If preferring to avoid the hustle and bustle of central Athens during the festive season, the city does offer lovely alternatives not far from the city centre for shopping, food, entertainment and coffee.

17

The Mesogeia area, covering the eastern outskirts of Athens, has been developed into an area offering options for all tastes, including budget shopping choices. Whether aiming to complete your festive season shopping, or looking for a good place to eat, far from the festive season’s crowds and traffic of the city centre, Mesogia is a good place to go to.

Shopping, coffee, day out at Smart Park

Smart Park, one of Greece’s biggest shopping centres, is situated about ten minutes away from Attiki Odos freeway exits in the region. It also offers free parking. Shoppers may find dozens of brand-name products here, including fashion, homeware, toys, gifts and accessories.

Besides shopping, Smart Park has so much else to offer, making it an ideal place for a day out, especially with children. The centre’s 5,000 square-metre Smart Playland offers endless fun and games for children of all ages, including a specially designed section for kids up to 4 years old, accompanied by parents or guardians.

Coffee at the Flocafe Εspresso Room

Visitors can also enjoy a coffee at pleasant surrounds. The Flocafe Εspresso Room is a great place to relax after the pleasant weariness of play and shopping. The spot’s expert baristas prepare perfect cups of coffee. Customers have three different blends to choose from – America Latina, Ηοnduras Premium and Colombia Freshly Roasted.

The café’s window cabinet display is filled with delicious snacks, including freshly baked butter or chocolate croissants, chocolate, white chocolate and lemon-flavoured cookies, as well as sweets such as homemade apple pie and carrot cake, amongst many more selections.

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The Flocafe menu’s variety has something for all times of the day
The café offers three different coffee blends

History, art, technology

Besides shopping and related activities, the wider region also offers visitors an opportunity to come into contact with culture and history. The Vorres Museum in Peania combines modern art with folk art tradition. It is also worth spending a little extra time in the area to visit the Brauron (Vravrona) archaeological site and its small yet important museum. If in the coastal Lavrion area, southeast of Athens, enjoy the neoclassical buildings and sea. A visit to the Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park, established at a spot previously occupied by the French Mining Company of Lavrion, is also recommended.

The Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park, a 24.5-hectare expanse, has been listed by the Ministry of Culture. So far, facilities over 8 hectares have been restored, establishing the park as an open-air museum for industrial history and architecture.

Lunch break at Everest

If feeling hungry following the ride out to Lavrion, the Everest coffee and snacks chain, also present in this area, has you covered. Besides its classic DIY sandwich, toasted, the spot also offers cold sandwiches, hotdogs, puff pastry snacks, as well as coffee – three blends to choose from.

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Enjoy a DIY sandwich at Everest
Everest offers a wide range of hot snacks

Koutouki cave

A natural monument, the Koutouki cave in Peania is the wider Athens region’s best-known cave, and one of the most impressive. It is situated at an altitude of 510 metres on the eastern side of the Hymettus mountain range. The cave became an attraction in the 1960s courtesy of its impressive stalactites and stalagmites.

The cave is accessed through a 17-meter entry shaft, leading to a 350-metre passage. This place will surely make you forget you are anywhere near Athens.

Designer outlet mall

Situated directly next to Smart Park, the McArthurGlen designer outlet is a great shopping place, including for gifts that will put smiles on the faces of loved ones without costing you a fortune. Over 100 designer brands at discount prices of as much as 70 percent are available under the one roof of a mall combining tasteful design with efficiency.

Goody’s Burger House

Goody’s Burger House, inside the discount mall, is a great place to settle at for a meal after shopping. It offers juicy burgers made with three different patty selections, classic Goody’s club sandwiches, salads, chicken wraps, as well as the Meat-Free Burger & Veggie Burger options for diners not preferring meat.

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Food at La Pasteria

Whether living in the wider area or not, the discount mall is worth visiting even if not intending to go shopping, for an outing combined with a meal at Italian restaurant La Pasteria, on the first floor. It serves Italian cuisine at its best and promises to delight Italian food aficionados and beginners. The menu includes delicious antipasti, pizza made with authentic Italian crust, as well classic and innovative pasta recipes, risotto and Italian dolci. For diners equating Italian food with pasta, La Pasteria offers a wide range of exceptional pasta varieties, including Carbonara Prosciutto di Parma, made with a delightful dairy cream sauce and freshly cut Parma prosciutto.

Youngsters are also covered by the Kid’s Menu, offering a pasta meal with a soft drink or juice for 8.50 euros. Diners who find pizza irresistible, either as a main course or shared extra, will appreciate the spot’s special pizza crust, fermented over 72 hours before topped and put in the oven. Accompany your meals with a matching wine from the wide selection available and top off your meal with a dessert. La Pasteria’s version of the Tiramisu is one of the finest to be found in Athens.

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Top off your shopping at the designer outlet with an Italian meal
The pizza crust is left to ferment over 72 hours before put in the oven

The Mesogeia area is a short drive from Athens, just a few kilometres away. Don’t hesitate to venture out to the area for a hassle-free shopping, dining and coffee experience, detached from the city traffic and noise.