Tatler October 2019 tatler.comThe Athenian Riviera has
arrived: historic splendour
and five-star glamour are
making it hot as Hellenism
By DELILAH KHOMOglamour stakes. Newly arrived is
the flagship store of Ancient Greek
Sandals, the chic accessories label
headed up by former Louis Vuitton
and Balenciaga designer Christina
Martini, whose opening party
spurred the viral Instagram hashtag
#AthensNow. Then, of course, there
is Zeus + Dione, the much-loved
Grecian label with its column
dresses and signature draping de-
signed by Greece’s ‘First Lady’
Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis, near
Syntagma Square. Close by is the
legendary jewellery store Ilias
Lalaounis, its signature Hellenistic
designs housed in a space recently
renovated by RIBA award-winning
architects Deca.
And so Athens has gone boom,
towards a future embellished by the
grandeur of its past – and the mix is
irresistible. Take a stroll through the
antiques market in the Monastiraki
neighbourhood, with its Seventies
socialist-style buildings jostling
against ancient vine-draped squares
while intoxicating smells of honey-
suckle, dust and leather fill the air.
Here, seek out the Tsantilis Gallery,
an antique store that houses an
impressive collection ranging from
18th-century Orientalist art to
Philhellenic treasures and fabulous
urns to Napoleonic chandeliers.
Step into Cycladic civilisation at
the Museum of Cycladic Art, while
taking in the Picasso and Antiquity
show that runs until mid-Octo-
ber. Watch art house films at Cine
Paris, possibly the world’s most
impressive open-air cinema, next to
the Acropolis. Or just revel on the
rooftop of the incomparable Hotel
Grande Bretagne and eat breakfast
overlooking the Plaka, watching
the changing of the guards. Come
nightfall, drink in the old-school
magic of this institution with sig-
nature martinis made by barman
Sypros, and soak up the views of
the stirringly uplit Parthenon and
Tomb of the Unknown Solider.On thecuttingAe ge anSWIM WHEN
YOU’RE WINNING
One of the pools at the
Four Seasons Astir BeachSO MUCH HISTORY IS PACKED
into Athens’ streets and along its
shores. After all, this is the birth-
place of Western civilisation and
democracy. It’s the home of Plato
and Socrates, a city of winding
cracked-stone alleyways, stone walls
overgrown with jasmine creepers,
and gardens abundant with bitter
orange trees.
Little wonder that when he drew
up to these shores in 1809, Lord
Byron (the ultimate Hellenophile)
was so seduced by the place – and
by the daughter of the British Vice-
Consul – that he wrote in Maid of
Athens he had seen nothing finer.
Yet in 2019, this great historic
European city has rarely been more
of the moment. After a decade of
economic crisis and the resulting
austerity programme, Athens has
emerged as one of the continent’s
most vibrant, significant cultural
capitals. Denizens of the art world
are now comparing its hedonistic
energy to the feeling of limitless
possibility that was palpable 30
years ago when the Berlin Wall
came down.
And this upswing in fortune has
been boosted by a new generation
of Greek designers and creatives
redefining tradition with contem-
porary arts and craft: in particular
Athens’ new cohort of fashion
designers, who are really raising the10-19TRAVEL-Main.indd 148 15/08/2019 01:05
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