Plaka the most beautiful area of Athens under the
Acropolis
The
area of Plaka is one of the most attractive districts of
Athens. Under the slopes of the Acropolis Plaka attracts
all the visitors of Athens with its neoclassical
mansions and houses with roofs from red tiles, its small
winding roads with their steps, balconies with
bougainvilleas ,geraniums and jasmines. Plaka is called
many times in the Greek literature as the neighbourhood of
the Gods and that because over Plaka dominates the
sacred rock of the
Acropolis
"the sacred rock of the gods" who made the modern
Athenians with the same humour like their Ancient
ancestors, to personalise the Olympian gods having
fun like them in Plaka with lots of Retsina wine and
Dance. Sometimes being romantic on a sunny day you feel
that the Greek goddess Athena
looks down to Plaka
with a smile in her divine face as the modern Athenians
enjoy the sunshine in the street cafes at Adrianou
street overlooking Thission the Ancient Agora and the
rock of Arios Pagos.
Plaka has its special place in the memories of the older
generation of Athens. It use to be the area of the
working class and many Greek films of the early 50's and
60's has been filmed there when the houses where not
renovated as they are today and most of the winding
roads where just earth. One of the most famous Greek
film "Stella" with Melina Mercouri and Georgios Fountas
was filmed there at the house opposite the bath of the
winds witch today hosts a branch of an American
university. Plaka was the famous place of the typical
Greek tavern where the old Athenians went and drank
Retsina from Mesogeia and Markopoulo the places that
still today the best retsina is coming from. In every
small tavern was a quitter and always someone could play
the famous wine songs of Plaka the so called "Kantades"
that derives from the Italian "Cando" song. Plaka was
the most important place to be during the Greek
Carnival, thousands of Athenians in masquerade used to
walk up and down the streets of Plaka throwing
serpentines and confetti. This tradition still exists
today but without the enthusiasm of the old days.
In the 60's Plaka became the birth place of the Greek
new wave music. In small live music clubs the so called
"boites" many Greek composers and singers where first
performed that new style of
Greek music inspired from
the musical stream of the 60's in France and Italy .
Famous Greek artists made their debut in boites like the
famous Esperides of Gianni Argiris the Apanemia of
George Zographos and later in Zygos of Gianni Hatzis.
Famous also where many restaurants in Plaka , that they
still exists, like the Mostrou, the Perivoli ton Theon
(Garden of Gods), Geros tou Moria and many others.
During the 70's Plaka became a noisy place, bars,
discos, clubs had destroyed the old peaceful
neighbourhood of the gods. It took years after the
dictatorship until under the ministry of Melina Merkouri
Plaka was renovated pedestrianized and all the nightlife
havoc moved to the area of Psiri and Thissio.
What
to see: Today Plaka has gain back its old idyllic face.
Becomes busy in sunny weekends and of course during the
summer when tourist arriving there to explore its
attractions, and Plaka has a lot of things to see.
Museums like the children's museum in Kydathineon street
and the Kanellopoulos museum just under the north slope
of acropolis in Theorias street and the museum of Greek
popular instruments near by. Monuments like the
Lysicrates monument a monument that was build from the
rich Athenian Lysicrates in 334 BC after he won the
prize of the best performance that he had sponsored in
the Dionysus theatre. Archaeological areas like the
Greek and the Roman agora, the Hadrian's Library and the
bath of the winds and other Roman monuments build mostly
by the Roman emperor Hadrian, the Atallos Stoa that
hosts a great collection of several artefacts that have
been founded in the Area of the ancient Agora. Under the
north east slope of Acropolis located the first
university of Athens the Kapodistrian university named
after the first governor of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias
on the extension of Tholou street. It was build in 1837
right after the Greek independence.
Shopping: As a main tourist attraction of Athens
Plaka has a lot of shops mainly with tourist items like
Greek art shops, Furs and jewellery shops. The main
shopping streets are Adrianou, Pandrosou and Hephaestou.
Most of the restaurants located around of the square of
Philomouson in Kythathineon street like the restaurants
Byzantino, Plaka and Acropolis on the streets around the
Bathe of the winds and on the steps of Mnisikleous
street.
The
area of Plaka is one of the most attractive districts of
Athens. Under the slopes of the Acropolis Plaka attracts
all the visitors of Athens with its neoclassical
mansions and houses with roofs from red tiles, its small
winding roads with their steps, balconies with
bougainvilleas ,geraniums and jasmines. Plaka is called
many times in the Greek literature as the neighbourhood of
the Gods and that because over Plaka dominates the
sacred rock of the
Plaka has its special place in the memories of the older
generation of Athens. It use to be the area of the
working class and many Greek films of the early 50's and
60's has been filmed there when the houses where not
renovated as they are today and most of the winding
roads where just earth. One of the most famous Greek
film "Stella" with Melina Mercouri and Georgios Fountas
was filmed there at the house opposite the bath of the
winds witch today hosts a branch of an American
university. Plaka was the famous place of the typical
Greek tavern where the old Athenians went and drank
Retsina from Mesogeia and Markopoulo the places that
still today the best retsina is coming from. In every
small tavern was a quitter and always someone could play
the famous wine songs of Plaka the so called "Kantades"
that derives from the Italian "Cando" song. Plaka was
the most important place to be during the Greek
Carnival, thousands of Athenians in masquerade used to
walk up and down the streets of Plaka throwing
serpentines and confetti. This tradition still exists
today but without the enthusiasm of the old days.
In the 60's Plaka became the birth place of the Greek
new wave music. In small live music clubs the so called
"boites" many Greek composers and singers where first
performed that new style of
What
to see: Today Plaka has gain back its old idyllic face.
Becomes busy in sunny weekends and of course during the
summer when tourist arriving there to explore its
attractions, and Plaka has a lot of things to see.
Museums like the children's museum in Kydathineon street
and the Kanellopoulos museum just under the north slope
of acropolis in Theorias street and the museum of Greek
popular instruments near by. Monuments like the
Lysicrates monument a monument that was build from the
rich Athenian Lysicrates in 334 BC after he won the
prize of the best performance that he had sponsored in
the Dionysus theatre. Archaeological areas like the
Greek and the Roman agora, the Hadrian's Library and the
bath of the winds and other Roman monuments build mostly
by the Roman emperor Hadrian, the Atallos Stoa that
hosts a great collection of several artefacts that have
been founded in the Area of the ancient Agora. Under the
north east slope of Acropolis located the first
university of Athens the Kapodistrian university named
after the first governor of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias
on the extension of Tholou street. It was build in 1837
right after the Greek independence.