Why Visit Now: Athens
From ancient resilience to a flourishing modern scene, Athens has undergone a remarkable transformation you need to experience. Discover why now is the best time to visit the Greek capital.
Athens has weathered its share of storms, from ancient conflicts to the recent challenges of economic crisis and pandemic. Yet, from these trials, a resilient spirit has emerged, transforming the city into a vibrant hub of creativity and renewal.
There's no need to dust off distant knowledge of the Peloponnesian War or revisit Ottoman domination. Just know that while the echoes of past struggles — the junta, the economic downturn, and the pandemic — still resonate, Athens has emerged transformed, a city redefined by its strength and renewal.
To grasp this transformation, climb the Philopappos Hill. Gaze at the clear sky with its Balkan hues, breathe in the Mediterranean scents of the park, and listen to the oriental music playing from a taxi passing down below. Athens has rediscovered its vibrant spirit — creative, profound, straightforward, and elegant.
There’s also no need to overthink visiting Athens. Ideally, one should come a couple of times a year to keep up with its rhythm — from major exhibitions to the intimacy of the Parthenon on a rainy day. And the sea, with its endless shades of blue, just a few kilometers beyond the metro’s last stop.
1. 70 years of Epidaurus
The Great Ancient Theater of Epidaurus is not technically in Athens — it takes a couple of hours to get there. Yet, the Athens Epidaurus Festival is deeply personal to Athenians, especially this year, as it celebrates its 70th edition.
Thevergori
Join this cultural rite of passage from June 27 to August 23, taking advantage of dedicated shuttle buses and preparing for a truly cathartic experience in a theater built in 360 BC, which seats nearly 14,000 people.
You can choose from eight performances, including seven world premieres, while the Little Theater of Epidaurus will host innovative interpretations of ancient tragedies as part of the Contemporary Ancients program.
2. Animals and contemporary art at EMST
Athens' National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) is a prime expression of the city’s energy. Museum openings here are anticipated as much as major parties — complete with a rooftop, DJs, video installations and free drinks.
Pit Stock
In 2024, the museum spotlighted women’s art with the exhibition "What if Women Ruled the World?". This year, the focus shifts to the non-human world with "Why Look at Animals? A Case for the Rights of Non-Human Lives". Opening officially on May 15, 2025, and running until January 7, 2026, the exhibition is a major international group show featuring over 60 artists across four floors of the museum, exploring humanity’s complex and often fraught relationship with animals — potentially the largest group exhibition on this topic ever presented.
Adding up to the main programme’s centrepiece, a number of solo exhibitions (Emma Talbot, Janis Rafa, Kasper Bosmans, Sammy Baloji among others), projects, public installations, screenings and public events broaden its scope, fostering a museum-wide dialogue on moral, ecological, and ethical questions surrounding animal rights and justice.
3. Athens' art galleries
If you want to dive into the heart of city life, go to one of the openings of the well-established The Breeder, who pioneered in bringing focus to the Athenian contemporary art scene. Even an institution such as Gagosian has chosen the city to open up a branch in fancy Kolonaki, bringing in town international artists such as Henry Moore, Anselm Kiefer. If you are visiting in spring you will see from May 15 the Baroque inspired works of Adriana Varejão and from June 21 the amazing art of Oscar Murillo.
But what really makes the art scene special is the speed at which innovative, alternative spaces are created (and sometimes also closed). Often managed by the artists themselves, independent galleries showcase a mix of approaches to contemporary art, guaranteeing both a high level of quality and the vitality necessary to keep creating.
To better experience this side of Athens, visit Hot Wheels, which reopened in June with a new program. Go to the new Can Gallery in Metaxourgeio, an exciting neighborhood full of contrasts. Here, until May 10 you will find the poetry of the group show “Abandoned Cartographies and Other Odd Hours”. Citronne has just inaugurated the exhibition of Christina Mitrentse ‘Wood Wide Web’, transforming the gallery into a very special forest environment.
Spend some time at MISC, in Koukaki, or go as far as the most hipster neighborhood in Athens, Kypseli, and discover CYPHER. Keep an eye on the website and social media to keep up to date with the exhibitions.
4. A hotel that is also an artist club
Mona is a boutique hotel and multi-disciplinary space housed in an eight-story 1950s industrial building, featuring 20 rooms, a concept café & bar, a speakeasy in the basement, and a rooftop lounge reserved for members. Opened in 2022, in the last years has developed an innovative network of artists, musicians and producers of quality products, giving a new lease of life to the Athenian hotel scene. Its brutalist beauty holds unexpected corners of poetry, being at once also a gallery, hosting works of art within its quarters and acting as an organic sales showroom.
Sven Hansche
Mona is not an isolated bubble: it is part of an ecosystem held together by The House of Shila, a creative eco-systems dedicated to all things sensually beautiful, that consists of a design studio, a sales showroom, artist residency program, and social club to support original talent. It’s an international network of artists and professionals coming from all fields, from fashion and gastronomy to design and entrepreneurship, uniting an international community of creative and business professionals. A very layered concept, but one that will become very clear to you as soon as you attend one of the many events that animate the venue's industrial basement.
Not very far from Mona, Okupa is fresh from the spring of 2024, and it is another cornerstone of the growing creative community of Athens. Here local artists showcase their talent, premiere movies, spin funky tunes and enjoy the vintage decor. The furnishings come from vintage markets, with an eye for mid-century design and space-age collectibles.
5. Contemporary cuisine
Athens will stuff you with gyros, souvlaki, moussaka at any hour. Every neighborhood of the city is full of taverns, kafenio, ouzeri and places designed to serve you a perfect meze . The city's energy is particularly evident in its kitchens, where local chefs are quickly gaining acclaim — both through word-of-mouth buzz and prestigious awards.
Apostolis Giontzis
Pharaoh's kitchen operates without electricity or gas, relying on wood-fired stoves and charcoal grills to revive traditional Greek cooking in its purest form. It quickly became iconic, with its Athenian-style effortlessly coolness. Here a dinner can easily turn into a party, with vinyl DJ sets and natural wines. Try to resist it.
At Akra there is wood-fired grilling right in front of the people sitting at the counter, while in the back a bakery bakes delicacies. Gallina combines design and gastronomy, with a cosmopolitan menu, modernist-influenced interiors and a collection of contemporary Greek artists. The good thing is that the list is never definitive, with new entries coming in all the time.
6. The Riviera, old-school glam
To experience some of the old school glam of the Riviera, since last year you can do so in a historic club in Glyfada, which, retaining the Brutalist bones of the former Fenix Hotel, has been exceptionally restored. The Ace Hotel & Swim Club focuses on old school charm, thanks to the vision of French architecture and interiors firm ciguë, influenced by Greek modernism's naturalist bent and the classic charm of ‘70s coastal resorts.
Easily accessible from the centre, it can be a good idea for a snack at the French American restaurant, for poolside dining, to grab a coffee and enjoy the art gallery space, as well as a rooftop pool, restaurant and bar that will open this June. The great thing is that you will not be exclusively surrounded by travelers, because the venue is also frequented by locals to drink, dine, swim, and enjoy.
7. Open-air cinemas
With the first signs of warm weather, Athenians flock to a surprising destination: open-air cinemas. These beloved institutions, scattered throughout the city, are less about the film and more about the atmosphere. Though any screening is a treat, catching a movie at Thissio or Cine Paris, with the illuminated Acropolis as a backdrop, is an unforgettable spectacle.
However, the most popular view is not the only one full of charm: at Dexameni you will discover a small corner of Kolonaki with an almost Parisian atmosphere, while at Riviera you will see the screen sunken in a riot of Bougainvillea, while the neighborhood of Exarchia comes alive waiting for you at the exit, ready to carry on into the night.
8. Zero waste, maximum creativity
Opened last year, it immediately made it to number six on the 50 Best Bars list: Line is no ordinary bar. Located in a former clothing factory, and former art gallery, it has traces of both, be it the well in the middle of the room or the artwork on the walls. Their motto ‘The method of anarchy’ perfectly captures the multiple ecosystems that live in this space, all united by a love for fermentation and a desire for social, financial and environmental sustainability.
Maksym Fesenko
Each product is purchased in bulk, at the right time, so as to avoid waste and to achieve maximum results. Here everything is used to its full potential, and from this idea Why-ins were born: fruit ‘wines’ that are not made from grapes (more sensitive to climate change and not very sustainable). And what is left over from a preparation is then re-fermented, turned into powders, used for cocktails or cooking.
The attention in the laboratory is combined with networks of growers, collaborations with other restaurants (the double-starred Delta) and a management system that also tries to give attention to the entire supply chain. To taste all of this, all you need to do is order a bread selection and a cocktail.
