Athens center
Athens center
Largest pedestrian area in the world?
Acropole or Acropolis is probably the most well known sightseeing in Athens and Greece. It is also known as Parthenon. Acropole is the hill and Parthenon is the temple built on the hill. The area around Acropole is one of the largest pedestrian areas in the center of a big city. Perhaps it is the largest in the world but we do not know that for sure. Someone can walk in that area for hours and still not see all of it. It includes Dionysiou Areopagitou pedestrian street, Acropole's foothills, Filopappou Hill, Thiseio, Monastiraki, Plaka, Psyri, Agia Eirini, Ermou street, National Garden, Zapeio.
Around Acropole
The pedestrian street around Acropole is Dionysiou Areopagitou. Usually it is very crowded all year around. During the tourist season, from April - May to October - November, there are many touristsIt. It is also crowded during tne non tourist season, on weekends, when the weather is nice. People like to take a stroll on a Sunday morning. It is one of the places where many musicians play. The video was filmed on a cold day, so it was less crowded than usually.
We started on Makrygianni street which is perpendicular (cross street) to Dionysiou Areopagitou, where the pedestrian street starts. It is close to the Acropole Metro station. Than we made a left turn on Dionysiou Areopagitou. If we had gone straight ahead, we would have entered the area of Plaka. We passed Filopappou Hill on the left and went till Thiseio where many coffee shops and restaurants are. Also there is a nice view of Acropolis. Some restaurants - coffee shops have space also in higher floors that offer a panoramic view. Then we went back and did the same route while it was getting dark.
Videos ; Acropolis 1 Acropolis 2
Plaka
Plaka is the most tourist area of Athens. It is right below Acropole. The buildings are kept the way the were in the old times. In Plaka, someone can see how Athens was more than one hunded years ago.
Monastiraki
Monastiraki is next to Plaka. The video starts from Thiseio, where Acropolis video ended. The first part is in Thiseio and then we entered the lowest - western part of Ermou street. Ermou street goes all the way to Syntagma square. Most of Ermou is pedestrian but there is a small part from Thiseio to Monastiraki which is not. When we reached Thiseio Metro station, instead of continuing straight on Ermou, we turned right and took a parallel, Adrianou street which is pedestrian.
We went on Hephaestus street for a while and then got back on Adrianou street. Hephaestus is the first parallel of Ermou and Adrianou is the second. Hephaestus has shops that sell clothing and other items. Adrianou has restaurants and coffee shops. The southern side in open and offers a great view of Acropolis. In Monastiraki, there is a big flea market and many small shops that sell antiques, old, used items. On weekends it is very crowded.
Monastiraki square, where there is Monastiraki Metro station, is a central place that is always very crowded. After Monastiraki square, we got back on Ermou street, in the part that is again pedestrian. We and passed the Church of Panagia Kapnikarea and continued on Ermou. The upper - eastern part of Ermou is a padestrian commercial street with many stores. We made a left and took Mitropoleos, the parallel of Ermou which is not padestrian.
The street is named after the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens which is on it. It is one of the largest churches in the country. The largest is Saint Andrews in Patras and the second largest is Saint Panteleimon on Acharnon street, Patisia, Athens. On the other side of the square in front of Mitropolis is a statue of Constantine Dragases Palaiologos, the last Byzantine Emperor.
Zapeio-National Garden-Herodou Attikou
Ermou street, on the western side, ends in Syntagma Square. On the other side of Queen Amalia Ave is the Parliament. National Garden is next to Parliament and next to National Garden is Zapeion. Zapeio is across Amalias Avenue from to Plaka. Zapeion is the building in the center but also the whole area, including the surrounding park is called Zapeion. Many decades ago, before World War II, Zapeion was the favourite area of Athineans, where they enjoyed taking a stroll.
We started the video in Zapeion. Then we took Amalias Ave for a while and got into the National Gardens. The last part of the video is on Herodou Attikou where the President's and Prime Minister's offices are, one next to each other. Herodou Attikou is the most expensive street in Athens, in terms of price per square meter. Evzones, soldiers with traditional uniform guard the buildings.
They are in the Presidential Guard and are the same ones seen in front of the Parliament. The change of the Guard in front of the Parliament is a major tourist attraction. In the end, there are some shots of Panathinaiko Stadium. It is at the end of Herodu Attikou where it meets King Constantine Ave. In Panathinaiko (Panathinian) Stadium, the first Olympic games took place in 1896 AD.
Down town Athens
Down town Athens is generally considered the area from Syntagma Square to Omonoia Square. The video starts on Queen Amalia Avenue, on the eastern side of Syntagma Square. It passes through Parliament and takes Panepistimiou Avenue with a north western direction till Panepistimio, the first University, from 1836 AD. The building is still part of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and is used by the administation. At Panepistimio, we did not continue straight to reach Omonia Squre. Instead we made a left on Korai pedestrian street.
We made a left again and and took Stadiou Avenue which is parallel to Panepistimiou with an opposite direction, southeastern. We passed by the First Parliament in Kolokotroni square that has a statue of Theodor Kolokotronis on a horse. He was a general and pre-eminent leader in the Greek War of Independence against Ottomans. In front to the building is the statue of Prime Minister Deligianis who was assasinated in 1905 AD, on the stairs of the Parliament. We ended on Syntagma square, on the western side and surrounding streets.
more places soon...