There’s no time like the ancient present
Athens, cradle of civilisation, is enjoying a rapid renaissance, says Luke Abrahams, and the best time to visit is right now
WHEN you think of Greece, chances are that visions of rocky isles crowned by cerulean skies slide into view. Yet, although the allure of that blinding Grecian summer sun runs deep, there’s something wildly special about experiencing somewhere on your own terms, out of season. There are fewer crowds and better rates, but, more importantly, it gives you the rare experience of getting to know a city or a place as the locals do.
I last set foot in Athens 10 years ago. Since then, its grungy, graffiti-lined back streets have changed beyond recognition. Today, it’s a city of muses, somewhere that writers, artists and culinary talents congregate to help nurse the Athenian renaissance. Its ascendency—or re-ascendency—to southern Europe’s new capital of cool does not come as a surprise to Andria Mitsakos, a local PR entrepreneur and the owner of a popular concept store called Anthologist (www. anthologist.com). Athens’s ‘moment’ was born, she says, out of ‘crisis’. Grexit (Greece’s potential withdrawal from the EU) has been sowing its seeds of uncertainty since the mid 2010s, but it is precisely this turmoil, Ms Mitsakos explains, that has caused waves of creativity. ‘Athens is constantly evolving and when one realises that the city was the cradle of civilisation and the incubator of so much when it comes to design, architecture, poetry, politics, theatre, philosophy and sexuality, that feeling becomes infectious.’
And infectious it is. Everyone, from domestic Greek travellers to Continental weekenders and young creatives, is keen to get in on the action. There are whispers that this is the new Berlin—equally anarchic, but much more affordable, regardless of whether you’re staying for two nights or two years.
Pharaoh is one of the city’s many new restaurants that already requires advance booking (or some very patient queuing). Its talented chefs are young, but they draw on long-standing family recipes, reimagined in a wood-fired oven, and are partly responsible for helping revive the once-grotty Athina district. Then there’s Birdman, a small
izakaya-style bar and grill that serves up yakitori in sync with the sounds of Japan’s record bars, and Wine is Fine—think Emily
in Paris (fine wines and baguettes) on the streets of Psirri.
The fact that Athens still lacks the polished patina of its European siblings is also part of its draw. Yes, there’s the Classical and neo-classical architecture, but there’s also a sprawling mass of concrete-block buildings, street art, small kiosk shops tumbling off pavements, live music and open-air festivals (in the three-week lead up to Lent, there’s Apokries, Greece’s version of Carnival). Instead of boulevards and glitzy avenues, such as those you find in
Paris and Rome, there are myriad vintage hole-in-the-wall-style shops rocking independent labels. Look out for Methen, street fashion plucked from the minds of designers scattered throughout the city and beyond, and Mohxa, which stocks surf-inspired menswear. Watched over by the Parthenon— which, in winter, sometimes finds itself blanketed in snow—athens oozes a kind of brutish charm that makes it feel exciting and of the moment.
Then there are the hotels: I cannot think of another European capital right now that can compete with this city’s string of sexy (and very well-curated) design-led boutique abodes. In June, a former fabric emporium was reborn as the swish The Dolli in the ancient neighbourhood of Plaka. Lofty windows, ornate facades, bouclé sofas and walls studded with works by Picasso and Cocteau astound. The star of the show? A rooftop infinity pool with views up to the Acropolis, day and night, summer and winter. Close by, there’s the nine-suite The Monument, designed in 1881 by German architect Ernst Ziller—who helped shape ‘modern’ Greece’s 19th-century capital— and recently restored by a team of specialists from the Ministry of Culture.
In short, there’s a treasure trove of places to stay, shop and eat in, regardless of which part of Athens you end up visiting. And the beauty of visiting right now is the opportunity to revel in its risky, bohemian atmosphere, free from the trappings of other tourists.
There are whispers that it is the new Berlin –equally anarchic, but much more affordable