Zappeion Garden in Athens

Once having treaded into the National Garden, keep to the right and you will enter the evocative Zappeion Garden, proudly adorned by the awe-inspiring Zappeion Hall. The Hall building itself was erected solely for the purpose to host the first modern Olympic Games in Athens. Currently a mere exhibition hall, the site is enclosed by a fairy-tale garden, open from sunrise to sunset.

The Zappeion can be accessed via the large Amalias Avenue, right next to the Parliament building. This recent extension of the National Gardens is indeed one of the few picturesque retreats in this ever-moving, bustling city, and is an ideal place for strolling, shooting pictures and taking your time while the city around continues to growl. This placid venue is filled with beautifully hewn statues, some of them belonging to the classical antiquity, and some of them representing the cutting-edge trends in contemporary sculpture. The on-site cafe and restaurant also deserve a peek. Here, the Gardens offer an atmospheric blend of the grandiose structure of the Zappeion Hall, with its strictly drawn Neo-classical lines, and the green soothing paths of the park.