National Garden
Athens
At a glance
The National Garden is a quiet and green sanctuary covering 15.5 hectares in the city center. Located just behind the Parliament Building and the Zappeion, you can find ancient ruins and mosaics, as well as the busts of Ioannis Kapodistrias, Dionysios Solomos and Aristotelis Valaoritis. The National Garden was designed by Amalia the first Queen of Greece, and is an oasis in the centre of Athens.
Henry Miller wrote in 1939: 'It remains in my memory like no other park I know. It is the quintessence of a park, what I feel sometimes looking for a place I dream and want and never find.'
The main entrance is from Amalia Avenue, named after the Queen who envisioned this park, and impresses with a series of towering palm trees. Within the garden there is a pond with ducks, a cafeteria, a small zoo, a playground and a children's library. Come here for a stroll through the lush and beautiful paths of the National Garden and have a rest on the benches to escape the hustle and bustle of the city centre.
