Lycabettus Hill ‘Green’ Overhaul Underway

A 1.5-million-euro revamp program that will breathe new life into Athens’ Lycabettus Hill is underway aiming to create an urban oasis that is safe for visitors and residents and provides ample space for recreation, the municipal authority said this week.

More specifically, the overhaul works to be funded by the European Investment Bank include the reconstruction and reopening of the iconic Lycabettus Theater, maintenance of the hill’s trails and footpaths, anti-flooding and anti-corrosion works, lighting and road upgrades with the use of sustainable materials. Initial forecasts placed completion in 18 months’ time.

Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis has committed to establishing Lycabettus Hill as an exemplary landmark of Athens. “After years of indifference and neglect…. We are working to reclaim lost time …passing from theory to action,” he said.

“Our goal is to give the citizens of Athens, but also all its visitors, a living and recreational space,” said Bakoyannis, adding that once completed the project will be a beautiful urban forest for Athens and Attica”.

Lycabettus Hill and its theater fell into neglect due to a jurisdiction dispute which came to an end earlier this year when management was handed over to Athens municipality.

Bakoyannis first announced enhancement works to Lycabettus Hill in 2019. 

Before the pandemic, authorities said a tender would be announced for the facelift of the historic open-air theater budgeted at 1.98 million euros to include structural reinforcements, seating replacement, and power and lighting installations.