Athenian Spring Extravaganza: City Festival Returns

Photo source: Athens Municipality.

The Athens City Festival is set to return to Athens for the second year, as the Athens Municipality prepares to organize a large-scale spring celebration with events taking place across the Greek capital.

Running throughout the month of May, the festival will host over 200 events in the Athenian center and the city’s 129 neighborhoods, offering Athenians and visitors alike a rich program of culture, entertainment, sports, and gastronomy activities.

The festival program is the result of close collaboration between the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency (ADDMA) and local groups, agencies, and institutions, following an open call, where the latter submitted their proposals for this year’s Athens City Festival edition.

Photo source: Athens Municipality.

“This festival highlights the best Athens has to offer culturally,” said Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, adding that “this big celebration is an opportunity to have fun regardless of your age, mood, or preferences.”

From May 1st to 31st, Athenians and visitors will be able to choose from a wide range of events, including tours of Athens’ underground shelters and tunnels, skateboarding tournaments, open-air film screenings in parks, outdoor street parties, DJ sets in unexpected places, guided tours of Athens’ squares, streets, and museums, concerts, bike rides, and many children’s activities, among others.

Highlights of this year’s festival include:

Athens Urban Picnic at Plato’s Academy Park, 1/5

Cinematic Orchestra at Kotzia Square, 6/5

From Earth to Sky, National Observatory of Athens 4/5, 11/5, 18/5, 25/5

Photo source: Athens Municipality.

Underground Athens: Shelters and Catacombs 7/5 and 21/5

Urban picnic at Tositsa street, 14/5

Kutiman Live at the French Institute, 15/5

Greek Cinema Nights, Eleftheria Park, 22-25/5

Chores, Byzantine Museum, 24/5

Photo source: Athens Municipality.

Flare the Square: Skateboarding Contest, Kotzia Square, 27/5

Historical Walk around the National Archaeological Museum, 27/5

Pop Up Ice Cream Market, Kypseli Municipal Market, 28/5

Street Outdoors Party, Lycabettus Parking Lot, 28/5

The Athens City Festival 2023 full program is available in Greek and English at: https://cityfestival.thisisathens.org/.