Tips for Athens

Athens’ local market is a melting pot of traders coming from the four corners of the world to sell their merchandise, to discuss prices or the weather. It is a meeting place of different nations, a crossroads of traditions. Its colourful and boisterous atmosphere ensures that no one leaves the place without feeling the warm sense of conviviality that only a Greek market can offer.

The variety of merchandise on offer is wide. Various smells tickle the visitor’s nose as he walks along the central street. The streets are covered with leaves and dead flowers. The market is like a valley in spring. Green, yellow and red –the colours of nature- are those that dominate.

As a visitor you will participate in this animated market with all your senses. The market life is buoyant and whoever happens to pass by feels alike. Colour, noise and people put a final touch to this picture of agricultural life.

Merchants gather to sell their goods in the traditional way despite temperatures, which can reach 35 degrees C in the shade. Stalls are set up one next to the other and tents rise up to ensure that the sunrays do not damage the goods. Traders shout at the top of their voices, trying to sell their goods: fruits, vegetables, flowers, plants, clothes and pet animals. Customers, mostly women over 50, drive a hard bargain. This market place dates back a lot of years and it has been the favourite meeting place of locals. As the years went by, different races and colours mixed together adding a tinge of cosmopolitanism. The center of Athens is under construction and the half-ruined buildings of the city often become an ugly sight. However, the market place is slowly becoming busier and bigger than ever. Several stalls have been added, fresh merchandise has been ordered and plans are made for it to expand in the neighbouring streets. For those seeking a more picturesque atmosphere, the traditional Flea market of Monastiraki is not far away. Walking past the pedestrian zones, friendly shopkeepers invite you to have a look at their merchandise. The element of free-market and bargain is very common in Greece. The scent of leather coming from tanneries mixed with the aromatic body oils of the nearby stores carry you away to the more insular Greece where sea, sun and suntan oil play a game of senses and illusions. Shopkeepers will happily show you the way into the inner rooms of their store while smart customers will avoid putting their hand into their pocket without having first driven a hard bargain on the price! Colorful T-shirts with funny logos, flags, bath-towels, leather bags and tacky souvenirs compose a typically “fauvist synthesis”. They are often put on display right at the top of the shop entrance obliging you to bend if you want to enter and have a look. Music from unspecified sources floats on the air. If you were in a bad mood when you came to Monastiraki, a visit through this colourful maze will definitely cheer you up. Monastiraki, which in Greek means little monestary, is a maze of surprises. One little street may lead you to a shop of rare hand-made jewelery, another one to some of the most beautiful open-air tavernas preparing the most exotic Greek dishes. Sea-food, moussaka, chicken gyros, Greek salad, tzatziki, feta cheese, ouzo and a splendid view of the Acropolis are definitely something one must not miss.