Psyrri / Monastiraki

In the historic centre, north of Monastiraki Square between Monastiraki, Omonia and Kerameikos.

Today Psyrri is one of Athens' liveliest nightlife districts: around Iroon Square tavernas, cocktail bars, mezedopoleia and live-music spots crowd together amid plenty of street art. Adjoining Monastiraki adds markets, antique shops and ancient sites. Together the two areas offer a dense, mixed day-and-night scene right in the centre.

Psyrri was long a district of craftsmen working leather, metal and small trades, with roots reaching back to Ottoman times. As manufacturing declined the area fell into disrepair in the 1990s, before artists and young people revived it with galleries, studios and bars. A few traditional leather workshops, for example around Miaouli Street, still survive.