City hitlist
Athens has bounced back from the brink.
STAY
Athens Was Brilliantly located on the lively pedestrian promenade around the Acropolis, this polished boutique hotel pays homage to Modernist design. The 21 rooms with spacious balconies are artfully decorated with bold graffiti-patterned carpets and period furniture, from Le Corbusier armchairs to 1950s Flos lamps. Enjoy views of the Acropolis from the rooftop terrace, where Modern Dining serves contemporary Mediterranean fare such as sea bass with black lentils and roast Ibérico pork with black truffles.
5 Dionysiou Areopagitou, athenswas.gr
Electra Metropolis Athens A towering art installation by Greek artist Alekos Fassianos soars 10 levels in the hotel’s stunning atrium. The €17 million transformation of the derelict 1960s Ministry of Education building incorporates a tiny post-Byzantine church preserved in the portico, and ancient city walls and ruins are visible through glass floors and walls in the basement. The 216 retro-chic rooms have balconies, but the big drawcard is the rooftop pool and expansive Roof Garden restaurant and bar, with 360-degree views of the Acropolis, and hills of Athens.
15 Mitropoleos, electrahotels.gr
SEE
EMST
The long-awaited opening of EMST, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, at the old Fix brewery is a boon for Athens’s burgeoning arts scene.
The seven-storey Modernist building has colossal exhibition spaces for contemporary Greek and international shows, including the contemporary art showcase Documenta 14 being co-hosted with Kassel, Germany, until July. Upper galleries will house the permanent collection soon after. Kallirrois & Frantzi, emst.gr
SHOP
Yoleni’s
The six-level flagship store of this successful online deli is a one-stop shop for Greek cuisine. Styled as a traditional ’60s grocery store, it features Greece’s first olive-oil tasting bar, a wine and liquor store, and a staggering selection of artisanal and regional products packed on basement shelves. The ground-floor café has a wood-fired oven baking traditional pies. Upstairs is a butchery and grill house, cooking classes and a supervised kids’ play area. Solonos 9, yolenis.com
DRINK
Athens’ vibrant bar scene has flourished despite tough economic times.
The Clumsies (Praxitelous 30) is open all day but shines at cocktail hour, when staff are let loose with bespoke concoctions developed in the lab upstairs. The El Draque Mojito, for instance, comes as a toothbrush with edible mint and apple toothpaste. On a bigger scale but just as much fun is Noel (Kolokotrini 59B), a warren of drinking nooks off a central arcade with good food, interesting cocktails and a permanently festive vibe. A session at Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro (Mitropoleos 66) is a crash course in Greek viniculture. It claims the world’s largest by-theglass wine list (500 at last count, half of them Greek, poured from Coravin) and has an extensive menu and 1960s French-bistro ambience.