes, entry is free. Respect funerals and people visiting their loved ones.
Where should I go next?
Five minutes to the east, Pangrati has squares with cafés open until late at night.
— Kathy
