Athens - Syntagma square

Otherwise known as “Constitution Square”, Syntagma Square is a very significant area that one will probably encounter several times during their stay in Athens. The square has a long lasting history and even today there is a good chance of finding a demonstration of some sort in or near the square. In the square’s center there are copies presented by Lord Bute, a court retainer of King Otto, of statues from a Naples museum. The 100 or so trees within the square include oleanders, orange and cypresses. It is a conflicting mixture of bumper to bumper cars and shoulder to shoulder people on its lower perimeter and a more serene, wider, tree shaded, central expanse; the focus of which is a brown marble fountain in the middle of the square. The many benches provide room to take a break in the shade. There are three metro entrances in the square. One can find the monument of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament on Amalias Avenue and Syntagma Square. The monument is guarded 24 hours a day by the Presidential Guard, who wears the traditional 19th century costume from Southern Greece. The most characteristic part of this uniform is the skirt called “foustanela”. There is an hourly change of the guard. The pigeons of Syntagma have been around as long as the square has been there! These are as much of a historical part of Syntagma square as is the fountain, the statues and the Presidential Guard!You will find the majority of the pigeons in the open space in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Solders were one can buy seeds at a little stand in order to feed them. Syntagma is the heart of modern Athens, where one can find hotels, offices, banks, restaurants and cafes and is a very popular meeting point for the Athenians themselves.