Street markets or, as they say in greek “Laiki agora” (The People’s Market) are very common in Greece. In the bigger cities every area/townpart has its street market on the same week-day every week and the same goes for all the smaller cities, for the villages and the larger islands around the country. Greek home cooking is based on greens and vegetables so it’s nothing strange that these markets are always well visited.
The day when all the market trucks and stands come to town is a special day. All families in the area are going to buy their vegetables and fruits for the coming week. All households send at least one representative to the market and that fact results in a real people gathering in the most visited hours of the day. Most people know eachother – the farmers and fishermen who are selling their products are also almost always the same each week – and from the early morning hours the market is filled with people, sounds and aromas.
We at Untraveled want to give you a heads-up about these markets because from these markets one can buy local products at the cheapest cost to take back home and also they are a good opportunity to “do as the local do”, to feel the real city pulse. We have heard many times from people who have visited Greece that “what one really enjoys in Greece are the tasty vegetables, and the tomatos are so full of flavour”… so why not go directly to the source? Or, to be more correct, why not visit the source when it comes to your neighbourhood?
Fruit, vegetables, fish, spices, honey, flowers and much, much more can all be found here. The street markets open early in the morning and continue on until about 16.00 in the afternoon until all stands have sold out their products. A tip to get better prices is to go to the market after noon, then the prices are often a bit cheaper.
Where ever you might be in Greece (or in Athens) the only certain thing is that you will at some point have a market close by and to visit it you only need to find out on which day it is held and on which street or streets you can find it. For the markets of Athens and Attika in general there is a homepage: http://www.laikesagores.gr/ which tells you where the markets are every day, unfourtunatelly the page is only written i greek, but in general you could just ask any greek living in the area where you are staying and you will probably get a direct answer on all your questions.
Mondays: in the central area of Patisia (on the street Stefanou Vizantiou)
Tuesdays: in the central area of Kypseli (on the street Naxou)
Thursdays: i the area of Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni near the riviera (on the street Papagou) and also in the area of Glyfada also by the riviera (on the streets Alsous, Kyprou, Napoleontos Zerva och Lazaraki)
Fridays: in the central area of Kolonaki (on the street Xenokratous)
Saturdays: in the central area of Exarchia (on the street Kallidromiou
