SHOPPING IN ATHENS
Most shops catering to tourists are open long hours daily (souvenir stores in the Plaka can be open past midnight). Those serving locals are open roughly 9:00 to 20:00 on weekdays, have shorter hours on Saturday, and are closed on Sunday. Afternoon breaks are common, and some places close early a few nights a week.
For details on getting a VAT (Value-Added Tax) refund on your purchases, see the Practicalities chapter.
WHERE TO SHOP
Popular Shopping Streets
The main streets of the Plaka—especially Adrianou and Pandrossou—are crammed with crass tourist-trap shops selling cheap plaster replicas of ancient artifacts, along with calendars, magnets, playing cards, postcards, and profane T-shirts. Competition is fierce, so there’s room to bargain, especially if you’re buying several items. If you’re determined to shop here, look for typical Grecian clothing (white cotton dresses and flowing blouses), sandals, or cosmetics (olive-based soaps, lotions, and beauty products). While still touristy, these products are at least more authentic than kitschy trinkets. For a list of more tasteful shops nearby, see “Higher-End Souvenirs,” later.
For midrange shopping at mostly international chain stores, stroll the pedestrianized Ermou street between Syntagma Square and Monastiraki. You’ll find more local flavor at Greek shops such as Kem (handbags; Kornarou 1, just off Ermou), Heroes (unique Greek-themed jewelry and accessories, handmade by Athens native Eugenia Kokkala-Mela; Aiolou 9, just off Ermou), and the clothing stores Regalinas (Ermou 37) and Bill Cost (Ermou 14).
While tourists and big-money Athenians strut their stuff on Ermou, many locals prefer the more authentic shops on the streets just to the north, such as Perikleous, Lekka, and Kolokotroni.
For top-end international boutiques (like Prada and Louis Vuitton), head for the swanky Kolonaki neighborhood, just north of Syntagma Square—particularly posh Voukourestiou street.
Monastiraki Flea Market
This famous flea market stretches west of Monastiraki Square, along Ifestou street and its side streets. It’s a fun place for tourists and pickpockets to browse but isn’t ideal for buying quality gifts. You’ll see plenty of souvenir shops, but the heart of the market is Avissinias Square, filled with antique shops selling furniture, household items, jewelry, dusty books, knickknacks, and stuff that might raise eyebrows at the airport. There’s something going on every day, but the market is best and most crowded on Sundays, when store owners lay out the stuff they’ve been scouting for all week. If buying here, make sure to bargain (Sun flea market open 8:00-15:00, packed with locals by 10:00, Metro: Monastiraki or Thissio).
Department Store
The largest department store in Athens is Attica, which has a cafeteria on the top floor but no views (Mon-Fri 10:00-21:00, Sat until 20:00, closed Sun, near Syntagma Square at Panepistimiou 9, +30 211 990 0000).
WHAT TO BUY
Higher-End Souvenirs
Check out these shops for a thoughtfully curated selection of artsy souvenirs. Forget Me Not sells ceramics, housewares, fun T-shirts, and locally produced clothing and beachwear (Adrianou 100, +30 210 325 3740, www.forgetmenotathens.gr). Thíkι has totes, T-shirts, pillowcases, and stationery featuring famous Greek quotes and evil-eye designs (Adrianou 120, +30 210 323 5234, www.thikigreece.com). The Museum of Greek Folk Art’s gift shop also offers a range of tasteful items inspired by their museum collection (Adrianou 45).
Jewelry
The most common jewelry motifs are the olive branch, seashells, and the Greek evil eye (mati). Serious buyers say that Athens is the best place in Greece to purchase jewelry, particularly at the shops along Adrianou. The choices are much better than you’ll find elsewhere, and—if you know how to haggle—so are the prices. The best advice is to take your time, and don’t be afraid to walk away. The sales staff gets paid on commission, and they hate to lose a potential customer. Most stores have similar selections, which they buy from factory wholesalers. If feeling shy about bargaining, ask “Do you have any discounts?” to start the conversation.
For something more specialized (with high prices), visit Byzantino, which creates pricey handmade replicas of museum pieces, along with some original designs (daily 11:00-21:00, Adrianou 120, +30 210 324 6605, https://byzantino.com, run by Kosta).
Olympico also creates their own modern pieces in the Greek style, along with museum copies (daily 11:00-22:00, shorter hours off-season, Adrianou 122, +30 210 324 8697, www.olympicojewlery.com [URL inactive], George).
The gift shop at the Benaki Museum of Greek History and Culture (described on here) is also popular for its jewelry.
Handmade Sandals
The best place to buy real leather sandals is Melissinos Art, the famous “poet sandal maker” of Athens. Pantelis Melissinos, who’s also a poet, painter, and playwright, is the third generation in his craft. His father, Stavros, was also a master sandal maker, and the shop has been an Athens landmark since 1920. In the windows, you’ll see photos of celebrities who have worn Melissinos sandals over the decades, from Jackie O. to John Lennon. Supposedly, when the Beatles came to the shop in 1968, they asked Stavros why he didn’t ask for their autographs. He asked why, in turn, they hadn’t asked for his, adding, “I will be around long after the Beatles.”
At this shop, you’ll find an assortment of styles in basic shades of tan for about €50 per pair. They can also customize a pair for you. The price goes up if you want leather or beading in various colors, and you’ll have to wait a day or two (Tue-Sat 10:00-17:00, Mon from 12:00, closed Sun; two blocks down Athanasiou Diakou from the Akropoli metro station in Makrigianni at Tzireon 16; +30 210 321 9247, www.melissinos-art.com).
For a more contemporary, fashion-forward pair of sandals, try the Ancient Greek Sandals boutique near Syntagma Square. Their all-natural, handmade sandals marry traditional design with modern style, and run €150-200 a pair (Mon-Sat 10:00-20:00, closed Sun; Kolokotroni 1, +30 210 323 0938, www.ancient-greek-sandals.com).
Religious Items
Icons and other Greek Orthodox objects can make good souvenirs. For the best selection, visit the shops near the cathedral, along Agia Filotheis street (most are closed Sat-Sun, described on here).
As you travel through Greece, you may notice Greek men spinning, stroking, and generally fidgeting with their worry beads. Greeks use these beaded strings to soothe themselves and get focused—especially during hard times. Loosely based on prayer beads, but today a secular hobby, worry beads make for a fun Greek souvenir. You’ll see them sold all over central Athens.
Many major faiths employ some version of stringed beads as a worship aid, typically to help keep track of prayers while calming and focusing the mind. Think of the Catholic rosary, Muslim prayer beads, and the long, knotted rope belts worn by medieval monks. Hindus and Buddhists also make use of beads. Greeks—likely inspired by Muslims during the nearly 400 years of Ottoman rule—adopted the habit, but it no longer carries any religious connotations.
The most typical type of worry bead is the komboloï, a loop with an odd number of beads (it can be any number, as long as it’s odd). The top of the loop may have a fixed “main bead” (or two), also called the “priest.” The begleri version—popular since the 1950s—is a single string with an even number of beads (so it can be comfortably balanced in the hand).
The beads are made from a variety of materials. The basic tourist version is a cheap “starter set” made from synthetic materials, similar to marbles. You’ll pay more for organic materials, which are considered more pleasant to touch: precious stones, bones, horn, wood, coral, mother-of-pearl, seeds, and more. The most prized worry beads are made of amber. Most valuable are the hand-cut amber beads, which are very soft and fragile; machine-cut amber is processed to be stronger.
When buying, try several different strings to find one that fits well in your hand; tune in to the smoothness of the beads and the sound they make when clacking together.
There is no “right” or “wrong” way to use your worry beads—everyone finds a routine that works for them. Some flip or spin the beads in their hands, while others sit quietly and count the beads over and over. There are as many ways to use worry beads as there are Greeks. Their seemingly nervous habit appears to have the opposite effect—defusing stress and calming the nerves.
Specialty Foods
All over Athens you’ll see specialty food stores selling locally produced goods such as olive oil, wine and liqueurs, mustards, and sweets like boxed baklava, halva (a confection usually made from sesame paste), loukoumi (a.k.a. Greek delight), and jars of “spoon sweets” (jam-like spreads).
The best place to shop for these is where the locals do—near the Central Market. Specialty grocers and spice shops cluster around Athinas and Evripidou streets, including Peri Lesvou, which sells items produced on the island of Lesbos (closed Sun, Athinas 27, +30 210 323 3227) and Zouridakis, featuring products from Crete (closed Sun, Evripidou 25, +30 210 321 1109).
Yoleni’s/Terra Fresh is two stores under one roof. This top-end, all-purpose Greek grocery store is in the posh Kolonaki area, about a 10-minute walk from Syntagma Square. The shelves are stocked with high-end wine, olive oil, liqueur, honey, and other temptations. There’s also a café with sandwiches and salads, a wine bar, a steak house, and a venue for cooking classes (long hours daily, Solonos 9, +30 212 222 3622).
Ergon House Deli is stocked with artisanal products—both Greek and international—worthy of an upper-fork picnic or to bring home as souvenirs. Order off the menu to enjoy a meal under the airy glass atrium (flanked by an herb wall), or grab a loaf of freshly baked bread and a snack for lunch on the go (cooking classes available, open daily 7:00-24:00, Mitropoleos 23, +30 210 109 090, https://house.ergonfoods.com).
For chocolate and other Greek goods, check out Matsouka (ΜΑΤΣΟΎΚΑ) and its offshoots, around the corner from Syntagma Square (with other branches around the city). Their main branch (at Karageorgi Servias 10) sells nuts, candies, dried fruit, honey, olive oil, and other goodies. Around the corner at Nikis 4 is another shop with spices, chocolates, and more; and a half-block away (at the corner of Karageorgi Servias and Voulis) is their top-end chocolate shop, selling pricey Greek, French, and Belgian pralines. Even if you’re not buying, step inside and take a deep whiff. Notice the case of fancy desserts. Greeks bring these to a home when they’re invited for a visit instead of, say, a bottle of wine (all Matsouka shops open daily 8:00-23:00).
Also near Syntagma Square, Mastiha Shop specializes in (and is named for) a unique Greek treat—a sweet resin produced only by trees on a particular part of Chios island. Mastica has been revered since ancient times for its medicinal properties in treating stomach ailments. These days, this shop uses the distinctively flavorful substance for products from cookies and liqueurs to essential oils and preserves. Mastica is also commonly used in chewing gum (look for the EΛMA brand, sold at newsstands all over Greece) and as a sweet treat for kids, who dip a spoon in a jar of mastica syrup and eat it like a lollipop. Drop in for some free samples (closed Sun, a block above Syntagma Square at Panepistimiou 6, +30 210 363 2750).