A Day in Athens 🇬🇷 | How to Eat, Walk & Drink Like a Local

What does a day in Athens really look like beyond the Acropolis? 🇬🇷 Come spend a full day walking, eating and drinking through Athens with me — from traditional Greek coffee and koulouri to local meze, hidden restaurants, rooftop wine and modern Athens.

On this Athens food and walking tour, I’m exploring the city on foot and discovering some of the places that make Athens such a fascinating mix of ancient history, everyday Greek life and a constantly evolving food scene.

We start in Psyrri at Tou Kolouri with an iconic Greek koulouri and traditional Greek coffee brewed in the sand, before walking through the historic center toward Plaka.

Along the way, I pass ancient ruins and the famous Stairs of Plaka, stopping for one of my favorite Greek desserts: orange pie on a rooftop overlooking the city.

From there, I continue the food crawl with a stop at the historic Stani bakery for a classic Greek spanakopita, followed by an Aperol Spritz at Drupes — a perfect little break before continuing our walk through Athens.

From there, we wander through the beautiful streets of Plaka and into the Monastiraki Market, before heading to the Varvakios Municipal Market, the heart of Athens' traditional food scene.

Inside the market, I sit down at Karaianis, a lively local ouzeri, for traditional Greek meze and a taste of how Athenians eat and socialize.

Then comes one of the most unusual stops of the day: Diporto, a legendary 100+ year-old underground restaurant hidden beside the market. There’s no sign, no menu and no real ordering from a menu — you simply eat whatever they’re cooking that day.