The central market is a must during a visit to Athens. You will feel the heartbeat of Athens, its energy, joy and authenticity. The streets around it are full of life and specialized shops. You will find everything: food products of course, but also hardware, fabrics, glassware, bazaar.
The great pleasure is to get lost and discover by yourself the treasures of these stores. Nevertheless, we give you in this article some indications to make a better reading and not to miss the nuggets of this district.
It takes at least two hours (not including food breaks) to do a nice tour of this area.
Athinas, a lively shopping street
With traffic always very heavy and noise level high, Athinas is a large street not always very pleasant to walk. However, it is full of all kinds of stores. Many are very specialized, like the rope merchant or the glass bottle seller. This is also where you will find decorations for baptisms or weddings. The crisis has taken its toll on many stores, but there are still some nice DIY stores, overflowing with products.
There are also traditional grocery stores in this street, selling olive oil, halva, glyco. The prices are more reasonable than in Plaka and the products are of good quality. So, it’s the ideal place to fill up on memories. We even offer to vacuum pack the various goods to facilitate their transport. To fill up, we recommend Kolios and Perilesvou.
Colors and smells in the spice and delicatessen district
Going up Athinas, if you take a left, good smells lead you to the street of spice sellers and pork butchers. At lunchtime, barbecues invade the sidewalk, to let customers test the sausages on sale in the store.
It is also a magnificent sight for the eyes: colors of curries, dried fruits and candied fruits, multitudes of hams that hang from the ceilings (they are fake!).
Take the opportunity to have a lunch break at Karamanlidika. Or, if you don’t mind the rustic, in the cellars of the tavern on Sokratous Street.
You can then stroll through the discovery part of the market. Armodiou Street: you can find fruits and vegetables, fish and smoked sausages, olives at unbeatable prices.
The market hall, fresh meat and fish
We then enter the heart of the central municipal market (also called Varvakios), in a large hall, composed of a part dedicated to meat and the other to fish. The smell is sometimes a bit heady and the sight of pigs’ heads, sheep’s feet and octopus tentacles will disgust some. For my part, I find it fascinating and almost artistic. The setting up of refrigerated areas allows to have no doubt about the quality of the products presented. The prices are very attractive, you can negotiate them especially if you buy in large quantities.
Behind the market, pedestrian and shopping streets
Get some fresh air by going out the back of the market. You will fall into the pedestrian street Aiolou. It is a popular atmosphere, textile stores, and the inevitable Krinos, where you will enjoy Loukoumades. End at Evripidiou Street. Here you will find many delicatessens but also an excellent creamery “I Strofka tou Maria”, offering all varieties of yoghurts, feta, and Greek cheeses.
Sophie B.
Updated on April 4, 2024
