Central Municipal Athens Market

Market Tours

Go behind the scenes in Athens to taste authentic Greek cuisine on a food and walking tour led by a experienced guide. Experience daily life in the city as you visit a variety of eateries and discover culinary gems that are favorites of the locals. Enjoy enough tastings to make up a generous meal and understand why Greece is famous for its delicious cuisine. Visit the Athens Central market, bakeries, traditional taverns and restaurants, and explore historical sites that few tourists see. Food and walking tour of Athens Learn about Greek cuisine from a knowledgeable guide Visit the Athens Central Market to see typical ingredients Stop into a beloved bakery, traditional taverns, and family-owned restaurants Taste authentic and delicious dishes Hear stories about Greece and its food traditions from locals.

Meet your friendly guide then set out on your food-lovers adventure around some of Athen’s culinary hotspots. On the tour, discover the beating heart of the city as you wander around local markets, stop at beloved tavernas, and visit hidden gem eateries. The first stop is a popular food market, bursting with sights and smells to ignite the senses. Mingle with the locals going about their daily shipping as you learn about regional ingredients and soak up the hustle and bustle of this community hub. Make a few stops at various local stores and sellers next where you can taste a variety of traditional Greek snacks, including Kalamata olives and pistachio nuts from Aegina Island. Enjoy some of the best Greek cheeses and cured meats during a food tasting in a deli shop. Once you’ve worked up a bit of an appetite from your exploration, dine on an authentic lunch at a charming taverna complete with Greek wine. End the day with a visit to a family-owned distillery that was founded in 1897. Enjoy a tasting session of the distillery’s best spirits, including Mastiha liquor and the world-famous Ouzo.

Just as you cannot come to Athens without visiting the Acropolis, you cannot leave Athens without tasting the local products and traditional dishes that made Greek gastronomy internationally known. We invite you to walk with us through the central market of Athens; where we will find the best raw material of the country, talk about the origin of these foods, their weight in history, learn about different Greek customs.... Of course: We will accompany our walk with the best local sweets, rich pastry works and several tastings of cheeses, yogurts, cold meats, oils and Greek liquors. We advise you to come hungry! Greek gastronomy is an important part of its culture, in which we emphasize the values of sharing, conviviality and hospitality: Did you know that hospitality in Greek is said "Filoxenia"? A word composed by "Filo" which means "friend" and is understood as love of friendship; and "xenos" which refers to the foreigner. So hospitality would be translated as "love towards the foreigner", this tells us a lot about their culture. Following this line, we want to give you a warm welcome and introduce you to the Greek gastronomy and culture. Therefore, in addition to tasting a variety of new dishes and products, we will have the opportunity to see how they are traditionally made by the best local artisans. Finally, we will sit in a traditional Greek tavern where we will taste a great variety of the best "mezedes". These are small but very elaborate dishes, typical in Hellenic gastronomy (although not so common in tourist restaurants). Will you join us in this experience full of flavors?

Experience the best travel stories for yourself! Join a local expert and uncover hidden gems on this Lonely Planet Experience. Sample one of the world’s best cuisines on a 2.5-hour food tour of Athens. Departing from City Hall on Kotzia Square, admire the 18th century Neo-Classical architecture, including the headquarters of the National Bank of Greece, before walking to Central Market. Arrive at an atmosphere abuzz with local merchants, who come to display their fresh food and local produce. An expert guide will lead you to places where few tourists ever venture, exploring a vast range of Greek specialties, from simple koulouri (a round sesame bread), to salty feta cheese, olives, and other delicacies. Stop for a hot Greek coffee in winter, or a cold frappé on warmer days. Drop by a Greek deli and sample delicious fare, such as local honey, while getting an explanation about what’s in season and and its uses in Greek cooking. After your tasty tour, stroll to Monastiraki Square, where you will be ideally placed to spend the rest of the day visiting the ancient ruins of the Acropolis, and to explore the lively streets of the Plaka neighborhood.

Starting from Koukaki area, at the Trekking Hellas Athens base, we will walk up Areopagus Hill to admire the view. We will then head south through Plaka district before we reach the areas of Monastiraki and Psyri. We’ve now reached the marketplace and the well-known Varvakios Market (meat market) a real memorable experience! Around the corner is the old Stock Exchange and Athens City Hall. We then enter a more diverse side of Athens, through Geraniou Street, a multicultural hidden neighborhood. The last part of our walk takes us around Omonia Square, an always buzzing part of Athens. We get to taste the street food located in this area before ending our walk at Omonia metro station! 10:00 am: Meeting 10:00 am – 11:30 am: Artisans & Markets Walking Tour 11:30 am – 12:00 am: Break for Coffee & Snack 12:00 am – 13:00 pm: Artisans & Markets Walking Tour

Your knowledgeable local tour leader will come and pick you up from your accommodation with a luxury minivan and will drive you through some of the most important sites all over Athens. Stop at Kotzia Square and head directly to the Central Market of Athens, or Varvakios, as Greeks call it, discover its secrets and experience its unique taste. We will try the traditional greek donuts, called loukoumades, and we will have the chance not only to see how the traditional greek coffee is being made, but to try it as well! Leaving the Central Market behind us, we will head towards the Acropolis of Athens. There you will have the time to visit the landmark of Athens on your own. Our tour leader will provide you with all details you need to know, prior to entering the site and will help you with purchasing your tickets for the Acropolis in advance, so that you don’t have to wait in long queues. Right after the Acropolis, drive-by Hadrian’s Arch, Syntagma Square, the Byzantine Museum, and the National Gallery of Athens, heading towards Lycabettus Hill for the best 360 views all over Athens city center. Explore the beautiful Lycabettus Hill and marvel at the magnificent view! Get back in the luxurious minivan and head to the “Maximos Mansion”, home of the Greek Prime Minister, and watch the “Changing of the Presidential Guard”, which is definitely not something to be missed. Right after that we will stop at the Panathenaic Stadium and marvel at the majestic monument where the first modern Olympic Games took place. Leave Athens behind and drive along the coastal road of Athens, directed to the largest port in Greece, Piraeus. Discover the beautiful city of Piraeus and stop for a seaside lunch in the Peiraiki area, enjoying a breathtaking sea view! Your tour leader will drive you back to your accommodation, late in the afternoon.