Plaka, authentic Greek experience

One cannot help but be amazed by this commercial center in Athens, the Plaka is synonymous to Les Rambles in Barcelona, it’s teeming with people from all parts of the world from different walks of life. The range of shops found in this center of commerce is as varied as it can get, there is a flee market that is opened everyday of the week selling anything anyone could imagine, souvenir shops having all sorts of knick-knacks to cater to all tourists, jewelry shops that sells high end brands like Cartier, Rolex and Bulgari, it was a crazy paradise for a shop-a-holic like me who is always on the look out for the best buys in town.


Honey and I were planning to roam around the Plaka in late afternoon/early evening on our second day in Athens thinking that we’ll have our dinner there anyway. However, on our way to the Acropolis, we passed by the Plaka and we were not immune to its charm. The eagerness of the peddlers and the enthusiasm of the tourists were all so contagious that we gave in and mingled with the crowd and postponed our trek. We were drowned with the enormous collection of souvenir items on display and we couldn’t decide which one to check out first. There were ceramic decorative plates, ref door magnets which, of course, we need to get some of, olive oil soaps, key chains, statues of all shapes and sizes, figurines of gods and goddesses most of whom I am not familiar with, head busts of all sizes and every imaginable keepsake a tourist could ever dream of.



Apart from rows after rows after rows of shops, the Plaka also nests a lot of restaurants, traditional Greek tavernas and ice-cream parlors that cater to every cravings of the palette and is as varied as the shops that surround it, from the hole in a wall gyro place to a fancy Greek restaurant, just name your pick.


The Plaka is an old neighborhood that reflects a lot of Greece’s history, it also helps that this village sprawls just beneath the magnificent Acropolis. Each of the shops, every taverna and all the peddlers that thrive in this village reflects the simple yet passionate take of Greeks on life. Surely, no visit in Athens will ever be complete without experiencing the authentic Greek culture that is the Plaka.