Mets: Discover Athens most charming neighbourhood

Mets is a small neighbourhood, very close to all the main touristic attractions of the city center (it is a 10 minutes walk from Acropolis and just a few hundred meters from Kallimarmaro Stadium) but it is not touristic at all.

It is located on Logginos hill and between Ardittos hill and the First Cemetery of Athens. A little bit of Montmartre, a little bit of East London, this is a place you should discover if you want to visit one of the most charming areas of Athens.

Mets took its name from the beer house with the same name that was established on the hill in 1870

That was one of the innovations which were brought to Greece by King Otto and the Bavarians who accompanied him. In the course of time, the beerhouse was transformed into a cafe-aman, a type of entertainment venue with live music. Other venues like that began to operate in the surrounding area and on the banks of the nearby Ilissos river. Therefore this part of the city became known for its live music venues and small theatres.

At the same time, smaller places and bars appeared here and became the meeting place of illegal love couples. For that reason, the area was known among the citizens of the capital as pantremenadika — the place where married meet their lovers. At the end of the 19th century, due to the area's proximity to the Palace and the city center, the neighborhood was populated by middle-class families who built elegant and quite big neoclassical houses and consequently the character of the area changed completely.

Today Mets keeps that quiet, residential, slightly bohemian charm — perfect for slow morning walks, a long lunch under bitter-orange trees, and watching the Acropolis light up at sunset from a rooftop bar.