Where do Athenians spend their time? Where do they unwind, meet friends, or enjoy their daily coffee? Where does work end and the city begin? In Meet the Athenians, we talk to the people of Athens about the places and moments that make them love the city they call home.
In this interview TO BHMA International edition talks with the actress, Marianna Rantou.
1) How does your work interconnect with the city and its people?
My work is deeply connected to the city and the people who live in it. I am inspired by fragmented glimpses of daily life: the spaces we occupy, the relationships we form, and the delicate tension between closeness and distance. With its quiet tenderness and moments of detachment, its hidden corners and familiar streets, Athens feeds constantly into my creative process. I find meaning in observing how people navigate their lives here, how they connect or drift apart, and these moments of intimacy and separation often shape the stories I want to tell through my work.
2) If you had only 24 hours in Athens, which three essential stops would be on your list?
If I had only 24 hours in Athens, I’d start in Anafiotika and around Filopappou Hill. Those neighborhoods feel like a little village, and during the lockdowns I used to walk there for hours, discovering quiet corners that somehow became my own little secret, shared with the city but still very personal.
Then I’d go somewhere by the sea—it’s always really important to me to stay close by the water, and I’m always seeking moments like that to pause and simply be with myself.
And finally, Varnava Square, near the first apartment I called my own. It’s a place that’s come to represent independence and having my own space within the city.
3)What’s one thing you really love about Athens, and something else you wish was different?
What I love most about Athens is the freedom it gives you: the ability to be who you want, how you want, and wherever you want. It was the first place I lived on my own, so it has always symbolized independence and a sense of personal freedom, despite the challenges. What I would change, though, is how isolated we often feel from one another, despite living so close together, and the constant rush and movement that can make real connection feel very distant.
