About Exarcheia

Photo courtesy of Nelly Paraskevopoulou

The neighborhood of Exarcheia is located approximately between Kolonaki and Alexandras Avenue and is most known as the student area of Athens, owing to its vicinity to the Polytechnic school and the University. Its main feature are the many bohemian, arty bars and alternative culture hangouts and also the many bookshops, artisan book binders and publishing houses. It can get rather riotous on demonstration days, when it is better to avoid visiting.

See & Do

The main attraction of this neighborhood is the National Archeological Museum, on Patission street, the largest museum in Greece  with more than 11.000 exhibits, which offers a panoramic experience of Greek civilization from prehistory to late antiquity and definitely the less visited Epigraphic Museum ,  the largest museum of its kind in the world where one can see inscriptions on stone, of great value for understanding more about ancient Greek history.

Eat

Restaurants abound in Exarcheia, catering to all tastes, from rock bottom priced Oxo Nou on Benaki street, specializing in Cretan cuisine, to traditional tavern Rozalia with home made Greek specialties and a lovely cool garden for the summer months, to well known Yiantes, where the concept is based on local cuisines from all over Greece.   

Party

Nightlife is lively and mostly alternative in Exarcheia, with many student bars, and also more nostalgic scenes, favored by intellectuals and artists. For dancing until the small hours AN on Solomou street is very popular, whilst quieter venues include retro atmosphere at classy Alexandrino and sixties style at Ginger Ale.  

Exarcheia's Best Bars

The Drugstore

Beatniks RoadBar

Blue Fox

Hartes

See All

Stay

Hotels are not the main feature of Exarcheia, however if one prefers to stay in this neighborhood, the best choices are Museum hotel, right behind the Polytechnic, Dryades, Areos, Zafolia and Radisson Blu Park Hotel on busy Alexandras avenue and Exarchion, right on Exarcheia square.  

Shop

Shopping is quite interesting and covers a variety of tastes. Some of the best pastry at Assimakopoulos, magical fairies at Strawberry, second hand vintage clothing at Yesterdays Bread, musical instruments from all over the world at Amola Kalimba, memorabilia and old fashioned dolls at Mikros Erotikos, original ideas for decorating at Evdomi Esthisi, handmade book binding at Marianna Kiliakou and handmade pottery at Eftixia, just to mention a few.