Thomas Gravanis

From neighbourhood farmers’ markets to souvlaki stands and a connoisseur’s coffee culture, let a local show you what Athens really tastes and smells like.

Overview

Info

Potential starting points are the Info point kiosk at Syntagma or the City Hall. Locals are non-paid savvy Athenians providing their personal opinions and not professional tour guides. Taste Athens with a Local doesn't include or require food sampling.

Reviews

Anonymous

Danai was an amazing guide!

Visited Athens in November 1, 2024

Grusha

Danai is amazing and the experience was worth it most definitely

Visited Athens in October 18, 2024

camilli mark

Antonis was superb, not only does he know where to go for food he is great company, cannot recommend highly enough

Visited Athens in October 18, 2024

Chiara Boarini

The walk was a surprising exploration of the food market and nearby typical shops. We could feel a real Athens life. We strongly recommend!!!!!!!!!!

Visited Athens in August 19, 2024

Sam Kestin

Our walk was incredible! Danai did such a great job of showing us all over, explaining everything, taking us to amazing spots as well as making us feel like family! I highly recommend a walk with her in Athens!

Visited Athens in June 29, 2024

Bryony

A friendly, fun and personalised introduction to central Athens via the topic of food, and a great way to find out all kinds of other local information too!

Visited Athens in March 6, 2024

Barbara

My son and I met Danai for a food tour on a Saturday morning. Even before we arrived in Athens we received tips from Danai about the restaurants in the neighborhood of our hotel. We went to visit the Central market, and many other venues where we tasted Athens. The sweet treats were delicious. I recommend this tour to anyone who wants to experience Athens the local way.

Visited Athens in March 9, 2024

Doris

Thanks to This is Athens for the work you are doing and the ability you give people to meet with locals to discover your great country.

Visited Athens in February 17, 2024

Lou

This walk was great and very enjoyable. We strolled from Syntagma Square to Varvakios Agora, the main food market, stopping on the way to look at various buildings and pop into bakeries etc. I learnt lots about Greece and Athens as well as food, and the history of the no longer fashionable frappe - which I have since tried. Traditional biscuits and cakes were pointed out to me and the market and surrounding shops were fun. Yes, you can easily go to the market yourself but it's much more enjoyable to experience it with a local person! We also shared lunch on Adianou Street which was a great thing to do. I definitely recommend this walk.

Visited Athens in February 22, 2024

LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY and LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

YY & LIN

Fantastic, one of a kind! We had a food walking tour with Danai in October 2023 and it was an incredible experience for us! We got to sample a range of local produce and received great food recommendations.

Visited Athens in October 26, 2023

Jen Johnson

Giannis did an excellent job of showing us the local foods of Athens, from the famous cheese pies, greek coffee, rooftop bars, and desserts, to fish markets. In between, he offered us information on the neighbourhoods, historical buildings, and the history of Athens. I highly recommend a Foodie Tour with Giannis; it was the best way to start our trip and get acquainted with Greek food and culture.

Visited Athens in September 30, 2023

Ng Leng Leng

The walk allowed us to understand better about the variety of food diet in Greece. A walk in the Central market allowed me to make comparison on the cost of living & the types of spices used in my country.

Visited Athens in September 13, 2023

Gladys

The walk was excellent. It was so interesting to learn more about Greek food and local customs. We enjoyed the taste-testing, the ingredient shopping and the amazing food that we had on this walk! My parents are enthusiastic to try out Greek food back at home, so learning so much about Greek food and spices made them really happy. The walk absolutely surpassed our expectations in every way. Danai's stories and her interactions with the locals at shops and at the central market felt like something very special for us to experience, as tourists and outsiders. We would absolutely recommend this tour to our friends and family who come to Athens.

Visited Athens in August 5, 2023

Callen Sistrunk

We asked for a food tour and that’s what we got! We tasted Greek cheese pies, pastries, cheese, mastic-flavored candy, liqueurs, and delicious desserts. We also had a very interesting tour of the local meat market and vegetable market. Our last stop with our guide Danai was for Greek orange cake-I’ve already located a recipe so I can recreate it at home and relive a special day in a great city with a wonderful woman!

Visited Athens in July 22, 2023

Morgan

Without a doubt this walk was amazing! Such an interesting and alternative way to experience Athens, especially for our first time here! Highly recommend this to anyone wanting to do this walk & we will be recommending this to all our friends!

Visited Athens in June 28, 2023

Lauren Schwartz

My family absolutely loved this walk. It was such a great way to get to know the city, the food, the culture, the people, and Danai our local guide. We tried such a variety of foods like honey from a fourth generation bee keeper, pistachios, olives, cheese, yogurt, candies, beer, wine, chickpeas, Greek salad, zucchini balls, chicken and more. We were able to see the meat market where they butchered the veal, pigs, rabbits, and more and yet it did not smell and was super clean. We saw the fish market where they filleted fish and saw squid and octopus and sardines for sale. We saw the other markets full of fresh fruit, vegetables, breads, spices, and more for sale and bought so many wonderful Greek foods to snack on along our walk and bring home for souvenirs. I highly recommend this walk on a first or second day of your stay in Athens because it is a great introduction to the city and a great way to stock up on food and snacks for your stay and make a bucket list of restaurants and foods and desserts to try while in Athens. Thank you to Danai for sharing all her recommendations and love of Athens with us. This was the single best tour we had on our two week trip across Europe.

Visited Athens in June 23, 2023

Kelly

My mom and I are foodies so this walk was perfect for us! Danai took us to many spots around Athens city centre which we wouldn't even know existed. She took us also through the shops in the Central Market and it was lovely to hear stories and history about Greek food. We also got many different recommendations for foods to try. A truly amazing experience and I cannot recommend it enough!

Visited Athens in June 14, 2023

Alexandra Streinz

I really enjoyed the walk because I have seen places I wouldn't have had the opportunity to visit by myself, I really enjoyed the walk around the local market in Exarchia area!, it is a neighborhood full of history and street art, there are a lot of great places hidden there!.

Visited Athens in March 11, 2023

Audra & Scott Kent

Danai, our guide, was fantastic!!! We met at Syntagma Square & visited all kinds of delightful spots. From a coffee bar to a tea shop, chocolates, cheese, two bakeries (oh, the pies & donuts!), the meat market & the fish market, and then veggies, spices, fruit & olives at the market.
Throughout, Danai shared her knowledge of the area & some great tips on how to prepare some Greek favourites. She was even kind enough to share a recipe for the ingredients we purchased, which we then went home and made for dinner!
We finished at a restaurant enjoyed by locals - a sure sign it’s authentic & delicious.
The entire experience was fantastic!!
Thank you, Danai, for such a wonderful day in Athens.

Visited Athens in May 24, 2023

Claire and Peter

We did this walk as soon as we arrived in Athens as we thought it'd be a good way to find out about good places to eat, and it didn't disappoint.

Visited Athens in May 17, 2023

Kevin Wood

I booked the walk quite late before arriving in Athens and did not know if it would be easy to organise at such late notice.
Vivi replied within 24 hours and knew where I was staying so organised the tour closest to me.
I love going off the beaten track and discovering a city behind the scenes and Vivi created a food tour that did just that.
She showed me places that I wouldn't have thought to go and only where a local would. Hidden restaurants behind closed doors that were buzzing with locals enjoying a warm spring Friday evening.
Tasting the real Athens, fresh, aromatic and full of life
For me this was one of my highlights and I would thoroughly recommend thinking about it.
Vivi has a great knowledge base, we chatted, laughed and we tasted Athens just like a local!

Visited Athens in March 9, 2023

Grace

Very interesting and nice to have someone lead the way. A great way to learn more about Athens and discover things you wouldn’t on your own

Visited Athens in February 25, 2023

Alessandra

The walk was funny, informative and allows us to discover things and places we wouldn't have seen and appreciated enough walking around by ourselves

Visited Athens in February 25, 2023

Bea Chan

Anastasios was an AMAZING tour guide - what a wealth of information! We joined forces with another group of 2 from the same country (Canada!) and combined the eating tour with another themed tour. It was so nice to make new friends, be introduced to local favourite eats as well as to see the city from the eyes of a local.

We actually signed up for a paid, guided walking tour for Acropolis as well as Old Athens City Tour with another operator just a few before, and Anastasios was still able to introduce us to new establishments and parts of town that the paid tour didn't even touch on. Very well done - I'd book again if I came back to visit!

100% recommend booking a free local tour with This Is Athens and with the best tour guide ever - Anastasios!!!! Thank you so much!

Visited Athens in October 8, 2022

Orly

We like the walk very much
It was perfect!!!

Visited Athens in October 13, 2022

Sue

The tour guide's passion and content were good. However, it seems necessary to adjust the tour title to suit the content. Thank you very much for running such a great tour program as a pure volunteer.

Visited Athens in October 3, 2022

Kathy

What a lovely way to introduce us to Athens! It was quick and easy to sign up and we received a reply right away. Walking with a local gave us some interesting insight into Athenian culture and also helped us get our bearings. Over our week long stay, we ended up trying some of the foods and activities that were highlighted to us during this walk! Thank you for organizing this free program. It was clear that our guide Anastasios was passionate about his city and genuinely wanted us to share that as well. Well done!

Visited Athens in September 26, 2022

Veronica Whitehead

Wonderful walk with Danai through Plaka. She showed us ways to walk the area without traffic, people and gave us insight into the area and Greek people. Also sent us information of places to see traditional folk dances and places to go and visit on our own. She gave me a lovely little gift. My only regret is that I didn’t think of bringing a little gift for her from the States. Thank you Danai!

Visited Athens in September 1, 2022

Jeanne

We loved the walk. What a treat to get a tour that taught us about so many different kinds of food, letting us try as many as we wished (well come back later for more).

Visited Athens in August 24, 2022

Ha Nguyen

This is really an interesting walk. I got a lof of useful information not only food related information but also more about the city and the history. We walk through central market and several famous places. Thank you for organising this tour.

Visited Athens in August 12, 2022

Dave & Michele

We booked this walk for our first day in Athens which we would highly recommend doing as it gave us an understanding of the city, the people and the culture.
It was a great initiation to Athens.

Visited Athens in July 26, 2022

WanChi

Nice to see different Athens.

Visited Athens in July 10, 2022

Liz Bailey

The walk was leisurely, leaving time for pictures and tastings. We saw many things we would not have seen otherwise and went back to places our guide suggested. The whole group enjoyed it!

Visited Athens in June 9, 2022

Caroline

We went through the market and the supermarket, we learned a lot about Greek food and traditions.

Visited Athens in May 28, 2022

T H

The walking experience far exceeded our expectations thanks to our local host. We learnt much about the Greek history from a gastronomical traditions' perspective from ancient times to modern, and managed to sample a few of examples of them too. The walk was not on a fixed route/schedule, but rather tailored to us on the go by our wonderful host, Danai. All in all an excellent experience that must not be missed.

Visited Athens in May 15, 2022

Linda

This was a lovely way to explore Athens and learn about food as well as some history and culture. The snacks we tried were very tasty and it was exactly the kind of thing we were looking for.

Visited Athens in April 4, 2022

Mendel

The walk was a fantastic introduction to the amazing cuisine of Athens. So much fun and so interesting!

Visited Athens in December 29, 2021

Cheryl Jenkins

It was so amazing to tour Athens with a local. We loved our adventure and loved the opportunity to view Athens with Danai. We got to visit several food shops, that had such yummy goodies, and tour the Central Market. I have been raving to all my friends that if they visit Athens, they must scedule a walk with This is Athens. the communication leading up to our walk was amazing and I was so surprised that we were able to get a tour with only 2 weeks notice.

Visited Athens in October 12, 2021

Christine

The walk was fantastic .. Katerina was wonderful and very informative .. I would definitely recommend anyone to experience Athens this way

Visited Athens in October 13, 2021

Nico Weber

We didn't walk much - physically - but in thought. Because funnily enough, we had chosen a nice place together and had such great, nice conversation that we got stuck there. But we got lots of "ammunition" and tips. A lot of inspiration. We explored the similarities of Athens and Berlin, laughed a lot and ate very well. What a great institution and inspiration "This is Athens" provides. Great. Congratulations on the idea and execution. We will definitely do it again next time and propose something similar in Berlin.

Visited Athens in September 13, 2021

Yvon

I really liked the walk since I discovered streets I haven’t been before. I learned a lot about Athens and the Greek and tried the best bagel of Athens

Visited Athens in September 13, 2021

Aisha

I enjoyed my tour with George. It was interesting to learn how gastronomy developed in Athens and find out where to sample different foods.

Visited Athens in October 21, 2020

Lehmann

Very interesting places

Visited Athens in October 7, 2020

Grace

The walk was lovely. I got to see places in central Athens I wouldn't have visited otherwise, like the area with Chinese supermarkets and a hidden espresso cafe. I'll definitely be bringing people to the gyros joint.

Visited Athens in October 2, 2020

Daniel Brennan

The walk was beautiful. From the hills near the Acropolis to the squares, it provided a historical timeline of Athens.

Visited Athens in December 23, 2019

Your Locals for this Walk

Dimitris T.

I’ll leave the ancient / historical monuments and typical city landmarks to the pros and the travel books. I believe that mingling with locals and acting like a local is the best way for our visitors to get acquainted with the Greek spirit. So that’s what I offer you as a volunteer of “This is Athens with a Local".

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Katerina K.

Hey there! I consider myself very spontaneous, in a sense that I love to create, reinvent and experiment with new things. I studied and enjoyed engineering and I was one of the three women in Greece in my specialty. But life has a way of changing things so I found my true passion and that is to connect with people. It's amazing how sharing thoughts and ideas, interests or experiences can make such incredible bonds all over the world. I am a collection of the things that have inspired me through my life and those things include my city. Ι believe myself to be a very chilled and open-minded person. I love Athens because it’s the city where I was born and raised and where you can appreciate a contrast of diversity. I like to find the most authentic places of a city. Those places that make you connect with the people and want to come back to them. The Acropolis, temples and museums are impressive, but get to know the way real, everyday Athenians live and hang out.

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Danai B.

I was born in Athens and I have lived in the southern suburbs (Athens Riviera) for more than 40 years. The last five years I have been working to bring more tourists to my neighbourhood. Also, I collaborate with other citizens to make the archeological spots of our municipality known to others. I believe that Athens and the Athens Riviera can attract people with different interests. It is very important to me to show visitors the real (and rich in many ways), Attica and Athens.

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Spyridon K.

Digital Marketing Consultant | Destination Specialist | Journalist | Photographer | Equal Rights Supporter | Cinema Reviewer | Urban Activist | "This Is Athens with a Local" Project & Community Manager | "Σπυρίδων Κάγκας" for Greeks, but Kiki for my friends! 

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George P.

I didn't fully appreciate Athens until I lived abroad for a few years. Now I am back with an immense love for this vibrant city and the desire to share it. I ran out of friends willing to spend every weekend walking around the centre of Athens so I thought I should give this a try. A pretty accurate description of me would be a list of my current obsessions which are coffee, sourdough, cooking, cycling and tinkering.

If what you are looking for is the best souvlaki, best espresso shot or the best Indian place in town I am your best bet.

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Anastasios D.

Born and raised in Athens, I have witnessed the changes in this dynamic and fast growing capital during the last decades. 
In many cases I rediscovered the beauty of my own city, through the photos and narrations of international friends who visited Athens, and I felt very proud and happy to be an Athenian. Traveling, living and working abroad for a few years made me realize the added value of contact with the locals. Therefore, I am very willing become a guide and co-traveller in the exploration of this city for international visitors!! 

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