The historic centre of Athens isn’t just about ruins. It also contains the beating heart of modern Greece—and this itinerary traces its most central artery, Panepistimiou Street. On Panepistimiou, we’ll find the grand ambitions of Athens’ “modern” urban planners captured in three fine monuments known as the Neoclassical Trilogy. Starting out from the Panepistimio metro station, we will admire the most imposing of the trio, the central building of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, then turn our attention to the Academia and old National Library. We’ll continue along the street towards eclectic Omonia to encounter the emblematic Rex Theatre, which hosts brilliant works by our National Theatre. Close to this area, we will pass the highly symbolic Polytechnio (National Technical University of Athens) to visit the Archaeological Museum which houses the ancient history of Greece.

Our journey ends at the urban landmark of Omonia Square and its cooling fountain. Here, we begin to travel back to an older Athens. This nostalgic square is a locus of the most important streets of the capital. Our last stop is the Omonia metro station.

• The Panepistimio metro station has many exits. The only one providing an elevator is the Korai exit.
• The wheelchair boarding is from the first or the last car of the train.
• It is fully accessible.
• It possesses a permanent archaeological exhibition.
• It provides an accessible toilet, which you can ask them to open for you.

From the Korai exit and the elevator, we cross the Korai Square upwards and we reach Panepistimiou Street. We will cross it via the pedestrian light controlled crossing (aka pelican crossing) to reach the opposite pavement. 

The Academy of Athens is considered one of the most beautiful neoclassical buildings in the world, thanks to its perfect proportions and harmonious lines. Completed in 1885 and founded in 1926 as an Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts, its stately design echoes the classical architecture of the fifth century BC. The monumental sculptures and murals that grace this impressive site took a decade to complete and depict both ancient Greek mythology and 19th century Hellenism.

Digital Gallery of the Academy
 

• The Study Hall of the Library operates from Monday to Friday from 9 am until 3 pm.
• The site is accessible to wheelchair users.
• The Academy is not currently open to the public. It is recommended to contact the site if you wish to schedule a visit.

Completed in 1902, this glorious neoclassical monument to the written word once housed over 2 million books and manuscripts (including hand-written renditions of works by Aristotle and Plato). The collection now has a new state of the art home at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre but the Vallianeion building still serves the public as a reading room.

• The building is accessible but not open to the public.
• The National Library Collection has been transferred to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, a fully accessible space for wheelchair users.

We continue our stroll from the pelican crossing on the Great Walk, as we cross Ippokratous Street vertically. When we arrive at Charilaou Trikoupi Street, we will carefully get onto the pavement via the ramp, if we want to visit the next point of interest (the National Theatre). Otherwise, we will remain on the Great Walk.

Wedged between exclusive Kolonaki and residential Kypseli, gritty Exarchia is a bohemian enclave where students, intellectuals, artists and long-standing residents march to their own counter-cultural beat.

• Exarchia is a quite uphill district, with narrow streets and hard-to-find parking.
• The newest pavements have ramps, but the older ones are not accessible and sometimes they are quite narrow.
• There are many spots (cafeterias, restaurants, bars) that do not follow the accessibility standards, but you will be able to find some that feature outdoor seating.

Back on our itinerary, on the junction of Stournari Street and 28 Oktovriou Street, we will arrive at the historical building of the National Technical University of Athens (Polytechnio).

One of the greatest museums in the world with the richest collection of Greek artefacts from neolithic to classical times, spread out over some 8,000 square metres of exhibition space. You may need more than one visit to digest this extraordinary panorama of Greek civilisation and achievement.

• There are stairs to enter the museum. When we reach the first steps, we will turn left to find the ramp path which will lead us closer to the entrance.
• As soon as we reach the main entrance and the next steps, we will see an accessibility sign which directs us towards the left of the museum.
• This sign leads us to the following path. Αt its end, there is a door on the right, leading to the ramp of the accessible entrance of the Museum. The ramp is 40 metres long, non-slippery, with a double railing and 3 landings.
• This entrance is passable by the side street of the museum as well, Vasileos Irakliou Street. It features the same, slightly upward inclination.

Emblematic Omonia Square is not just a traffic thoroughfare but a social one too: it’s the nostalgic symbol of the modern city, where migrants from the provinces arrived, and football fans celebrate their team’s championship victory. This popular meet-up point has had many makeovers over the decades and its last redesign was May 2020 when its iconic fountain was restored.

To leave the square, we once again cross via the pelican crossing of Panepistimiou. On our left we have the elevator of the Omonia metro station, which belongs to the lines red (line 2 “Anthoupoli - Elliniko”) and green (line 1 “Pireas - Kifisia”). This specific station has more than one elevator.