Psychiko - Modern Athens at its Best

Psychiko, a small suburb in the north-west of Athens, is a place that so far hasn’t taken up a great deal of column space in the various city-guides available on the market. It’s true that ten years ago there really wasn’t much here to write home about, but more recently the area has blossomed into a thriving local centre. The up market residential and business district of Paleo-Psychiko to the west of Kifissias Avenue is served by the numerous cafés, restaurants and

arcades and shops of Neo-Psychiko to the east. This is modern Athens at its best, with traditional taverns having given way to minimalist interiors, fusion menus and international brands.

Psychiko’s particular location, combined with the advent of the 2004 Olympic Games, will ensure that the area’s upward trend can only continue. Kifissias Avenue is the primary route connecting central with the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Maroussi. Plans to transform the

avenue into a pedestrians Olympic promenade were still to be confirmed at the time of writing, but what is certain is that Psychiko offers the best dining and shopping between city-centre Athens and the Olympic Stadium and its surrounding sports venues. Pull off Kifissias Avenue and take a look for yourself.

Important to visit

• Enjoying Psychiko’s local feel; mums pushing prams, gatherings of young Athenians and business people out for working lunches are a common sight.

• Shopping ‘til you drop in Psychiko’s arcades and stores followed by a well-earned drink and a bite to eat at a stylish café or restaurant.

• The many foreign embassies located on Kifissias Avenue south of Psychiko; if you’ve lost your passport you know where to head.

Acropolis - Omonia - Kolonaki - Syntagma - Psychiko - Kifissia - Piraeus - Glyfada