Psiri

Psyrri is an old neighbourhood in central Athens west of Athinas Street and north of Monastiraki; first attested in writing in the seventeenth century, it is one of the longest-inhabited quarters of the city. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Psyrri housed tobacco artisans, small workshops and the notorious Koutsavakides, an Athenian subculture of streetwise rogues with their own slang and dress code. Today the narrow lanes mix shoemakers and antique workshops with mezedopolia, cocktail bars in former garages, and walls of street art by Athens artists like iNO and WD. Evenings around Iroon Square are particularly lively; Sundays are good for brunch on Athinaidos street. English menus and EU prices make it accessible, while the tavern tables remain Greek-dominated.