Page 29 - iGREECE_EATA MARCH 2025

The Historic Centre of grandeur of the Parliament building,
Athens: Where Time
Collides
The historic centre—an area dominated
by Syntagma, Omonia, and Monasti-
raki Squares - the present is in constant
conversation with its past. These squares
form the beating heart of contemporary
Greece, a place where politics, commerce,
and history are not just intertwined but
constantly redefining one another. Syn-
tagma Square, in particular, is the stage
for Greece’s political drama—once the
site of uprisings and the establishment of
Greece’s constitution in 1843, it remains,
to this day, a battleground for demon-
strations and rallies. The neoclassical
set against the backdrop of the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier, turns each
change of the guard into a ritual, a living
piece of the nation’s history.
Nearby, the streets of Ermou, Aiolou
and Athinas are the commercial lifeblood
of the city. Ermou, a shopping avenue an-
chored by global brands, runs parallel to
smaller, more intimate streets where ar-
tisans and quirky boutique owners ped-
dle everything from handmade jewellery
to vintage vinyl. As the day winds down,
these streets transform into a vibrant
nightlife hub, where bars spill over with
the energy of students, tourists, and locals
alike, savouring meze or haggling over the
i GR E E C E TR A V E L