Must-see shopping in Athens

  • Athens, Greece - 3 March 2023 - People buying fish at the local Varvakios Central Municipal Market in Athens
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    Varvakios Agora

    Athens

    A wonderful sight in its own right, this huge old wrought-iron market hall is dedicated to fish and meat, especially row upon row of lamb carcasses,…

  • Underflow

    Acropolis Area

    Specialising in Greek avant-garde rock and obscure sounds, this is one of Athens' top record shops. It stocks a wide range of music genres on vinyl and CD…

  • Free Thinking Zone

    Athens

    Billing itself as Greece's first activist bookshop, the Free Thinking Zone specialises in books on LGBT issues, refugees, violence in society and so on…

  • Shedia

    Athens

    Meaning 'raft', Shedia is Greece's version of street-vendor magazines such as the Big Issue. Unsold copies are now being upcycled into an appealing range…

  • Zacharias

    Athens

    A Greek-Spanish duo specialising in silkscreen designs inspired by classical motifs. Especially nice are their leather notebooks, wallets and more, where…

  • Forget Me Not

    Syntagma & Plaka

    This impeccable small store (two shops, one upstairs and one down around the corner) stocks super-cool gear, from fashion to housewares and gifts, all by…

  • Hallelujah

    Athens

    Eleftheria Domenikou is the young designer whose minimalistic, elegant yet comfortable clothes and accessories are stocked here. She cooperates with…

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    Fotsi

    Athens

    Evripidou is Athens' traditional street for spices, a couple of highly aromatic blocks of Mediterranean herbs and imported seeds, barks and other wonders…

  • Mastiha Shop

    Athens

    Mastic (mastiha in Greek), the medicinal resin from rare trees only found on the island of Chios, is the key ingredient in everything in this store, from…

  • Martinos antiques shop in Athens.

    Martinos

    Athens

    This Monastiraki landmark opened in 1890 and has an excellent, sometimes museum-quality selection of Greek and European antiques and collectables,…

  • Interior of Yannis Samouelin bouzouki store in Athens.

    Yiannis Samouelian

    Athens

    Wedged between more-modern, generic shops on Ifestou, this shop is the place to buy the bouzouki of your dreams; handmade ones cost around €180. It has…

  • Amorgos

    Syntagma & Plaka

    Charming store crammed with wooden toys, karagiozi (shadow puppets), ceramics, embroidery and other Greek folk art, as well as carved wooden furniture…

  • Anavasi

    Syntagma & Plaka

    Great travel bookshop with an extensive range of Greece maps and walking and activity guides.

  • Allouche Benias Gallery

    Athens

    Occupying the beautifully restored 1882 Deligeorgis Mansion, designed by Ernst Ziller, this gallery made a splash on the local art scene when it opened in…

  • Pan-Pol

    Athens

    Whether you want a moss-green fedora or a nontouristy Greek fisherman's cap, this shoebox of a shop will have it, along with many other felt hats in…

  • Korres

    Syntagma & Plaka

    Many pharmacies stock some of this popular line of natural beauty products, but you can get the full range at the company's original location, where it…

  • Center of Hellenic Tradition

    Athens

    This organisation collects excellent traditional craftwork and stocks its shop with ceramics, sculpture and handicrafts from around the country.

  • Koukoutsi

    Athens

    Niko and Taso design the simple, elegant Athens- and Greece-inspired graphics that adorn the T-shirts, accessories and art prints sold in this tiny shop…

  • Lemisios

    Athens

    An Athens classic, open since 1912, with classic designs – T-straps, ballet flats, elegant Oxfords (their only style for men) – all custom-fit just for…

  • Alexis Papachatzis

    Syntagma & Plaka

    This charming jewellery store is a delight before you even enter: turn the handle on the window display and watch as gears and pulleys animate the scene…

  • Katerina Ioannidis

    Athens

    From a family of goldsmiths, Ioannidis merges Greek and other global folkloric elements into jewellery that is light, bohemian and sometimes even a little…

  • Athena Design Workshop

    Acropolis Area

    You can often find Krina Vronti busy woodblock printing her appealing graphic designs on T-shirts, cushion covers and paper at this combined studio and…

  • To Rodakio & Fotagogos

    Athens

    This charming bookshop and gallery, run by Julia Tsiakiris and hidden at the back of cafe-bar Noel, is a wonderful find. Browse locally published books…

  • Flâneur

    Syntagma & Plaka

    This cute shop has a tightly curated collection of souvenirs and travel gear. Get your hand-stamped 'φλανέρ' (that’s 'flâneur' spelled in Greek) notebooks…

  • El.Marneri Galerie

    Acropolis Area

    Sample rotating exhibitions of local modern art and some of the best jewellery in the city. Handmade, unusual and totally eye-catching.

  • Melissinos Art

    Athens

    Pantelis Melissinos continues the sandalmaking tradition started by his grandfather in 1920 and made famous by his poet/cobbler father Stavros, who built…

  • Miran

    Athens

    The sausages hanging from the ceiling may be plastic (thanks, health codes), but this deli near the central market is the real deal. It makes its own…

  • Bernier/Eliades

    Athens

    This gallery, established in 1977 and occupying this grand old home since 1999, showcases prominent Greek artists and an impressive list of international…

  • Xylouris

    Syntagma & Plaka

    Set in an arcade with several other music shops, this treasure trove is run by the family of legendary Cretan composer Nikos Xylouris. They can guide you…

  • Kolonaki Weekly Market

    Athens

    Most Athens neighbourhoods have a weekly laïki agora, a street market for fruit, veg and household miscellany, and Kolonaki's is a good one. Leafy…

  • pgi Pagani

    Athens

    The Pagani family selects all the unique decorative items, handmade jewellery, ceramics and art featured in their shop in Monastiraki’s buzzing shopping…

  • Fine Wine

    Syntagma & Plaka

    In the winding streets of Plaka, the finest wines can be found in this small terracotta-hued building that’s a bit worn around the edges. It's a welcoming…

  • Zoumboulakis Gallery

    Athens

    An excellent selection of limited-edition prints and posters by leading Greek artists, including Yannis Tsarouchis, Dimitris Mytaras and Alekos Fassianos,…

  • Olgianna Melissinos shoe store in Athens.

    Olgianna Melissinos

    Athens

    A scion of the legendary poet/sandalmaker Stavros Melissinos (along with brother Pantelis, who has a separate shop), Olgianna has a line of custom-fitted…

  • Fanourakis jewellery shop piece in Kolonaki.

    Fanourakis

    Athens

    One of the most creative and exciting Greek jewellers, Fanourakis designs delicate, quirky pieces: gold folded like pencil shavings, unicycle charms, pavé…

  • Lovecuts

    Acropolis Area

    Greek designer Maria Panagiotou makes all the cute, affordable cotton clothing here, such as reversible hoodies, skirts and blouses in fun prints. It's…

  • Aidinis Errikos

    Syntagma & Plaka

    Artisan Errikos Aidinis' unique metal creations are made in his workshop at the back of this charming store, including small mirrors, candlesticks, lamps,…

  • Graffito

    Athens

    Stylish Graffito combines a few Greek homewares, fashion and other high-design items with mainly imported items – it all looks very chic and totally…

  • Comicon Shop

    Athens

    Browse a full range of Greek indie comics, graphic novels and zines. Conveniently, there's another comics shop across the street too.

  • Eleonas Flea Market

    Athens

    The so-called 'Gypsy market' is not for everyone. The city's trash-pickers and junk dealers, plus sellers of vegetables, new clothes and bulk items, lay…

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