Athens – The Homeland of the Gods: The Walking Tour

The Lonely Planet travel guides have been my bibles for all of my Europe trips, and the travel guide to Greece is certainly not an exception. There is an interesting route around Athens called 'The Walking Tour' as in the travel guide, so I decided to follow this route to explore further.

In fact the route includes the parliament building that I've talked about earlier, so I'm gonna skip that. That means I gotta start with the Syntagma Metro interchange station. The upper podium of the Syntagma station features a gallery with glass cases showcasing the finds recovered during the construction of the station.

A jar unearthed from the construction site.

On the other side of the gallery is a wall preserved as it is as an archaeological dig with the artifacts untouched.

The wall preserved and being displayed as an archaeological site.

As I walked out of the Syntagma station, I headed straight to the parliament building to watch the movement of the evzones that was featured in my blog post earlier. I then followed the route drawn out in the Lonely Planet travel guide and arrived at junction.

An old building at one corner of the junction being restored.

Not for ahead is the Church of Metamorphosis. I don't know why it is called by this name as I didn't see any larva or pupa around.

A fresco of the figure of Christ on top of the main door to the Church of Metamorphosis.

There are quite a number of shopping streets along this route. As I'm not a shopper by nature, I passed through these streets quite rapidly, taking just a few shots of what were on offer.

Leather bags at a shop along the route.

One the way to the highest part of Plaka, I saw some whitewashed buildings which I thought I can only see on the Greek islands.

A whitewashed house very similar to those on the Greek islands.

Plaka is the busiest district in Athens, but the highest part of Plaka, Anafiotika, is quite quiet and tranquil, with many little whitewashed cube houses. I thought I was already in one of the Greek islands.

The path and steps leading to the whitewashed cube houses.

Colourful chairs lining the street of Anafiotika.

Further down the route brought me to the ruins of the Roman Agora.

A remaining panel of a temple at the Roman Agora.

From the ruins of a market place, I was brought along the route to the busiest and chaotic part of Athens, Plateia Monastirakiou. There are shopping streets and flea markets radiating from this square, with shops and stalls selling stuff from cheap souvenirs to high-class jewellery and clothes.

A fancy shop selling expensive souvenirs.

A retro alarm clock.

A fancy designer mug.

The final destination along this route is Plateia Mitropoleos with two churches. The smaller Church of Agios Eleftherios looks more appealing than the Athens Cathedral. Therefore, I only show the exterior of the more appealing church and the interior of the cathedral with no architectural merit.

The Church of Agios Eleftherios.

Stained glass leaf doors of the Athens Cathedral.

If you would like to read more of my travelogues on Greece, here are the links:-

1. Athens – The Homeland of the Gods

• Acropolis
• Ancient Agora
• National Archaeological Museum
• Exposé at the Parliament Building
• Neoclassical Trilogy
• The Walking Tour
• The Graffiti
• The Central Market
• Panoramic View

2. The White Dream in Mykonos

• Whitewashed Cube Houses
• Stairways to Heaven
• Barricades in Paradise
• Sea Breeze
• Wind Riders
• With a Little Bit of Red
• Roaming the Streets
• The Holy Ground
• When the Sun is Going Down
• I've Been to Paradise

3. Santorini – Almost Heaven

• Roaming Around the Streets of Fira
• Gazing at the Sea in Fira
• The Southern Crosses in Fira
• The Golden Hour at Fira
• Fira Sunset and After Dark
• Strolling the Streets in Oia
• The Cliffs and the Sea in Oia
• The Domes and the Bells in Oia
• The Barriers in Oia
• The Sunset at Oia
• The Volcano at Nea Kameni
• The Black-sand Beach of Kamari
• Ancient Thira

4. Miscellaneous

• Piraeus – Tinos – Mykonos
• Delos – The Open Air Museum on an Island
• From Mykonos to Thira
• Nuts about Kebab
• Patras