Walking Athens: Old Town to Psirri
Plaka’s narrow streets are the usual starting point for a walk through old Athens, but the more distinctive and quieter stop of the two actually sits just above them.
Plaka and Anafiotika
Follow Plaka’s lanes uphill until they narrow further into Anafiotika, fewer than 50 whitewashed houses built in the 1840s by stonemasons from the Cycladic island of Anafi, sitting right beneath the Acropolis rock itself, a five-minute detour most visitors never make. It has no souvenir shops, just quiet alleys and the occasional cat, and it’s a genuinely different, slower pace than Plaka’s busier lanes just below it.
The pedestrian promenade
Dionysiou Areopagitou and Apostolou Pavlou form a car-free walkway linking Thissio, the Acropolis and Plaka through to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, an easy, flat route regardless of which direction you happen to walk it in.
Monastiraki and Psirri
The flea market’s antiques-bazaar character, centered on Avissinias Square, is a Sunday event specifically, running roughly 8am to 3pm; the general shops in Monastiraki are open daily, but the serious market crowd is Sunday only. Continuing into Psirri afterward trades market stalls for street art and bars.
Practical notes for walking, not just sightseeing
Marble and cobblestone paving around the Acropolis and Plaka gets slippery when wet, and uphill sections toward the Acropolis slopes or Lycabettus are genuinely tough in summer midday heat, better saved for morning or evening. Crowded Metro platforms, especially Syntagma, Monastiraki and Omonia, are known spots for pickpocketing, so keep bags closed and in view. A cross-body bag worn at the front holds up better than a backpack on a packed train, where a backpack sits out of sight.
Finding a tour or going alone
GuruWalk’s Athens page lists current free, tip-based walking tours, and Athens walking tours on GetYourGuide cover paid, smaller-group alternatives. Neither Plaka nor Anafiotika actually needs a guide to enjoy; both are small enough to wander with a phone map, and a fixed commentary can slow down what’s really a place for drifting rather than following a set route.
Put Anafiotika on the route from the start; it’s a short detour off Plaka that a surprising number of walking routes through the old town skip entirely. This site’s sightseeing guide covers the same central sites in more ticketing detail, and the day trips guide picks up once you’re ready to leave the historic center for the day.