An alternative visit to Athens; the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.

If you’re planning to visit Athens and you wanna get out of the ordinary and classic touristic path, then this is page for you. If you’re into arts, architecture and culture and you love experiencing it while traveling, then a visit to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center is definitely a MUST while exploring the greek capital.

Even Greek, the existence of this cultural centre was unknown to me till last week, that I had the chance to visit it. And yes, it was an extremely impressive experience!

Let me tell you a few things about this magnificent piece of construction; The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) in Athens is the Foundation’s largest single grant.Designed by the architectural firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), the SNFCC is a sustainable, world-class cultural, educational and recreational urban complex that includes new facilities for the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera, located within the Stavros Niarchos Park.

It’s construction has been completed recently and in February of 2017 it was transferred to the greek state and by extension, to the greek society. It is said to be the **largest cultural/educational project **ever being undertaken in the country. At the same time, it is one of the world’s most sustainable building complexes of its size!

The Visitors Center, offers to the public the opportunity to see the worksite up close and learn about the technical details of its construction and the project. At the same time. through exhibitions and projects that are organised daily, it welcomes its visitors to explore and to learn about multiple educational and cultural projects running in Greece.

As mentioned, the center is surrounded by a huge park, offered for a great family picnic or a cozy & sunny afternoon walk with a freddo espresso in your hand! There are multiple playgrounds around, therefore it is super family-friendly, while the facilities are also welcoming you along with your pets! Everyday, there are organised tours at different times of the day, so you have the chance to be guided around and ask everything that comes to mind.

Don’t waste time! As I said…if you’re in Athens…then visiting Stavros Niarchos Centre is an experience not to be missed! Ah well… the pictures used in this page have been taken by me and my friends during our visit last week! Enjoy!