After last year’s resounding success, the City of Athens welcomes spring once again with its flagship celebration: the Athens City Festival. Running from May 1 to June 1, this month-long cultural feast fills the streets, squares, and neighborhoods with music, art, exhibitions, gastronomy, and outdoor activities.

Organized by the City of Athens and implemented by Develop Athens S.A., this year’s edition stretches even further across the capital. With more than 200 events, the festival aims to “light up” every neighborhood, offering residents and visitors alike the chance to engage with a vibrant cultural program that blends tradition with innovation.

From concerts and street parties to open-air cinema, guided tours, and storytelling sessions, Athens is set to transform into a sprawling cultural stage. Events are curated to meet high standards of originality, quality, and aesthetics, catering to all ages and tastes—while remaining inclusive, accessible, and environmentally conscious.

A Daily Dose of Culture

“The Athens City Festival is being renewed and expanded across the entire city, inviting all of us to experience spring in Athens with joy and creativity,” said Athens Mayor Haris Doukas.

“This May, the capital transforms into an open cultural stage, where we—residents and visitors alike—are the protagonists. We will discover new places and become part of a grand celebration in a city where culture is not a luxury, but a daily experience for everyone.”

Art in the City: Explorations in Image and Memory

Art lovers are in for a treat. The group exhibition Abandoned Cartographies and Other Odd Hours delves into the subconscious, forming a constellation of inquiries that challenge order and narrative coherence. It offers a space for introspection and reveals unseen layers of the psyche.

At Ikastikos Kyklos Gallery, Giorgos Gyzis presents the third series of paintings inspired by newspaper clippings. Archival material transforms into moving visual works, offering a poetic journey through the evolution of Athens—from the 19th-century sketches of British travelers to the modernist flair of the 1950s and ’60s.

At Ersi Gallery, the exhibition by Vassilis Papageorgiou explores the interconnectedness of plants, animals, and humans, blending myth, imagination, and dream in a unique visual language.

Nikow Kyriakopoulos’ show Conquistadors at Macart Cultural Space uses the historical mythos of the Age of Discovery as artistic fuel. Though rooted in the past, the works—produced using the centuries-old monotype technique—take on a dreamlike, fantastical form that transcends genre.

Step into the City’s Hidden Corners

The Athens City Festival also provides the chance to discover landmark neighborhoods and newly opened cultural spaces with the help of expert guides. While most tours are in Greek, several are offered in English, including visits to the Elytis House Museum, War Museum, Anafiotika, National Garden, Ilissos River, and the Acropolis Hill, as well as a tour of the poignant exhibition Cyprus 1974 – Memory is the Only Homeland of the People.

Most tours are free of charge, though advance booking may be required.

Cinema for Everyone: From Queer Voices to Midnight Magic

The beloved Trianon Cinema once again hosts Queer Movie Nights, a series launched in 2022 to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia, and Interphobia. Showcasing queer short and feature films from around the world, this event offers a safe, expressive space for LGBTQI+ stories.

Midnight Express, curated by film critic Akis Kapranos, brings classic cinema to the open-air Athens Observatory Garden. A tribute to the legendary midnight screenings of Athens’ cinematic past, this free-admission series welcomes new and seasoned viewers alike. Reservations are required.

Ellinis and Aello Cinemas will host a Spanish-language film week, featuring acclaimed directors, actors, and writers from Spain, Chile, Argentina, Cuba, and beyond—celebrating the rich cinematic heritage of the Spanish-speaking world.

From Street Parades to Hilltop Concerts

This year’s festival strikes a vibrant chord, with music events blending traditional and contemporary sounds.

Take in breathtaking views of Attica from Lycabettus Hill, where concerts by Nefeli Fasouli and Petros Klampanis promise an unforgettable experience. In Mitropoleos Square, vocal powerhouses Martha Mavroidi and Martha Frintzila unite their voices, while violinist Iris Groh, in collaboration with the Athens Concert Hall, performs at the Athens University Museum.

Three of Greece’s most unique voices—Nalyssa Green, Sugahspank!, and Lou Is—pay tribute to Leonard Cohen in a heartfelt performance at the Athens Book Space.

The city will also dance to the rhythm of Agia Fanfara, a 25-piece street band whose parades from Monastiraki Square to Thiseion turn Athens into a moving carnival.

Traditional music lovers can enjoy kantades (serenades) in the alleyways of Plaka by the Karaviotis Brothers, or experience a Cretan fiesta with Psarogiorgis, son of the legendary Psarantonis, at Dimitris Beis Park in Neos Kosmos.

More Than 200 Reasons to Celebrate

From gastronomy and theater to literature, children’s activities, and DJ sets, the Athens City Festival covers every cultural craving across the city’s 129 neighborhoods.

For the full program and reservation details, visit the festival’s official website.