Peter Poulos, Executive Director at The Hellenic Initiative harnesses his solitude in lockdown to raise funds for those hardest hit by the Covid pandemic. Over a month ago on March 23rd Athens went into a lockdown/quarantine which required each of us to notify the government with an SMS message when we needed to leave our home...
Read moreNothing like a bit of retro magic to set us in the mood for summer. Social distancing might be a downer, but not if it brings back childhood memories of drive-in cinemas. Athens' new drive-in theatre is slated to launch on June 1 along with open-air cinemas. The corona pandemic has changed the face and fate of many a business ...
Read moreIt is one of Athens’ most prominent squares and perhaps its most blighted. Its radically controversial and often unappealing design changes have pock-marked its 175 years of existence. So there was justifiable cause for celebration as Omonoia finally got the makeover it deserved when its 20-metre high water fountains soared into the night...
Read moreBold new plans are afoot to make Athens a walker’s delight with the Municipality voting in favour of an ambitious pedestrianization project. The quarantine was perhaps a gentle reminder of how wonderful a walking experience car-free Athens could be. It also drove home the need to increase public space and decongest public tran...
Read moreWith our Lockdown cholesterol fest under our belts (literally), the beckoning summer calls for quick, effective and inexpensive ways to shape up fast. You know the detox drill (more water and veg; less of everything else), but try allocating a few minutes in your week to the following exercises, add in some running too, and watch your sve...
Read moreIf not walls, then rooftops! Young grafitti artist S.F. takes his spray paint and imagination a few floors high and sends a message of hope and solidarity offering an insight into how the youth relate to this very surreal experience. Confinement. Viruses. Masks. Deaths. Gloves. Hand-washing. Operas off balconies. Empty streets...
Read moreAnthimos Ntagas reveals the everyday humour and magic that Athens hides, through his mind-bending compositions. He speaks to Sudha Nair-Iliades on the art of ‘capturing chance encounters between the city, its people and its street art.’ A day on the beach in the Pe...
Read more“Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what’s for lunch.” Orson Welles’ cheeky quote was the inspiration for Vassilenas restaurant, celebrating its centennial anniversary this year, as they decided to open their kitchens by cooking for the most vulnerable section of Athenian society, the homeless, during the quarantine period. ...
Read moreERT had us hooked with the 6 o’clock broadcast for daily updates, so it was only a question of time before they decided to go the Netflix way and offer us prime content for free. A savvy move by the state broadcaster to capitalise on its high ratings and captive audience to up its game. Just when you thought you’d run out of s...
Read moreGreece has been a powerful muse for countless scribes throughout the ages. Athens Insider rounds up 8 must-read contemporary tales that will help you get under Greece’s skin. Dinner with Persephone, Patricia Storace Dinner with Persephone is the product of Patricia Storace’s year spent living in Greece and provides a great ...
Read moreOlympia Panagiotopoulos’ poignant story will resonate with anyone who has left home on an immigrant’s journey, «a life caught between a memory and a dream». In Beneath the Fig Leaves, «the comforting sizzle of onion and garlic in hot oil, the fresh, clean scent of a newly picked lemon, the strong earthiness of thyme» infuses the cultural ...
Read moreWith the Olympics postponed, Wimbledon cancelled and every other sporting encounter put on hold, there’s nothing like a good sports movie that transcends the drama and excitement inherent in sports to get your juices flowing. When done right, sports movies offer more depth than the average game, illuminating not just the sport depicted, b...
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