The perfect reading spot has to be comfortable, quiet, and picturesque and we have put together our favourite spots in Athens for the bookish, so you can easily escape into the pages of a good book! 

Filopappou or Pnyx Hill

Reachable by walking along a cobblestone pedestrianised walk that forks off from Dyionissiou Aeropagitou, which is surrounded by trees and greenery, these two hills are not only incredibly scenic and intensely historical but also scenically serene. Bring a soft blanket along and set yourself down against an ancient rock to read your book and occasionally glance up at mesmerising views of the Acropolis, Lycabettus and the sprawling capital.

Lycabettus Hill

With entrances from all sides (from Exarcheia, Ambelokipi and Kolonaki) that have paths leading round the hill and up to the top, as well as a Teleferique rail car, this green hill has numerous benches to perch yourself on for a tranquil read. Or head right to the church of Saint George at its peak and enjoy your book from one of the highest places in the city.

National Gardens

There are plenty of park benches, grassy patches, thick tree trunks and large rocks to settle on here, as you sit surrounded by one of the city’s largest botanical varieties from around the world. Hear the exotic parrots squawk and see children giggle as they feed goats and geese in these large, lush grounds just off Syntagma Square.

First Cemetery

Not to everyone’s taste but considered as extremely pacifying for some (indeed, there is even such a thing as cemetery tourism), the First Cemetery in Mets is an ideal place for reading and reflection. These expansive grounds are where the city’s most well-established, oldest and richest families have laid their beloved to rest, as well as being the burial land for some of the country’s greatest figures. That means it’s filled with incredible works of art, most of them in the form of elaborate marble sculptures crafted by acclaimed artists. Park-benches dot the alleys of sculptural graves, lined with trees and greenery, and, well, it’s certainly silent here. Just don’t come after dark

A: Logginou 3, Mets

SNFCC Park

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre has become known for its beautiful facilities, which include pretty sea views, an artificial lake, a row of fountains and a giant park that includes an olive grove. Although it can get noisy during the weekends, when parents bring their kids here to run free, there’s almost always sure to be a nook where you can read your book. And then there’s the SNFCC’s Library if you’re looking for an indoor readscape.

A: Leof. Andrea Siggrou 364, Kallithea

Cover image: First Cemetry by Fanis Vlastaras

Alexia Amvrazi

Editor

Alexia has lived in Greece for 20+ years, writing & presenting on radio/TV for global & local media, & is co-author of '111 Places in Athens That You Shouldn’t’ Miss'. She grew up in Rome, Cairo & Athens and studied Film, TV & Radio and MA in Mass Communications in the UK. Her international childhood & travels around the world offer her enough closeness & distance from Greece to see both the dream & the reality. Her chief goal as Editor of IN+SIGHTS GREECE is to provide a plethora of in+sightful, in+timate, in+telligent, in+dividual & in+formative perspectives of Greece.

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