The 5 neighborhoods for street art in Athens

Most interesting street art and graffiti in Athens

Are you planning a trip to Athens and hoping to see some street art and graffiti?
This post is directed at you

 Athens is a city that is chaotic, wild, magnificent, dirty, gorgeous, impoverished, historical, desperate, and aesthetically flat (the city’s highest structure is merely 10 floors high).

Similar to New York, Berlin, and Amsterdam, Athens’ graffiti culture arose as a way of expressing social and/or political discontent. At the turn of the millennium, thousands of migrants used Greece as a sanctuary and entry point into Europe. The growth of the country’s impoverished population in only a few short years seriously upset the country’s delicate social and economic equilibrium. As a result, many individuals took to the streets to express their views and frustrations through spray paint protests, which could be seen all across the city.

GAZI

In the heart of the Gazi neighborhood in Athens you will find contemporary art spaces, the streets surrounding Gazi square are decorated with street art and have taverns, restaurants serving dishes from around the world. Local galleries and unusual shops sell works by Greek artists.

Monastiraki

The lively Monastiraki neighborhood of Athens is known for famous landmarks that include the remains of the ancient Agora and the rebuilt Stoa of Attalus, with a museum displaying artifacts from Athens. The Monastiraki flea market is a jumble of shops selling homemade soaps, handmade sandals and souvenir t-shirts. The surrounding streets are full of traditional taverns and restaurants, most of which have views of the Acropolis.

Plaka

Under the hill of the Acropolis is the rural area of ​​Plaka with narrow cobbled streets and tiny shops for jewelry, clothes and local ceramics. Sidewalk cafes and family taverns operate until late hours, some under the open sky. Nearby stand the white houses of the Anapiotika neighborhood, which give the small enclave the atmosphere of a Greek island.

PSYRI

The Pasiri neighborhood is built around Iron Square; In the streets surrounding it there are restaurants offering meztis and live music, including Rambatika (Greek blues). Bars with DJ shows and taverns that serve traditional dishes. The artisans' small shops, many of which are decorated with graffiti, sell handmade leather bags, indie fashion and special homewares.

Piraeus

Piraeus is a Greek port city that is part of the Athens metropolis and is located about 11 km from the center of Athens. Piraeus is currently the fourth largest city in Greece, and the port of Piraeus is the main port of Greece and one of the largest in Europe.

Plaka, Gazi, Monastiraki, Exarcheia, Agios Ioannis Rentis, Anafiotika, and the walls along the Piraeus metro line are the best places to see street art and graffiti in Athens
The neighborhoods of Exarchia, Monastiraki, Psyri, Anafiotika, Gazi, Neos Kosmos, Omonia, Exarhia, and Rentis are also areas to experience Greek graffiti

This post is part of a dedicated series of 3 posts on street art  in Athens:

List of street artists participating in the series of 3 posts: Graffiti and street art in Athens: Ino, Rtmone, Fikos, Oré, Alexandros Vasmoulakis, Woozy, Kez, Sonke
WD (Wild Drawings), Dimitris Taxis, SimpleG, Alex Martinez, Insane51, Sonke, Bleeps.gr, Stmts, Gonzalo Borondo, Simoni Fontana, Pavlos Tsankonas, Loukanikos

About me

My name is a Dror Hadadi and I have always loved and been attracted to the subversion art of graffiti. The urban art, which takes place in the public space 24/7, captivates my heart.

In my view, graffiti, is a free entry ticket to a global exhibition that is constantly changing, growing and evolving.

The graffiti creates and drives an artistic dialogue between the viewer, the architecture and the urban life. Sometimes graffiti disrupts, hurts,
and shatters its presence on the wall. Sometimes it brings the public wall to life, allowing us a colorful and exciting glimpse into the graffiti artist's private world – and our own world as viewers.
In both cases, instant communication and dialogue is created between the viewer and the message left for him on the wall.
The graffiti, due to its presence in the urban-public space, engages in dialogue with us on a daily basis, enabling us to communicate with the space near us, which serves as decor for our living and urban environment.

Enjoy!

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