Syntagma to Monastiraki on foot: a self-guided walk through the National Garden to the Panathenaic Stadium and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, with what is open each day

One of 2 self-guided walks in Athens. See every walk.

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Start at Syntagma Square and finish at Monastiraki Square: 3.8 km, about 50 minutes of walking and most of a day with the visits. The Evzones change at the Tomb every hour on the hour, with a band on Sundays at 11:00. The National Garden is free from sunrise to sunset, the Panathenaic Stadium is €12 and the Temple of Olympian Zeus is €20. From 1 November to 31 March the temple closes at 15:00, so start by 9:00. On Sunday 8 November 2026 the Athens Marathon finishes in the Stadium and bans vehicles in the centre. Or book a tour: the Small-Group Ancient & Modern Electric Bike Tourad rides past the Parliament, the Garden and the Stadium and is from €45 for 1.5 to 2.5 hours.

The route

Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order

Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions, which is the version to put on your phone.

The route runs south from Syntagma through the National Garden to the Zappeion and east to the Panathenaic Stadium, then west past the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch. It returns north through Plaka to Ermou and ends at Monastiraki. Prices are the adult rate in euros from each operator.

Walk it with a guide

A guide adds the stories and the ground between the sights. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person, and none includes entry to the Stadium or the temple unless it says so.

• Athens: Small-Group Ancient & Modern Electric Bike Tourad, by We Bike Athens: from €45, 4.9 stars from 1,463 reviews, 1.5 to 2.5 hours. It rides past the Parliament, the Evzones, the National Garden and the Stadium, with photo stops and no entry to the sites.
• Athens: Electric bike tour with optional Acropolis visitad: from €34.88, 4.9 stars from 1,141 reviews, 2.5 to 4.5 hours.
• Athens: Acropolis and Mythology Highlights Small Group Tourad, by Alternative Athens: from €45, 4.8 stars from 2,795 reviews, 2 to 4 hours. It meets under Hadrian’s Arch, stop 6 of this walk.
• Athens: Street Food Tasting Tourad, by Greekality: from €59, 4.9 stars from 4,191 reviews, 3 hours. It starts at the round fountain in Syntagma Square and walks the shopping district and Psyrri.
• Athens walking tours compares the guided, bike and night tours.

1. Syntagma Square and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Free · the guard changes every hour on the hour, and on Sundays at 11:00 with a band · Syntagma station, lines 2 and 3

Syntagma means constitution: the square is named for the 1843 revolt that forced King Otto to concede one, according to the City of Athens. The Hellenic Parliament, the former royal palace, overlooks it, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is below the building. The Presidency of the Republic says the Evzones of the Presidential Guard guard the Tomb around the clock, that the pairs change every hour on the hour, and that every Sunday at 11:00 a large contingent with a military band marches from the Presidential Guard camp to the Tomb for the official ceremony.

• The time decides this stop: the hourly change is short and the Sunday ceremony is the full one. The Changing of the Guard has the uniform, the history and the works planned round the Tomb.
• Pickpockets: Smartraveller names Syntagma Square among the tourist areas in central Athens where petty crime is a serious issue.

2. The National Garden

Free · daily from sunrise to sunset · main gate on Amalias Avenue, 260 m from the Tomb

Queen Amalia’s Royal Garden was begun in 1839 and finished in 1852 as the garden of the palace that is now the Parliament. It covers 156,000 square metres, and the operator calls it the only historical garden in Greece. Its landmarks include a central pond, a goldfish pond, a Botanical Museum, a children’s library, a playground, a coffee shop and the mosaics of a Late Roman mansion. Cross it to the Zappeion gates, about 600 m.

A pergola in the National Garden. Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

• Closing: sunset is at about 17:05 to 17:14 in December. The operator can change the hours for emergencies or security and posts notices at the gates.
• No wheels: bicycles, electric scooters and other wheeled vehicles with riders are prohibited.

3. The Zappeion

The grounds are free · the halls open for events · designed by Theophil Hansen, 1874 to 1888

The Zappeion stands at the south end of the Garden. Evangelis Zappas, a Greek benefactor from North Epirus, devoted his life to reviving the Olympic Games and promoting the arts, and the building carries his name. It is now a conference and exhibition centre with 4,546 square metres of halls and a circular peristyle atrium.

• Inside: the halls open for events, which the Zappeion lists on its own site, so the visit is the outside and the lawns in front.

4. The Panathenaic Stadium

€12, €6 for students with ID · 1 March to 31 October 8:00 to 19:00, 1 November to 28 February 8:00 to 17:00 · Vasileos Konstantinou Avenue

Walk 600 m east. The marble stadium was built in 330 to 329 BC, rebuilt by Herod Atticus in 140 to 143 AD and renovated in marble for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. In 2004 it held the archery and the finish of the marathons. The €12 ticket is valid only on the day it is issued and includes a 30-minute audio guide in 11 languages, a run onto the track, the vaulted passage, the podium and a small museum of Olympic posters and torches. The upper bleachers of Section 21 look across to the Acropolis, the Zappeion, the National Garden and Lycabettus.

The vaulted passage under the Panathenaic Stadium. Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

• The Athens Marathon finishes here on Sunday 8 November 2026, and the Stadium changes its visiting schedule that weekend. Vehicles are banned in the centre on Saturday 7 November from 15:00 to 21:00 and on Sunday 8 November from 05:00 to 18:20.
• Last entry is at closing time. The Panathenaic Stadium has the tickets, the rules and the view.

5. The Temple of Olympian Zeus

€20 · 1 November to 31 March 8:00 to 15:00, 1 April to 31 August 8:00 to 20:00, last admission 20 minutes before closing · Vasilissis Olgas Avenue

Walk 860 m west along Vasileos Konstantinou Avenue and Vasilissis Olgas Avenue. Building began around 515 BC and the Emperor Hadrian completed the temple in 131 to 132 AD, in the Corinthian order and in Pentelic marble, with 104 columns in the outer rows. Fifteen stand, and one lies where it fell in a storm in 1852. According to Athenian tradition, quoted by the Ministry’s operator, the governor Tzistarakis had another column burned for lime in 1759 to build the mosque in Monastiraki Square, where this walk ends.

• The closing time decides this stop: from 1 November to 31 March it shuts at 15:00, so the last entry is at 14:40. The state sites are free for everyone on the first and third Sunday of those months.
• The ticket is its own €20, and Athens archaeological sites has the prices of the rest. The site is 7 minutes from Akropoli station.

6. Hadrian’s Arch

Free · always there · Amalias Avenue

The Arch is 150 m on, across the avenue. The City of Athens says the Athenians raised it to honour Hadrian in return for the temple. Dionysiou Areopagitou, the pedestrian street under the Acropolis, starts beside it, and the Acropolis Museum is 490 m along it: the Acropolis and Plaka walk starts there.

Hadrian’s Arch with the Acropolis behind. Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

• The way on: the route takes Lysicratous Street to the Monument of Lysicrates, 265 m, which is stop 6 of the Acropolis and Plaka walk. It then follows Adrianou Street through Plaka to Ermou.

7. Ermou and Kapnikarea

The street is free · the church of Panagia Kapnikarea stands in the middle of the pedestrian street, at Ermou and Kapnikareas

Ermou is a pedestrian shopping street, which the City of Athens calls the crown jewel of Athens retail, and window-shopping on it is a popular Sunday pastime. Panagia Kapnikarea, an 11th-century church, stands in the middle of the strip. From the church it is 280 m along Ermou to Monastiraki.

The church of Panagia Kapnikarea on Ermou. Photo: George E. Koronaios, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

8. Monastiraki Square

Square free · Tzisdarakis Mosque €5, daily 9:30 to 16:30, closed Tuesdays · Monastiraki station, lines 1 and 3

The Ottoman voivode, or governor, Mustafa Agha Tzistarakis built the Tzisdarakis Mosque in 1759. It is now an annex of the Museum of Modern Greek Culture, with an exhibition of objects from the 17th to the mid-20th century. Tickets are issued at the main entrance of the museum, 10 Areos Street, not at the mosque.

• The flea market: the shops of Ifestou Street trade daily and the second-hand bazaar fills Avissinia Square on Sundays: see Monastiraki flea market.
• The Acropolis and Plaka walk also ends here, so you can run it in reverse from this square.

Where to eat

Savvas

Ermou, Monastiraki · a sit-down restaurant

The Ermou branch opened in early 2014 in a four-storey building with a taverna and garden on the ground floor, a restaurant with a view of the Acropolis and a roof garden. The menu includes the Savvas kebab, a kebab with yoghurt, the Kesaria pie, a mixed grill and pork chops.

Thanasis

Mitropoleos 69 · every day 10:00 to 02:00

A large place just off Monastiraki Square, with a patio and a big dining room. Lonely Planet sends readers for the yoghurt kebab, ground lamb grilled on pita with yoghurt and tomato sauce. It is the one souvlaki place on the list that opens until 02:00.

Hoocut

9 Agias Irinis Square, Monastiraki · Sunday to Thursday 12:00 to 23:30, Friday and Saturday 12:00 to 00:00

The City of Athens calls it the new souvlaki: the pita is baked in the shop and the meat, including mutton and premium beef, is cut thin before grilling. It is on the square where Kostas has its stand, and 2foodtrippers suggests it when Kostas is shut. Best souvlaki in Athens has both, and where to eat in Athens the tavernas.

The best day to go

The timing that works, from 1 November to 31 March: be at the Tomb at 9:00 for the change of guard, in the Garden at 9:30, at the Stadium by 10:15, and at the temple by 12:00, well before the 14:40 last entry. Walk Hadrian’s Arch and Plaka at 13:00, Ermou at 14:00, and eat at Monastiraki. For the Sunday ceremony, reach the Tomb by 10:45 and expect to be at the temple by 14:00.

What closes:

• 1 November to 31 March: the temple at 15:00, the Stadium at 17:00, and the Garden at sunset, about 17:10 in December.
• 7 and 8 November 2026: the Athens Marathon bans vehicles in the centre, and the Stadium changes its schedule.
• Tuesdays: the Tzisdarakis Mosque.
• 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 25 and 26 December: the temple and the mosque.

What does not close: the Tomb and the guard, the streets, Hadrian’s Arch and Monastiraki Square. A Tuesday still makes a good walk: only the mosque is shut.

Getting there and back

• To the start: Syntagma station is on lines 2 and 3. Line 3 runs from the airport in about 40 minutes: see Athens airport to the city and Athens public transport.
• From the end: Monastiraki station is on lines 1 and 3.
• Shortcuts: tram T6 stops at Zappeio, and trolleybuses 2, 4, 10 and 11 stop at the Stadium, if you want to skip the Garden or the Stadium leg.
• In reverse: starting from Monastiraki reaches the temple in the first hour, which suits the winter closing time, and finishes at the Tomb on the hour.

What to do with the rest of the day

• The Acropolis slopes: the Acropolis and Plaka walk starts at the Acropolis Museum, 490 m from Hadrian’s Arch, and ends at Monastiraki too.
• The rock: Acropolis tickets has the timed slots, and the Ancient Agora is 4 minutes from Monastiraki Square.
• Free sights: free things to do in Athens lists the rest.
• The days: Athens in one or two days puts the Guard and the Stadium on day two, and what to book before you go to Athens has the closed days for every sight.
• Where to sleep: hotels near the Acropolis lists the hotels round Syntagma, and where to stay in Athens compares the areas.

Common questions

How long is the Syntagma to Monastiraki walk?

3.8 km from Syntagma Square to Monastiraki Square, measured along the streets and paths: about 50 minutes of walking. With the Stadium, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and a lunch stop it takes most of a day.

When is the Changing of the Guard?

The Evzones change every hour on the hour at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Every Sunday at 11:00 a large contingent with a military band marches from the Presidential Guard camp to the Tomb for the official ceremony. It is free.

Is the Syntagma to Monastiraki walk free?

The Guard, the National Garden, the Zappeion grounds, Hadrian's Arch, Plaka and Ermou cost nothing. The Panathenaic Stadium is €12, the Temple of Olympian Zeus €20 and the Tzisdarakis Mosque €5.

When does the National Garden close?

It is open daily from sunrise to sunset, which is about 17:10 in December, and the operator can change the hours for security or emergencies. Bicycles and electric scooters with riders are not allowed.

Which day is best for the walk?

Sunday if you want the 11:00 ceremony, and any day but Tuesday otherwise: the Tzisdarakis Mosque is shut on Tuesdays. From 1 November to 31 March the Temple of Olympian Zeus closes at 15:00 and the Stadium at 17:00, so start in the morning.

Where does the walk start and finish?

It starts at Syntagma, on metro lines 2 and 3, and finishes at Monastiraki Square, above Monastiraki station on lines 1 and 3. The Acropolis and Plaka walk also ends there.