Athinas street in Athens is the one that runs from Omonoia Square to Monastiraki Square. If you walk a straight line down Athinas from Omonoia it will take you right up to the Acropolis and on the way you would pass some of the most interesting places in Athens. Athinas street is the heart and soul of modern Athens.
If you see the center of Athens as the Acropolis then the beginning of Athinas street is at Monastiraki Square.Ermou Street, the primary clothes shopping street in Athens, comes down from Syntagma Square and passes Athinas street on its way to Keramikos and the Gazi, Athens newest center of nightlife activity.
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As you walk up Athinas Street with the Acropolis behind you there are hardware stores and clothing shops on both sides of the road.
You can also find the peripteros, the kiosks that line Athinas selling newspapers, gum, sodas, contraceptives, cigarettes, bus tickets, mineral water, umbrellas, and other everyday items.
Athinas street is also known for the people who set up little stands whenever something happens where everyone needs the same item and they need it now.
For example when Greece switched to the Euro in 2002, suddenly there were little stands all over Athinas street where you could buy calculators that automatically converted the drachma to Euros. When Greece wins a big game you will find Greek flags.
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The trees that line Athinas Street are Jacarandas which are not native to Greece. That does not seem to bother them and when they blossom, which seems like always they are a beautiful mauve color and are now one of the things Athinas Street is known for.
Athinas Street used to be known for its seedy hotels that were actually like bordellos or places where you rent rooms by the hour instead of the night. These are now gone and actually have been since the mid-nineties.
In Athinas street one can also find famous buildings like the Athens City Hall on the west side and office towers northward. The Modern Agora is east of Athinas Street.
The famous Kotzia Square lies to the east as well as Karamanou Square eastward. Shops and residential buildings lies to the south with neo-classical buildings.
The rest of the architecture except for the city hall and square are modernistic. For the entire distance, the ISAP Green Line runs underneath the street.
