Markets and Shops
You can buy just about anything in Athens and even on a purely visual level the city's markets and bazaar areas are worth an hour or two's wandering. Among the markets, don't miss the Athinas food halls, nor, if you're into bargain-hunting through junk, the Sunday morning flea markets in Monastiraki, Thissio and Pireas. The Athens flea market spreads over a half-dozen or so blocks around Monastiraki square each Sunday from around 6am until 2pm. In parts it is an extension of the tourist trade - the shops in this area are promoted as a "flea market" every day of the week - but there is authentic Greek (and nowadays Soviet refugee-Greek) junk, too, notably along (and off) Ifestou and Pandhrossou streets. The real McCoy, most noticeable at the Thissio metro station end of Adhrianou and the platia off Kynettou near the church of Ayios Filippos, is just a bag of odds and ends strewn on the ground or on a low table; dive in. The Pireas flea market - at similar times on Sunday mornings - has fewer tourists and more goods. The market is concentrated on Alipedou and Skilitsi parallel to the railroad tracks about 500 metres from the sea. It is a venue for serious antique trading, as well as the sale of more everyday items. In addition, many Athenian neighbourhoods have a laiki agora - street market - on a set day of the week. Usually running from 7am to 2pm, these are inexpensive and enjoyable, selling household items and dry goods, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables, dried herbs and nuts. The most centrally located ones are: Hansen in Patission on Monday; Lesvou in Kypseli and Laskou in Pangrati, both on Tuesday; Xenokratous in Kolonaki, Dragoumi in Ilisia, Tsami Karatassou in Koukaki and Arhimidhous in Mets, all on Friday; and Plakendias in Ambelokipi (one of the largest) and Kallidhromiou in Exarhia, both on Saturday. Finally, if you're after Greek plants or herbs , there's a Sunday morning gathering of stalls on Vikela in Patission and plants and flowers on sale daily at the Platia Ayias Irinis near Ermou. For electrical gear, now about as cheap in Greece as elsewhere in Europe, the best place to look is in the streets off Patission, just north of Omonia square. The selections listed include some of the most enjoyable shops for souvenir-hunting, plus a few more functional places for those in search of books, music and outdoor gear
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