Aspa in Athens is conveniently located 4 min walking distance from one of the two entrances of Lycabettus hills. In reality there are several entrances but only two are paved roads that lead straight to the top.

One can easily spend a whole day around the hill without getting tired. But wait did I say day? Actually the fun may start way earlier, around sunrise. One possible explanation about Lycabettus name is that it comes from the latin “luke” for light. Indeed the moment the sun raises the sunlight beams through the top of the hill and the buildings of the city start turning color. It is a unique experience that pays for the early wakeup. If you are not an early bird the hill is still a place to visit later on.

We recommend you use one of the 2 paved road entrances to get to the top, preferably the closest to Aspa in Athens. Be careful because the road is curvy and cars have no mercy. Enjoy the view and then continue all the way to St George at the very top of the hill. When the visibility is good one can see even as far as Piraeus for the highest point.

Then there are a few different things one can do to continue the journey through the neighborhood. For instance, you can take the teleferik to get down. This way you will end at Kolonaki, the second neighborhood that shares Lycabettus hill with Neapolis. Kolonaki is a vibrant neighborhood with great coffee shops and restaurants. Also there is a small but elegant market so window-shopping might be interesting. Kolonaki square is unfortunately currently close due to metro works but in a different time one could see an ancient column there, that was the reason for the neighborhood’s name, kolonaki = small column.

Not tired yet? Kolonaki square is actually next to the Greek Parliament, Syntagma square, or the National Gardens. Vasilisis Sofias boulevard is just there and you can check another of our posts about the numerous museums you can find along this boulevard. A favorite is Benaki museum that has a good collection of Greek culture artifacts from the ancient to the contemporary times. This museum offers free entrance to the public every Thursday after 6pm.