This lovely 11th-century church was part of the palace of the Rangavas family, who counted among them Michael I, emperor of Byzantium. The church bell was the first installed in Athens after liberation from the Turks (who had banned them), and was the first to ring in 1833 to announce the freedom of Athens. Its facade is decorated with faux-Kufic Arabic brick decoration, in vogue at the time among Byzantine artisans.
Church of Agios Nikolaos Rangavas
Syntagma & Plaka
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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Benaki Museum of Greek Culture
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National Archaeological Museum
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Nearby Syntagma & Plaka attractions
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Clinging to the north slope of the Acropolis, the tiny Anafiotika district is a beautiful, architecturally distinct subdistrict of Plaka. In the mid-1800s…
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Tucked away in Plaka, this 17th-century church is worth visiting any time for its peaceful courtyard and beautiful interior decoration. On the evening of…
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Chorus leader and musical patron Lysikrates built this tower in 334 BC to commemorate the victory of his sponsored chorus in the dramatic contests of the…
4. Museum of Folk Art & Tradition
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The 1920s mansion of folklorist Angeliki Hatzimichalis (1895–1965), who wrote more than 100 books and articles about Greek traditions, is a window into…
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Opened after renovations in 2017, the 17th-century Benizelos home is a typical domestic structure from that period, with dirt-floor downstairs rooms with…
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One of the few remnants of Athens' Ottoman period, this 17th-century hammam (Turkish bath) is also the only intact public bath building in the city –…
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The tyrant Peisistratos introduced the annual Festival of the Great Dionysia during the 6th century BC, and held it in the world's first theatre, on the…