Heading to Athens soon. Have been before and have been there/done that with the major sites. Last time in Athens we chuckled at the graffiti/art on the railroad cars. In other cities, NYC and, especially, Valparaiso Chile, we’ve loved the street art. This time we would like to see street art in Athens. Is there a self-directed walking route? If not, can anyone recommend a guided tour? Thanks in advance.
Athens is a significant city for street art in Europe, featuring internationally recognized artists such as WD, STMTS, and INO. Some works are commissioned by the city itself. Organized street art tours are available, primarily starting from Monastiraki Square, going into the nearby Psyri district. This is the easiest basic tour, close to Plaka.
You can find a tour here:
https://www.alternativeathens.com/tours/street-art-tour/
Private tours tend to be quite costly.
If you are interested in exploring beyond the common areas, numerous street art pieces can be found in other more distant neighborhoods. Lots of it in the Exarchia neighborhood (historically a hub for anarchists and alternative culture). There's also quite a bit in the Gazi and Metaxourgeío neighborhoods. You won't find many organized tours to these areas, as the residents don't really welcome this kind of intrusion into their daily lives.
In fact, there's street art everywhere; you just have to wander the streets.This has been one of our main activities in Athens for quite a few years now.
While there are some maps available online indicating street art locations, I've never seen a truly comprehensive one.
Some time ago, I made this video compilation of a (small part) of what we saw, and very few of them are in Psyri.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/21kgWj3kHnJ5E3fW7
If modern art interests you can also visit the National Museum of Contemporary Art, located near the Acropolis Museum in the former Fix brewery building (Syggrou Fix metro station).
@JoLui - Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom and awesome video!
We kind of aimlessly wandered around the Gazi and Kerameikos neighbourhoods two years ago and there was so much to see! Huge murals, the tiniest paste-ups and everything in between.
@SaschavA - Thank you.