# Eat, Live, Play: Where Old Meets New in Athens > An Athens guide to the best places to eat, stay, and shop in a city where a rich history meets all the modern possibilities of a metropolis. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/putivnyk-po-afinakh-z-naikrashchymy-mistsiamy-dlia-izhi-prozhyvannia-ta-pokupok-u-misti-z-bahatoiu-istoriieiu-ta-suchasnymy-mozhlyvostiamy/ - Language: en - Published: 2024-03-10 - Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Museums, Hotels, Greece, Food & Drinks --- While the shuttered storefronts downtown hint at an economy still finding its feet, make no mistake: Athens, the Greek capital, has a lively, scrappy spirit. For all the country has been through since 2008, new restaurants, shops, and cultural institutions keep popping up, alongside a strong artistic presence. One big coup: Documenta, the long-running European contemporary art exhibition, staged its first-ever expansion outside Germany in Athens, running from April through July. In all sorts of ways, Greece is reworking and reviving its long, rich history to build traditions of innovation, creativity, and culinary invention. That means Athens is not a place to simply pass through on the way to the islands. Stick around for a few days and dive into an ancient metropolis that deserves far more than to be written off over its economic troubles. Here is a quick guide, though hardly an exhaustive one, to what is new and what you should not miss: ## More Than Spanakopita: Where to Eat ![](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-77-1-2024.jpg) Nolan Open since 2015, Nolan has already earned a Michelin star for the Greek-Japanese cooking of Sotiris Kontizas, who, fittingly, grew up with a Greek father and a Japanese mother. But this is not the early-2000s fusion of endless sauces and too many flavors. These dishes are clean and simple, echoing the minimalist space Nolan occupies downtown. An ideal meal takes in the following dishes: a zucchini and eggplant salad with miso, buckwheat noodles with smoked salmon, and rice-paper shrimp. Sushimou Around the corner from Nolan sits the Sushi Nakazawa of Athens: in other words, the most sought-after sushi reservation in the city. (The bar seats just 12, and it can take four to six weeks to land a table.) Sushimou lives up to the hype. Chef Antonis Drakoularakos was recently named one of the world's 100 best chefs at the World Chefs Summit. Drakoularakos has perfected the Japanese art of slicing sashimi and plating it, leaning mainly on local Mediterranean fish, a winning combination. His secret weapon is that he relies on a single trusted fisherman who brings him the finest fish, which he then hand-picks from the daily catch. The sashimi is silky, the atmosphere relaxed, and the whole meal a work of gastronomic genius. The Funky Gourmet Tucked inside an unassuming building in the artsy Kerameikos district is one of only two restaurants in Greece with two Michelin stars. The decor is aesthetically intense, giving off an atmosphere that is part speakeasy, part temple. Chefs and co-owners Georgianna Hiliadaki and Nikos Roussos describe their food as "Contemporary Greek cuisine." Over the course of four hours and 14 courses, guests savor dishes like a cuttlefish Oreo, sea urchin pasta, miniature picnic plates, perfectly sculpted courses that are tiny versions or reproductions of familiar objects with a twist, and one of the most inventive Greek salads you will ever taste. It is a meal for culinary adventurers (one of the courses is lamb brains), but anyone who appreciates a good presentation and beautifully conceived food will find this restaurant satisfying. The service flows like a well-conducted orchestra (145 euros per person; tasting menu only). If the budget allows, do not skimp on the wine pairings, which are nearly as adventurous and varied as the food. Papadakis For simpler Greek fare, head to Papadakis in Kolonaki, a neighborhood reminiscent of the 16th arrondissement in Paris or New York's Upper East Side. Set on a quiet, shaded residential street on a steep hillside, it is the perfect spot to escape the crowds. Start with the braised chickpeas and eggplant. If you are hungry, order a whole grilled fish, which can run about 80 euros. The pasta is excellent. This is also a great place for people-watching in a refined, upscale setting where the chic Greek crowd starts to arrive, but only after 9:30 or 10 p.m. Nolan, 33, Voulis 31, Athens 105 57, Greece, +30 21 0324 3545 Sushimou, Skoufou 6, Athens 105 57, Greece, +30 21 1407 8457 The Funky Gourmet, 13 Paramithias, Athens 104 35, Greece, +30 210 5242727 Papadakis, Fokilidou 15, Athens 106 73, Greece, +30 21 0360 8621 ## Where to Stay ![](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-77-2-2024.jpg) Hotel Grande Bretagne The grande dame of Athens hotels stands across from Parliament on Syntagma Square and has been a beacon of luxury and refinement in the city for years. This 1842 building, once a private mansion, has plenty of charm. Today the 321-room hotel has a rooftop restaurant and bar with some of the best views of the Acropolis, a spa with three kinds of steam rooms, a sauna, a large indoor pool, and the GB Corner gift shop with a well-curated selection of luxury goods. The rooms feature high ceilings and moldings, along with fully modern, updated bathrooms. Next door is its sister property, The King George, with 102 rooms including 39 suites. It has a more intimate feel and scale with a contemporary edge, yet keeps the same level of elegance. New Hotel At this stylish 79-room boutique hotel in the central Syntagma district, everything revolves around design. After all, the hotel belongs to Dakis Joannou, one of Greece's most famous art collectors. The decor includes works from the Venice Biennale and an area called the "New Art Lounge," a space with 2,000 art book titles. There is a lovely ground-floor cafe as well as a stunning rooftop that serves a wonderful salmon tartare. The rooms are stylish and minimalist, and there is a gym, a Jacuzzi, and a steam bath. Electra Metropolis Hotel The Electra Metropolis Hotel opened last year, joining two other Electra hotels in Athens. This 216-room hotel has breathtaking views of the Parthenon, an outdoor pool, and a convenient location near Syntagma Square. There are three restaurants, a rooftop bar, a sauna, and a Turkish bath. The toiletries come from Korres, a Greek skincare company that makes products like Greek yogurt sunscreen. Hotel Grand Bretagne, Vasileos Georgiou A 1, Athens 105 64, Greece, +30 21 0333 0000 New Hotel, Filellinon 16, Athens 105 57, Greece, +30 21 0327 3000 Electra Metropolis Hotel, Mitropoleos 15, Athens 105 57, Greece, +30 21 4100 6200 ## What to See Even if you cannot afford the heavy gold pieces of famous jewelry designers, visit the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum near the Acropolis. This not-to-be-missed museum showcases 3,000 pieces of jewelry from 50 collections created between 1940 and 2002. It is equal parts feast for the eyes and history museum, not to mention the only jewelry museum in Greece. There is also a great gift shop selling beautiful scarves at a good price. And do not miss the peaceful open-air cafe, the perfect place to gather your strength for the climb up to the Acropolis. Last year saw the opening of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, marking one of the city's most ambitious projects in a decade. Designed by Renzo Piano and priced at 867 million dollars, the building looks out over Athens and the Aegean Sea and is one of the greenest buildings of its size. This fall the center will become the official home of the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera. The complex includes a 40-acre landscaped park, a much-needed addition for Athens, which has the lowest amount of green space per capita of any city in Europe. The park has playgrounds, fountains, an esplanade for running, cycling, and strolling, and a glass lighthouse at its highest point. The Acropolis Museum, opened in 2009, is a must-visit before heading to the site itself. This spacious space frames its exhibitions of antiquities and places the Acropolis in historical context. In fact, the museum traces the entire history of Athens. Another highlight is the antiquities themselves, very appealingly presented, from statues, caryatids, and columns to friezes, marble busts, and gold coins. Bonus: a wonderful ground-floor cafe. Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum, Kallisperi 12, Athens 117 42, Greece, +30 21 0922 1044 Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Leof. Andrea Siggrou 364, Kallithea 176 74, Greece, +30 21 6809 1000 Acropolis Museum, Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, Athens 117 42, Greece, +30 21 0900 0900 ## Hunting for Souvenirs ![](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-77-3-2024.jpg) Celia Kritharioti, best known for her made-to-order gowns (Gwyneth Paltrow wore one in a photo shoot for Vogue Mexico), has a pret-a-porter, or ready-to-wear, line that is elegant, chic, and feminine. To get your hands on this much more affordable line (her couture pieces start at 5,000 euros), head to her only Athens store, which opened in 2014 in Golden Hall, an upscale mall on the outskirts of the city. It is a rare chance to buy clothing from one of the country's best and most talented designers at a price that will not break the bank. Five years ago, friends Dimitra Kolotoura and Mareva Grabowski, neither of whom came from the fashion world, hired a former Celine designer and launched a brand of ultra-chic accessories and clothing of Greek design and inspiration called Zeus and Dione, which now enjoys cult status around the world. In Athens, you can find the brand's latest pieces at the GB Corner shop inside the Hotel Grande Bretagne. Greece is a jewelry paradise. After all, there is a tradition of the craft dating back to Alexander the Great. So take a tour of the best jewelry designers in Athens, if only to look at and admire their modern craftsmanship and adornments. Here are three designers worth keeping an eye on: - Ileana Makri, known for her colorful designs that often feature the evil eye, is represented in three locations in Athens. - Yannis Sergakis, who comes from a family of Greek diamond merchants, has a shop near Syntagma Square selling his simple, architecturally styled pieces. - Nikos Koulis, who also descends from a line that worked in the jewelry industry, uses plenty of colored stones in his pieces, inspired by ancient Greek culture. Golden Hall, Leof. Kifisias 37A, Marousi 151 23, Greece, +30 21 0680 3450 Yannis Sergakis, Valaoritou 5, Athina 106 71, Greece, +30 21 0363 0041 Nikos Koulis, Filikis Eterias 15, Kolonaki Square, Athens, +30 210-7233783