In Athens, creativity in art, food and more rises
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, December 3, 2024


In Athens, creativity in art, food and more rises
An art space in a former tobacco factory in the Kolonos neighborhood of Athens, Greece, features an exhibit of 18 large-scale installations from the entrepreneur Dimitris Daskalopoulos, the founder of Neon, the cultural organization that overhauled the factory, June 25, 2022. The Greek capital has added impressive arts venues, daring restaurants and a blossoming hotel scene to its well-known classical draws. Maria Mavropoulou/The New York Times.

by Niki Kitsantonis



ATHENS.- Here’s a surprise: While Athenians were locked down because of the pandemic, a flurry of creative and entrepreneurial activity was underway. The outcome? A total of 272 new restaurants, according to the local industry association, as well as hundreds more cafes and bars. The city also acquired 34 new hotels, offering 1,982 rooms over the last two years. And its cultural landscape blossomed, with major national projects coming to fruition.

“We’ve witnessed a cultural revival and a growing gastronomical scene that showcases the new dynamism of the city,” said Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s tourism minister. Adding in the construction of new hotels and the upgrading of older ones, Kikilias said, made him “optimistic for the season.”

As of May, the number of foreign visitors to the city was still below 2019 levels, but only by about 12%, and since then crowds have returned to the central squares and landmarks in numbers reminiscent of pre-pandemic days.

COVID vaccination certificates are no longer required to enter the country or to visit shops, restaurants and museums, and since June 1 face masks are no longer required in closed public spaces with the exception of hospitals, pharmacies, public transport and ferries.

Cultural Gems Shine Again

The Greek capital’s newest cultural gem (or rather an impressively burnished old one), the National Gallery reopened last year after an eight-year, 60-million-euro overhaul. Twice the size of the original, the sleek new building has a glass facade that allows natural light to illuminate exhibits and offers visitors a glimpse of the city at every corner. You could spend hours exploring the three floors charting the evolution of Greek art over nearly seven centuries. But even a brief visit should not skip the arresting works of the Greek modernist painters Konstantinos Parthenis and Yannis Tsarouchis with their dreamlike symbolism, and the luminous paintings of the Orientalist Theodoros Rallis and the postimpressionist Iakovos Rizos.

A fourth floor dedicated to Western European art is to open in the coming weeks and will include paintings by Picasso and Mondrian stolen in a daring one-man heist in 2012 and recovered last year.

Another treasure trove for art lovers is the Νational Museum of Contemporary Art, a former brewery that opened in late February 2020 after an extended renovation, but closed almost immediately with the country’s first lockdown. Five floors of thought-provoking sculptures, videos and installations by Greek and foreign artists — new exhibitions grapple with the themes of nation-building, mass protests and the environment — are topped by a roof terrace with a view sweeping from the Acropolis to the southern coastline.

The capital’s independent art scene, invigorated by a flurry of creativity stoked by the social unrest that came with the decadelong financial crisis, bloomed again during the pandemic, with the opening of exciting new spaces to see art. One of the edgiest is a former tobacco factory in the gritty Athens neighborhood of Kolonos whose pink and yellow facade has drawn comparisons to a giant Battenberg cake. Following a debut exhibition last summer, the space reopened in June with a show featuring 18 large-scale installations from the collection of the entrepreneur Dimitris Daskalopoulos, the founder of Neon, the cultural organization that overhauled the factory, who recently donated hundreds of works to museums including the Guggenheim.

Eating and Drinking

There has been buzz around Linou Soumpasis & Co. since it opened in December in the vibrant central district of Psyrri. Dismissing the neo-taverna and bistronomy labels, the self-professed “simple restaurant” serves high quality fare with a contemporary twist from a bustling open kitchen. The emphasis is on fresh food, particularly fish, with the menu updated daily according to the day’s haul. Recent dishes include a feather-light John Dory tartare with seaweed in cucumber juice and a tender chargrilled piper fish in zucchini purée. The veal cheeks stew in chick pea soup is also popular, as are the selection of homemade breads and organic wines from small Greek producers. Expect to pay about 110 euros (about $116) for a three-course dinner with wine for two. Wines range from 22 euros to 150 euros a bottle and are all available by the glass.

A few blocks away, Gastone, the latest venture by the people behind Cookoovaya (recommended by the Michelin Guide) serves up Mediterranean flavors and street food in a lively retro setting that is part classic Greek taverna, part American diner. Dinner for two is about 30 euros and highlights include the crispy pork sandwich and a twist on tzatziki made with Gorgonzola cheese.




Two new arrivals in gentrified industrial districts of Athens are also drawing crowds. Tzoutzouka in Rouf offers adventurous takes on traditional Greek dishes, like a rich ewe casserole in red sauce with homemade pasta and spicy hard cheese for about 30 euros per person with wine. Proveleggios in nearby Kerameikos is the latest endeavor from the brains behind the super-popular Nolan restaurant, serving innovative cuisine like hand-pulled noodles with sweet wild greens in tare dipping sauce and cocktails on a tree-lined terrace against an indie rock soundtrack. Dinner is about 35 euros per person without drinks.

For cocktail aficionados, Athens offers a dizzying selection of new drinking spots. At the Bar in Front of the Bar, on a buzzing pedestrians-only alley near central Syntagma Square, energetic young staff prepare twists on classic cocktails using ingredients produced on site, with prices starting at 7 euros. Those who want their drink with a view of the city can join a bohemian crowd at Attic Urban Rooftop in the bustling Monastiraki district, one of several new roof terraces, where cocktails are priced from 11 euros to 13 euros.

In the up-and-coming Petralona neighborhood is Line Athens (the sister bar of world-ranking the Clumsies) where staff shake up cocktails with homemade vermouth, most priced at 10 euros.

The same area is home to Hervé, the discreet new restaurant of Paris-born Hervé Pronzato whose experience as a chef in Athens includes stints at the Michelin-starred Spondi and Hytra. Hervé has a 17-item tasting menu offering a mix of dishes reflecting Pronzato’s take on international cuisine for 95 euos a head. There is no sign — to enter, you punch in a code acquired with your reservation.

At Soil, in the Pangrati neighborhood, Tasos Mantis, also formerly a chef at Hytra, serves “earthy gastronomy” using vegetables and herbs grown on his own farm in a renovated neoclassical building with a serene garden. A tasting menu, at 86 euros, includes shrimp in an orange, pecan and fennel sauce and scallops with yuzo kosho, grapefruit and lemon confit.

Options at the high end for both food and lodgings include the understatedly opulent Xenodocheio Milos, which touts itself as the capital’s first “gastronomy 5 star hotel” — the latest enterprise of the celebrated chef Costas Spiliadis, who has established his Milos restaurant brand in locations including New York, Montreal and London. Rooms start at about 230 euros per night, while dining starts at about 60 euros per person, with specials that include sea bass baked in sea salt and wafer-thin fried zucchini and eggplant.

New Lodging, Along the Coast and in the City

One of the newest spots for hotels is the so-called Athens Riviera, a 60-kilometer (or 37-mile) stretch of coastline dotted with marinas, beaches and secluded coves that is about a 30-minute taxi ride from the city center. The Four Seasons Astir Palace opened on a pine-clad peninsula there in 2019, offering 303 rooms (starting at 1,700 euros in July and 1,100 euros in August) and fine dining with a sea view at its Michelin-starred Pelagos restaurant. A nine-course tasting menu including Kristal caviar, red prawns and octopus-ink risotto for 160 euros per person.

Wyndham’s Ramada Attica Riviera recently opened its doors at a quiet spot on the Riviera, offering spacious rooms with sea views from 120 euros a night and more hotels are due to open in the coming months.

In Athens proper, there is no shortage of choice for accommodation. Of the 34 hotels that opened in greater Athens during the pandemic, 26 of them are in the city center. New arrivals at the revamped central Omonia Square include the Brown Acropol with its modern take on ’60s Athens aesthetics (it has 165 rooms starting at 130 euros per night). It is one of four hotels opened in the capital by the rapidly expanding Israeli Brown chain. In the same square, in the heart of the capital’s historic and commercial district, is Marriott’s ultra-trendy Moxy Athens City, with its bright interiors, cheerful staff and comfortable rooms starting at 170 euros a night.

A few blocks away, close to the nightlife of Psyrri, the quirky Selina Athens Theatrou, part of the global hospitality brand, has bright, mural-adorned rooms and airy co-working spaces from 90 euros to 120 euros a night.

And in the heart of the city near Greece’s Parliament, Athens Capital — MGallery features a rooftop infinity pool with a view of the Acropolis and prices starting at around 300 euros a night.

The pandemic brought some closures too, notably the capital’s iconic Hilton which shut its doors earlier this year after nearly six decades, though it is expected to reopen in 2024 as part of the chain’s luxury Conrad line.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

July 6, 2022

Exhibition puts Mondrian's paintings to a beat to help viewers get a better feel for the works

Discovery reveals harsh living conditions and cultural resistance of the Mexica

Smiles ahead: Heritage Auctions offers NFT of world's first graphical emoticon

Harry Benson: Persons of Interest exhibition opens at the Redwood

Ernie Barnes masterpiece to be offered at Bonhams New York on September 9

Gagosian to present second part of survey of works by Nam June Paik

They uncover new fossils, but they also bite

Ursula Schulz-Dornburg donates archive to the Getty Research Institute

Hauser & Wirth opens an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by artist Zhang Enli

Simon de Pury announces a new series of curated auctions

Big Ben's bongs will soon ring out again across London

A canine companion so nice it (maybe) evolved twice

White Cube now represents Canadian artist Danica Lundy

Toledo Museum of Art appoints Lanisa Kitchiner as Consulting Curator of African Art

Duke Riley's "DEATH TO THE LIVING, Long Live Trash" now open at the Brooklyn Museum

Peter Brook, celebrated stage director of scale and humanity, dies at 97

Now open: British Tattoo Art: Reclaiming the Narrative at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall

In Athens, creativity in art, food and more rises

The old whaling capital of New Bedford looks ahead

'Growing Up Getty' shakes the dust off a family's aristocratic name

Lisa Sutcliffe named Curator in the Department of Photographs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Yearlong exhibition of new work by Leslie Hewitt opens at Dia Bridgehampton this June

Tickets are on sale now for Manhattan's new cultural center for digital art

Towering and timeless, 'Stanford Columns' expands the campus arts district

Recycling bins, colours and meanings

Bank card for a child: how to apply

How to organize a toy shop




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful