When coming to a new city, you always want to do a bit of research of the area that you will be staying and what spectacular sights are near by and especially if the most important sights are near.
The O&B Athens Boutique Hotel has created this section of the site dedicated to these particular questions. The O&B Team has gone ahead and done this research for our guests so as to make their preparation for their holidays more relaxing.
Each part will explain about each area of downtown Athens and describe every historical sights & the history of the area surrounding the hotel as well as the hotel’s area, Psiri.
The O&B Athens Boutique Hotel is located in the historic centre of Athens, in one of the most upcoming and authentic neighborhoods of the city and now one of the liveliest hip spots of the metropolis city.
With a short stroll, you find yourself at the gates of Acropolis and moments away from Syntagma Square, Monastiraki, Keramikos, the Ancient Agora and Plaka, the old city of Athens.
Located between the most important archaeological spots of Athens, in one of the most original and full of life areas of the city, the O&B Athens Boutique Hotel is the perfect starting point for exploring the Greek capital. Walk the pedestrian street Apostolou Pavlou all the way to Acropolis and the Parthenon, visit the most interesting museums of Athens, do some shopping at Ermou street, walk throughout the narrow streets of Plaka and enjoy the intense nightlife of Psiri and Gazi.
Psiri
Walking to Psiri in the beginning seems rough but in all fairness it is actually very safe; after all it has become the heart of the night life of Athens. Everywhere you walk in Psiri every little street has bars, tavernas, mezedopolia and clubs and the best it has every type of music genre from classical Greek music to heavy metal, so there is no chance that you will leave the party early. There are great little “unknown” dessert places from traditional pastry to ice cream! The area is crawling from people from ALL different ages, from toddlers to retired folks!
Psiri is a place to be, especially on the weekends when everyone is alive and anxious to release the stress of everyday life.
A little bit of Psiri history
Psiri was the area of Greeks deriving mostly from Naxos that were known as “Koutsavakides” or “Manges” in which they created and ruled the underground world of Athens. They could be identified by the outfit as they always wore the jacket with one sleeve on, their pointy boots and their long moustaches. They terrorized Athens using Psiri as their base for 50 years. It was because of Prime Minister Harilaos Tripkoupis in 1893, that Psiri became a safe area for all the citizens of Athens, by sending the “Koutsavakides” back home in shame by having them shave their moustache & cutting the points of their shoes.
Psiri turned in the home of leather workshops & small factories, basically a neighborhood for the working class. It was also the “home” of the well known poem “Maid in Athens” by Lord Byron which was about a young lady that lived next door. The house of Lord Byron is located on the corner of Ag. Theklas & Papanikolis Street.
Maid of Athens, by Lord Byron
Maid of Athens, ere we part,
Give, oh, give back my heart!
Or, since that has left my breast,
Keep it now, and take the rest!
Hear my vow before I go,
Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ.
By those tresses unconfined,
Wooed by each Aegean wind;
By those lids whose jetty fringe
Kiss thy soft cheeks' blooming tinge;
By those wild eyes like the roe,
Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ.
By that lip I long to taste;
By that zone-encircled waist;
By all the token-flowers that tell
What words can never speak so well;
By love's alternate joy and woe,
Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ.
Maid of Athens! I am gone:
Think of me, sweet! when alone.
Though I fly to Istambol,
Athens holds my heart and soul:
Can I cease to love thee? No!
Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ.
Plaka is about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. It is the most visited area of Athens due to its ancient past and because it lies at the “feet” of the Acropolis. It is a labyrinth of narrow streets and its little houses that have architecture of the neoclassical era.
Plaka is the best place in Athens to sit and have a café or do a little souvenir shopping.
Monastiraki means “The little monastery”. It is another part of the old city and the first shopping district before Ermou Street.
You will find many boutique shops, souvenirs and a place where you can bargain for anything!
Here you will find the Metro station that can either take you to the Port of Piraeus or right to the Airport!
Thisio is the next door neighbor of Monastiraki & Acropolis!
The name that comes from the ancient time from the Temple of Hephaestus in which it was once called the Temple of Theseus!
Now in the modern days, it home of the Ancient & Roman Agora but also for cafes, bars and taverns! It is the famous meeting point in the city center!
The Acropolis is the hill in which one of the most ancient buildings stands… The Parthenon… built one marble at a time with precision and care and for thousands of years it is known as one of the most important monuments of worlds' cultural heritage…
The meaning of “Acropolis” in literal terms means “Edge of the city” …but it is known as “the Highest City” built to defend its people from above.
Acropolis of Athens is only a 15 minute walk from the hotel. Just take the walkway Apostoulou Pavlou Street walking through Thisio and its café bars and enjoy the scenery as you get closer so does the Acropolis. The Acropolis is open everyday and there are a few National Holidays where the entrance is free. Please note that Winter & Summer working hours vary so please ask the Front Desk before heading to the Acropolis.
The Old Acropolis Museum once stood on the Acropolis unfortunately it was not able to hold the full capacity of the ancient artifacts. The first designs for a new museum began in 1976 with the first architecture competition but throughout the years the plots for the museum were deemed unsuitable for construction due to the ruins below.
After many years, they came to the idea that the museum was to be put on stilts to preserve the ruins, in which one of the most ancient building stands "The Parthenon".
The New Acropolis Museum is only a 20 minute walk from the O&B Athens Boutique Hotel. The same walkway that you will take for the Acropolis is the same going to the New Acropolis Museum. Their gates are adjacent from each other. It is said that the best is to visit the museum first then visit the Acropolis so as to get a better understanding of its history.
The Agora was in Ancient times, the “downtown” area of Athens where political issues, commercial and social activities took place. It was here where the city council members would meet and discuss a variety of issues. It was also the centre for religious & cultural issues.
The Agora of Athens was the home of the Athenian courts as well as a residential and burial area. It was said that if anyone was in Agora at the time of a trial would be forced to become a juror.
The Agora went through many repairs and rebuilding but its most widespread building happened after major destruction from the Persians & Romans that once conquered the city. The Ancient Agora is just 5 minutes from the hotel, just by crossing the street of Ermou and walking across Monastiraki. At the entrance, you can use your already bought ticket from the Acropolis to get in since the ticket can be use in 5 different major historical sites in Athens.
The word “ceramic” derives from the word “Keramiko” and in which this northwest area of Athens centre is called. It is the next door neighbor of Psiri and Gazi but before that it was the quarters of all the potters and that is how it got its name. But it is not only the potters’ quarter; it is also the home of the most important cemetery that has some of the most distinctive funerary sculptures. It is said to be that the Keramikos cemetery is the resting place of Pericles.
Keramikos is about 5-10 minutes walking and it is the area that once was the quarters of all the potters but it is the home of the most important cemetery that has some of the most distinctive funerary sculptures.