On Sunday the 8th February 2026 after breakfast at the hotel we caught the Metro to Syntagma Square to see the Grand Changing of the Guard outside the Parliament Building opposite the Square.
The square was created in 1834 when King Otto had the new Royal Palace built. After several fires broke out in the palace, it was no longer suitable as a residence for kings. This palace was then designated as a parliament building after the works. Excavations have shown that a cemetery used to be located on this square.
At the front of the building is the 'Tomb of the Unknown Soldier'. This grave symbolizes all Greek soldiers who died during wars and conflicts. This is also where all commemorations are done. Here the so-called Evzonen keep watch. These are soldiers who wear a traditional uniform. There is a changing of the guard every hour. This always attracts many visitors. The most spectacular Changing of the Guard is every Sunday at 11am. New wreaths are then placed at the grave.
We arrive early at 1030am and wait to secure a good view. Don’t stand right outside for the Grand Change as you will be moved back across the road by the bus stop.
The Evzone's, accompanied by a military band march from their barracks, just behind the Parliament Building, along the Vasilissis Sofias Avenue to the Tomb of the Unknown soldier where a ceremonial change of guards takes place every Sunday at 11:00.
We hear the marching band on the street before we see them enter the square and lead a platoon-sized cadre of guards to the tomb.
They move in perfect synchrony, slow and precise. They scrape their feet and clop along with special footwear. Their extreme movements are meant to help with circulation since their post requires them to remain perfectly still and expressionless for an hour. The white skirt of the uniform has 400 folds to represent the 400 years of Ottoman occupation over the Greeks.
This ceremony has been recreated every week for the last 157 years eventually concludes as the new guards are installed in their posts. The bulk of the crowd eventually disperses, but we linger. Our patience is rewarded with a close-up, obstruction-free view of the next rotation, which happens every hour on the hour.
After the ceremony had finished we down Mitropoleos and pass the shops and make our way back through the Plaka District.
We pass the Oldest House in Athens called the Benizelos Mansion.
The House of Benizelos Family was most likely constructed in the first half of the 18th century. It is the oldest house and the last surviving konaki in Athens, and it is considered to be one of the few examples of such mansions. It is located in the heart of the historical centre of Athens, in the district of Plaka.
The building tells the story of the Benizelos family and Saint Philothei, while at the same time describing the habits and the traditions of the Athenian aristocracy before the Greek revolution against the Ottoman Empire in 1821.
Benizelou Mansion is located at 96 Adrianou Street in Plaka. It is the oldest house in Athens, with its oldest part dating back to the 16th century, even though its construction was completed in the 18th century.
This used to be the residence of Saint Philothei of Athens, whose memory is celebrated on February 19th.
The mansion has now been transformed into a point of historical significance as it now serves as a museum with the help of the National Technical University of Athens.
Walking on we reach the Fethiye Mosque.
The Fethiye Mosque ('Mosque of the Conquest') is a former mosque in central Athens, Greece. Completed in the 17th-century during the Ottoman-era, the mosque was repurposed after Greek independence in 1834, it fell into disrepair, but after renovations it was reopened to the public in 2017 for cultural purposes.
The Fethiye Mosque is located on the northern side of the ancient Roman Agora in Athens, near the Tower of the Winds, and was built on the ruins of a Christian basilica from the middle Byzantine period (8th/9th centuries). The Christian church was converted into a mosque in 1456/58, soon after the Ottoman conquest of the Duchy of Athens, to coincide with the visit to the city by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror in 1458.
Only a fragment of the mihrab survives from this mosque, which was demolished and replaced by the present structure between 1668 and 1670. The new mosque comprises a porch and a large rectangular main hall, crowned by a dome supported by four pillars. The central dome is flanked by half-domes on each side, and by smaller domes on each corner. The porch is supported by five arches, each crowned by a small dome, resting on masonry on the sides and four pillars in the middle.] During Ottoman times, it was commonly known as the "Wheatmarket Mosque" (Τζαμί του Σταροπάζαρου). During the brief occupation of the city by the Venetian forces in the Morean War (October 1687 – May 1688), the mosque was converted by the Venetians into a Catholic church, dedicated to Dionysius the Areopagite.
Following the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, in 1824 the disused mosque was used as a school by the Filomousos Eteria of Athens. At about the same time, or shortly after the end of the war, the mosque's minaret was torn down. From 1834, after Greek independence, and until the early 20th century, it was used successively as a barracks, a military prison and finally as a military bakery, at which point additions were made to the building to house the bakery's kilns. From the early 20th century it is used mostly as a storage place for various finds from the excavations in the Agora and the Acropolis of Athens.
Except for the removal of recent additions and the restoration to its original shape in 1935, the mosque had never undergone a complete restoration, and by 2010 had developed serious structural problems. In autumn 2010, the Greek Ministry of Culture ordered the emptying of the building from the various antiquities stored there, and the beginning of the process to restore it and open it to the public. The decision was sanctioned by Greece's Central Archaeological Council in 2013, paving the way for its restoration and its opening to the public as a space for cultural events. Following extensive restoration and renovation, the mosque was reopened to the public in 2017, and cultural exhibitions are held there.
We walk around to the Roman Agora.
The Roman Agora was built around 100 metres east of the original agora by Eucles of Marathon between 27 BC and 17 BC (or possibly in 10 BC), using funds donated by Augustus, in fulfilment of a promise originally made by Julius Caesar in 51 BC.
The Roman Agora has not today been fully excavated, but is known to have been an open space surrounded by a peristyle. To its south was a fountain. To its west, behind a marble colonnade, were shops and a Doric propylon (entrance), the Gate of Athena Archegetis. To its east was an Ionic gate, the East Propylon, next to the Tower of the Winds and a set of "vespasianae" (public toilets). An inscription records the existence of an Agoranomion (an office for market officials), while another, set on the propylon of Athena Archegetis records a decree from Hadrian's reign regarding the tax obligations of oil merchants.
We walk on passing the Church of the Holy Apostles in the Ancient Agora of Athens.
The Church of the Holy Apostles, also known as Holy Apostles of Solaki, is located in the Ancient Agora of Athens, next to the Stoa of Attalos, and can be dated to around the late 10th century.
"Solakis" may be the family name of those who sponsored a renovation of the church in the Ottoman Period, or from "Solaki" for the densely populated area around the church in the 19th century.
The church is particularly significant as the only monument in the Agora, other than the Temple of Hephaestus, to survive intact since its foundation, and for its architecture: it was the first significant church of the Middle Byzantine period in Athens, and marks the beginning of the so-called "Athenian type", successfully combining the simple four-pier with the cross-in-square forms. The church was built partly over a 2nd-century nymphaion, and was restored to its original form between 1954 and 1957.
As we continue our walk around we can see the Temple of Hephaestus.
The Temple of Hephaestus or Hephaisteion is a well-preserved Greek temple dedicated to Hephaestus; it remains standing largely intact today.
We walk on and can see the National Observatory of Athens perched up on the hill above. Built in 1842 it was the first research institution created in Greece after its liberation.
 |
| View back behind us to the Acropolis. |
We walk around and up the hill to the Church of Agia Marina, we didn’t enter as a service had just finished and people were leaving.
The impressive Church of Agia Marina is located right next to the National Observatory and beneath Pnyx Hill, overlooking the area of Thissio and offering a lovely view of the city of Athens.
The church was built upon the location of an earlier temple of the 19th century.
The construction of the temple was undertaken by the Greek architect Achilleas Georgiadis. The foundations were laid in 1922, the building process began in 1924, and the construction was finally completed in 1927.
Agia Marina is a four-aisled basilica with an impressive dome and an elegant Byzantine architectural style. Regarding the interior, it includes mostly frescoes by the renowned painters Graikos and Kandris that were completed during the 1930s and have distinctive references to the Art Nouveau movement of the era. Visitors are also impressed by the skillfully crafted wooden temple, designed by Georgios Nomikos.
The present building also has a cave-built smaller temple that was dedicated to Saint Marina and is located on the south-eastern side. Evidence shows that this church was originally built in the 11th century, and mostly contains murals that date back to the 17th century.
Although they are not in particularly good condition, we know that they depict the Birth of Christ, the Nativity and Baptism, the Crucifixion and Transfiguration and Pentecost.
The location of Saint Marina is considered to be of rather special significance, as it is associated with older, traditional practices regarding safe pregnancy and labor. In fact, women would visit the church and slide on the small cliff that was situated adjacent to it, in order to ensure painless birth and the wellbeing of the upcoming baby.
As the church is dedicated to Saint Marina, it is celebrated on July 17th.
We walk on and through a market with stalls selling all sort including paintings and other art forms.
We walk along Adrianou in the Thesio district and can see the Temple of Hephaestus again from the other side.
It is a Doric peripteral temple, and is located at the north-west side of the Agora of Athens, on top of the Agoraios Kolonos hill. From the 7th century until 1834, it served as the Greek Orthodox church of Saint George Akamates. The building's condition has been maintained due to its history of varied use.
Hephaestus is the patron god of metal working, craftsmanship, and fire. There were numerous potters' workshops and metal-working shops in the vicinity of the temple, as befits the temple's honoree. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was no earlier building on the site except for a small sanctuary that was burned during the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. The name Theseion or Temple of Theseus was attributed to the monument in modern times under the mistaken assumption that it housed the remains of the Athenian hero Theseus, brought back to the city from the island of Skyros by Kimon in 475 BC, but refuted after inscriptions from within the temple associated it firmly with Hephaestus.
After the Battle of Plataea, the Greeks swore never to rebuild their sanctuaries destroyed by the Persians during their invasion of Greece, but to leave them in ruins, as a perpetual reminder of the war. The Athenians directed their funds towards rebuilding their economy and strengthening their influence in the Delian League. When Pericles came to power, he envisioned a grand plan for transforming Athens into the centre of Greek power and culture. Construction started in 449 BC, and some scholars believe the building not to have been completed for some three decades, funds and workers having been redirected towards the Parthenon. The western frieze was completed between 445–440 BC, during which time the statue of Athena Hephaistia had been added to the shrine next to the cult statue of Hephaestus, while the eastern frieze, the western pediment and several changes in the building's interior are dated by these scholars to 435–430 BC, largely on stylistic grounds. It was only during the Peace of Nicias (421–415 BC) that the roof was completed and the cult images were installed.
We walk along Adrianou in the Thesio district and stop for lunch at a restaurant here before we walk on and can see the Temple of Hephaestus again from the other side.
We enter the Monstiraki Flea Market that is notably larger on a Sunday. There is all sorts on sale here, most I wouldn’t be able to get home on the aeroplane!
We start to make our way back to Syntagma Square and we pass the Holy Metropolitan Church of the Annuciation to the Virgin Mary commonly known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens.
Construction of the cathedral began on Christmas Day, 1842 with the laying of the cornerstone by King Otto and Queen Amalia. Construction started under the architect Theophil Hansen and was continued by Dimitris Zezos, Panagis Kalkos and François Boulanger.
Workers used marble from 72 demolished churches to build the cathedral's immense walls. Three architects and 20 years later, it was completed. On 21 May 1862, the completed cathedral was dedicated to the Annunciation of the Mother of God (Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου) by the King and Queen. The cathedral is a three-aisled, domed basilica that measures 130 feet (40 m) long, 65 feet (20 m) wide, and 80 feet (24 m) high. Inside are the tombs of two saints killed by the Ottoman Turks during the Ottoman period: Saint Philothei and Patriarch Gregory V.
· Saint Philothei built a convent, was martyred in 1589, and her bones are still visible in a silver reliquary. She is honoured for ransoming Greek women enslaved in Ottoman Empire's harems.
· Gregory V the Ethnomartyr, Patriarch of Constantinople, was hanged by order of Sultan Mahmud II and his body thrown into the Bosphorus in 1821, in retaliation for the Greek uprising on 25 March, leading to the Greek War of Independence. His body was rescued by Greek sailors and eventually enshrined in Athens.
To the immediate south of the cathedral is the little Church of St. Eleftherios also called the "Little Mitropoli".
In the Mitropoleos Square in front of the cathedral stand two statues. The first is that of Constantine XI, the last emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. The second is a statue of Archbishop Damaskinos who was Archbishop of Athens during World War II and was Regent for King George II and Prime Minister of Greece in 1946.
The Metropolitan Cathedral remains a major landmark in Athens and the site of important ceremonies with national political figures present, as well as weddings and funerals of notable personalities.
As we walked back to Syntagma Square we passed some really talented buskers!
We Catch the Metro back to the Hotel for an Afternoon Nap.
We head back into the city by Metro and walk up the Mnisikleous Steps to Geros Tou Moria Restaurant.
I have the Veal Stifado a classic Greek slow-cooked stew, highly regarded for its tender meat, aromatic spices, and a rich, sweet-and-sour tomato sauce filled with small pearl onions. It is a quintessential comfort dish traditionally served at family gatherings, often featuring veal or beef, though the most traditional version historically used rabbit.
The restaurant has traditional musicians playing and later traditional dancing, I know its for the tourists but fun to watch all the same.
Very enjoyable evening with good food and entertainment.
We walk back to Syntagma Square to catch the Metro, but the M2 red line was closed so we walk back to the square and catch a Freenow cab back to the hotel only costing €6.30.
