Thomas Gravanis

From neighbourhood farmers’ markets to souvlaki stands and a connoisseur’s coffee culture, let a local show you what Athens really tastes and smells like.

Overview

Info

Potential starting points are the Info point kiosk at Syntagma or the City Hall. Locals are non-paid savvy Athenians providing their personal opinions and not professional tour guides. Taste Athens with a Local doesn't include or require food sampling.

Reviews

Alexandra Streinz

I really enjoyed the walk because I have seen places I wouldn't have had the opportunity to visit by myself, I really enjoyed the walk around the local market in Exarchia area!, it is a neighborhood full of history and street art, there are a lot of great places hidden there!.

Visited Athens in March 11, 2023

Audra & Scott Kent

Danai, our guide, was fantastic!!! We met at Syntagma Square & visited all kinds of delightful spots. From a coffee bar to a tea shop, chocolates, cheese, two bakeries (oh, the pies & donuts!), the meat market & the fish market, and then veggies, spices, fruit & olives at the market.
Throughout, Danai shared her knowledge of the area & some great tips on how to prepare some Greek favourites. She was even kind enough to share a recipe for the ingredients we purchased, which we then went home and made for dinner!
We finished at a restaurant enjoyed by locals - a sure sign it’s authentic & delicious.
The entire experience was fantastic!!
Thank you, Danai, for such a wonderful day in Athens.

Visited Athens in May 24, 2023

Claire and Peter

We did this walk as soon as we arrived in Athens as we thought it'd be a good way to find out about good places to eat, and it didn't disappoint.

Visited Athens in May 17, 2023

Kevin Wood

I booked the walk quite late before arriving in Athens and did not know if it would be easy to organise at such late notice.
Vivi replied within 24 hours and knew where I was staying so organised the tour closest to me.
I love going off the beaten track and discovering a city behind the scenes and Vivi created a food tour that did just that.
She showed me places that I wouldn't have thought to go and only where a local would. Hidden restaurants behind closed doors that were buzzing with locals enjoying a warm spring Friday evening.
Tasting the real Athens, fresh, aromatic and full of life
For me this was one of my highlights and I would thoroughly recommend thinking about it.
Vivi has a great knowledge base, we chatted, laughed and we tasted Athens just like a local!

Visited Athens in March 9, 2023

Grace

Very interesting and nice to have someone lead the way. A great way to learn more about Athens and discover things you wouldn’t on your own

Visited Athens in February 25, 2023

Alessandra

The walk was funny, informative and allows us to discover things and places we wouldn't have seen and appreciated enough walking around by ourselves

Visited Athens in February 25, 2023

Bea Chan

Anastasios was an AMAZING tour guide - what a wealth of information! We joined forces with another group of 2 from the same country (Canada!) and combined the eating tour with another themed tour. It was so nice to make new friends, be introduced to local favourite eats as well as to see the city from the eyes of a local.

We actually signed up for a paid, guided walking tour for Acropolis as well as Old Athens City Tour with another operator just a few before, and Anastasios was still able to introduce us to new establishments and parts of town that the paid tour didn't even touch on. Very well done - I'd book again if I came back to visit!

100% recommend booking a free local tour with This Is Athens and with the best tour guide ever - Anastasios!!!! Thank you so much!

Visited Athens in October 8, 2022

Orly

We like the walk very much
It was perfect!!!

Visited Athens in October 13, 2022

Sue

The tour guide's passion and content were good. However, it seems necessary to adjust the tour title to suit the content. Thank you very much for running such a great tour program as a pure volunteer.

Visited Athens in October 3, 2022

Kathy

What a lovely way to introduce us to Athens! It was quick and easy to sign up and we received a reply right away. Walking with a local gave us some interesting insight into Athenian culture and also helped us get our bearings. Over our week long stay, we ended up trying some of the foods and activities that were highlighted to us during this walk! Thank you for organizing this free program. It was clear that our guide Anastasios was passionate about his city and genuinely wanted us to share that as well. Well done!

Visited Athens in September 26, 2022

Veronica Whitehead

Wonderful walk with Danai through Plaka. She showed us ways to walk the area without traffic, people and gave us insight into the area and Greek people. Also sent us information of places to see traditional folk dances and places to go and visit on our own. She gave me a lovely little gift. My only regret is that I didn’t think of bringing a little gift for her from the States. Thank you Danai!

Visited Athens in September 1, 2022

Jeanne

We loved the walk. What a treat to get a tour that taught us about so many different kinds of food, letting us try as many as we wished (well come back later for more).

Visited Athens in August 24, 2022

Ha Nguyen

This is really an interesting walk. I got a lof of useful information not only food related information but also more about the city and the history. We walk through central market and several famous places. Thank you for organising this tour.

Visited Athens in August 12, 2022

Dave & Michele

We booked this walk for our first day in Athens which we would highly recommend doing as it gave us an understanding of the city, the people and the culture.
It was a great initiation to Athens.

Visited Athens in July 26, 2022

WanChi

Nice to see different Athens.

Visited Athens in July 10, 2022

Liz Bailey

The walk was leisurely, leaving time for pictures and tastings. We saw many things we would not have seen otherwise and went back to places our guide suggested. The whole group enjoyed it!

Visited Athens in June 9, 2022

Caroline

We went through the market and the supermarket, we learned a lot about Greek food and traditions.

Visited Athens in May 28, 2022

T H

The walking experience far exceeded our expectations thanks to our local host. We learnt much about the Greek history from a gastronomical traditions' perspective from ancient times to modern, and managed to sample a few of examples of them too. The walk was not on a fixed route/schedule, but rather tailored to us on the go by our wonderful host, Danai. All in all an excellent experience that must not be missed.

Visited Athens in May 15, 2022

Linda

This was a lovely way to explore Athens and learn about food as well as some history and culture. The snacks we tried were very tasty and it was exactly the kind of thing we were looking for.

Visited Athens in April 4, 2022

Mendel

The walk was a fantastic introduction to the amazing cuisine of Athens. So much fun and so interesting!

Visited Athens in December 29, 2021

Cheryl Jenkins

It was so amazing to tour Athens with a local. We loved our adventure and loved the opportunity to view Athens with Danai. We got to visit several food shops, that had such yummy goodies, and tour the Central Market. I have been raving to all my friends that if they visit Athens, they must scedule a walk with This is Athens. the communication leading up to our walk was amazing and I was so surprised that we were able to get a tour with only 2 weeks notice.

Visited Athens in October 12, 2021

Christine

The walk was fantastic .. Katerina was wonderful and very informative .. I would definitely recommend anyone to experience Athens this way

Visited Athens in October 13, 2021

Nico Weber

We didn't walk much - physically - but in thought. Because funnily enough, we had chosen a nice place together and had such great, nice conversation that we got stuck there. But we got lots of "ammunition" and tips. A lot of inspiration. We explored the similarities of Athens and Berlin, laughed a lot and ate very well. What a great institution and inspiration "This is Athens" provides. Great. Congratulations on the idea and execution. We will definitely do it again next time and propose something similar in Berlin.

Visited Athens in September 13, 2021

Yvon

I really liked the walk since I discovered streets I haven’t been before. I learned a lot about Athens and the Greek and tried the best bagel of Athens

Visited Athens in September 13, 2021

Aisha

I enjoyed my tour with George. It was interesting to learn how gastronomy developed in Athens and find out where to sample different foods.

Visited Athens in October 21, 2020

Lehmann

Very interesting places

Visited Athens in October 7, 2020

Grace

The walk was lovely. I got to see places in central Athens I wouldn't have visited otherwise, like the area with Chinese supermarkets and a hidden espresso cafe. I'll definitely be bringing people to the gyros joint.

Visited Athens in October 2, 2020

Daniel Brennan

The walk was beautiful. From the hills near the Acropolis to the squares, it provided a historical timeline of Athens.

Visited Athens in December 23, 2019

Your Locals for this Walk

Andreas L.

Athens is the city I call home, although I was born in Munich and have a Swedish passport. I love diversity and I am a passionate urban explorer!
I speak fluently English and German. I work as a web developer/designer, and I am interested in startups and all things web and design.

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Dimitris T.

I’ll leave the ancient / historical monuments and typical city landmarks to the pros and the travel books. I believe that mingling with locals and acting like a local is the best way for our visitors to get acquainted with the Greek spirit. So that’s what I offer you as a volunteer of “This is Athens with a Local".

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Katerina K.

Hey there! I consider myself very spontaneous, in a sense that I love to create, reinvent and experiment with new things. I studied and enjoyed engineering and I was one of the three women in Greece in my specialty. But life has a way of changing things so I found my true passion and that is to connect with people. It's amazing how sharing thoughts and ideas, interests or experiences can make such incredible bonds all over the world. I am a collection of the things that have inspired me through my life and those things include my city. Ι believe myself to be a very chilled and open-minded person. I love Athens because it’s the city where I was born and raised and where you can appreciate a contrast of diversity. I like to find the most authentic places of a city. Those places that make you connect with the people and want to come back to them. The Acropolis, temples and museums are impressive, but get to know the way real, everyday Athenians live and hang out.

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Haris K.

I have travelled a lot and lived abroad, so I am aware that visiting a foreign town is all about its local vibes, hidden in the everyday street life. I am not the type to take you to museums or art exhibitions. But I can get you under the skin of an Athenian stroller who loves to go out and feel the atmosphere of the city lights. Be sure that we will visit neighbourhoods and spots that are not written about in your guides ;-)!

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Nicole V.

Chemist, PM, MUA, creative thinker and dedicated reader. I was born and raised in Athens, left for 6 years to study in Cyprus and came back. I live in Zografou. Even though I have spent most of my life in Athens, I realise every day that there many amazing places that I have never visited, so I always try to explore this city - my city - and learn new places and things. I love walking around town, taking the train and exploring the areas around the train stations. I love exploring new street food places and tasting local and international dishes!

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Danai B.

I was born in Athens and I have lived in the southern suburbs (Athens Riviera) for more than 40 years. The last five years I have been working to bring more tourists to my neighbourhood. Also, I collaborate with other citizens to make the archeological spots of our municipality known to others. I believe that Athens and the Athens Riviera can attract people with different interests. It is very important to me to show visitors the real (and rich in many ways), Attica and Athens.

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