From Royal Athens to the Modern Metropolis
From Royal to Modern Athens
A walking journey through the making of Greece's capital.
Start: Syntagma Square
Finish: Omonia Square / Psyrri
Distance: approximately 3-4 km
Duration: 3 hours, depending on stops
1. Syntagma Square - The birth of the constitutional capital.
2. The Old Royal Palace - From monarchy to parliament.
Stand in front of today's Hellenic Parliament.
3. Hotel Grande Bretagne - The arrival of cosmopolitan Athens.
4. Panepistimiou Street - The European vision of Athens.
Now move onto Panepistimiou Street.
5. Academy of Athens - Ancient Greece reinvented.
The Academy of Athens, designed by Theophil Hansen, is a perfect example of how 19th-century Greece used classical architecture to construct a national identity.
The building was completed in 1885, and its decoration combines ancient Greek imagery with 19th-century ideas of Hellenism.
6. University - Knowledge as a national project.
The University of Athens was founded in 1837, making it the first university of the newly established Greek state and the first university in Southeast Europe.
7. National Library - From ancient manuscripts to the modern nation.
8. Iliou Melathron - Schliemann and the archaeology boom.
9. Stadiou / Old Parliament - Athens becomes political.
10. Omonia - The modern city arrives.
Continue toward Omonia Square.
11. Optional extension - Polytechnic & National Archaeological Museum.
If your group is interested in 20th-century history, continue toward the Polytechnic.
