In Athens, Anafiotika district and its authentic streets became the most memorable experience for me. As a street photography enthusiast, I really enjoyed wandering around there. At Anafiotika’s narrow streets you would find old, unusual architecture, colorful doors and window frames …and lots of cats.

Many bloggers consider Anafiotika one of the top attractions in Athens, (even one of the best in Europe). They call it “a hidden village under Acropolis” or “an island in the heart of the Athens”, which, I guess, made it not anymore hidden and not anymore an island. A resident told me that in summer, there are crowds of tourists walking around. But, nevertheless, the streets are super cute and during the off-season in November Anafiotika is quite calm, which preserves its atmosphere of the past.

Anafiotika, a brief history

History of Anafitika starts in the 1800s, at the time of King Otto, the first modern king of Greece. He invited some workers from an Anafi island (located in the Aegean Sea, north of Crete) to do renovations in the palace. They were given the land, on outskirts of Athens, which had the population of several thousand people at that time. On the land given, Anafiots constructed houses in their traditional style. 45 of the original houses survived up to these days.

Streets of Anafiotika

I was exploring Anafiotika with my friend Anna. As soon as we entered Anafiotika, a cat started running to us. Looks like there weren’t enough tourists and it was missing human attention. When the cat had enough attention from Anna, she went to me, and then back. I think it could have lasted forever.

Beautiful island-style architecture

I think many have seen the postcards of Santorini. Anafiotika has almost similar, Geekish island-style architecture. Houses and streets are painted white, with colorful doors and window frames. Acropolis is right above you. In November, there weren’t many tourists passing by, so you can easily set up a travel photo. And the tourists we saw, were really polite and patient, waiting until we finish the shot.

Cats

Cats in Greece are lovely. In Anafiotika they look healthy, probably because residents and locals love them and often bring them food. Some of them, I would say, are a bit fat and enjoying themselves.

View from the top

The highest point of Anafiotika brings you a great view of Athens. Both times when we were there we saw some street musicians. It is an enjoyable place to stay for a while, looking onto the busy city and listening to music. These are musicians from Turkey, if you liked them, please show them some support on Facebook

Anafiotika, when it gets dark

We met the sunset on the top of Anafiotika and went on exploring the streets when it is dark. Keeping it calm so we wouldn’t disturb the locals, we found the whole new atmosphere.

How to get to Anafiotika?

Anafiotika is located in Plaka district – the historical center of Athens. You can drop by on the way to Acropolis or other Athens tourist attractions. From nearest metro stations: Attached are the maps to Anafiotika from Monastiraki and from Akropoli (click to preview)

Further reading

If you want to explore a real island, the closest to Athens is Hydra.

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