Greece · Attica · Athens
Metaxourgeio, Athens — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Metaxourgeio is a neighbourhood just north of central Athens, named for the silk mill that once worked here. It sits between Kolonos to the west and Plateia Vathi to the east, a short walk from the ancient Kerameikos. Long a working quarter, it has drawn galleries, small theatres, and cafes around its central Avdi Square. Its lanes stay lived-in.
About Metaxourgeio
Where to stay in Metaxourgeio
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Staying in Metaxourgeio puts you on the quieter, workaday side of central Athens, a short walk from the main sights rather than on top of them. The draw is the neighbourhood itself, galleries and small theatres around Avdi Square, tavernas down the back lanes, and a metro that reaches Omonoia and Syntagma in minutes. Rooms lean small.
Expect guesthouses, design hotels, and short-let flats rather than the big chains you find nearer Syntagma. Choose Kolonaki or Plaka instead if you would rather step straight out onto the ancient sites.
About Metaxourgeio
What are the main landmarks in Metaxourgeio?
Metaxourgeio holds few grand monuments. Its real landmark is the street plan itself, centred on Avdi Square, where theatres and a municipal art gallery face the open paving. The old silk mill that gave the district its name once worked among these very blocks, and its trade set the character of the streets.
Along its southern edge runs the ancient Kerameikos, the classical burial ground of Athens. The Acropolis lies a short ride southeast.
What is the history of Metaxourgeio?
The neighbourhood takes its name from a large silk mill that worked these blocks in the nineteenth century. Around that industry grew a working quarter north of the old city, close to the classical cemetery at Kerameikos. The mills closed.
Through the late twentieth century much of the district fell into neglect, its houses emptied and its trades gone. Artists and gallery owners then moved into the empty shells around Avdi Square, remaking the district as an arts quarter.
Where is Metaxourgeio?
Metaxourgeio spreads over flat ground just north of the historical centre of Athens. Its edges are clearly drawn, Kolonos on the west, Plateia Vathi on the east, and the Kerameikos quarter falling away to the south. Lanes fan out from Avdi Square.
Line 2 of the metro surfaces at Metaxourgeio station, linking it to Omonoia and central Syntagma.
Good for
More areas in Athens
Updated July 2026