Kolonaki Square ( el, Πλατεία Κολωνακίου, ) is located in central
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.
Kolonaki
Kolonaki (, ), literally "Little Column", is an upscale neighborhood in central Athens, Greece. It is located on the southern slopes of Mount Lycabettus. Its name derives from the two metre column (located in Kolonaki Square) that defined the are ...
itself is named after the small ancient column in the center of the square; the modern official name of this square is Plateia
Filikis Etaireias (Πλατεία Φιλικής Εταιρείας) named for the "Friendly Society" that supported Greek independence. Originally, Kolonaki Square was just an area of open ground (around 1890) containing the column, and was only later planted with trees and designated as a square in about 1895–1900.
The square is one block west of
Vassilissis Sofias Avenue
Vasilissis Sofias Avenue () is a major avenue in the east side of Athens, the Greek capital. The avenue was originally part of the Kifisias Avenue. The part from Syntagma Square to the intersection with Alexandras Avenue was renamed after Qu ...
and is entered by Kanari Street on the southwest, Koumbari Street to the southeast, Kapsali Street to the east, Patriarchou Ioakeim Street to the north, Anagnostopoulou street to the northwest and Tsakalof and Skoufa streets to the west. In the center of the square there is a small ancient column (the square and district are named for the "little column"). This a well-known spot for drinking coffee and
people watching
People-watching or crowd watching is the act of observing people and their interactions as a subconscious doing. It involves picking up on idiosyncrasies to try to interpret or guess at another person's story, interactions, and relationships with ...
.
Gallery
File:Kolonaki Kolonakiou.jpg, The little column in the square
File:Kolonaki_Square_circa_1895.png, Kolonaki Square ca.1895
File:Kolonaki-square-1925.jpg, The square in 1925
File:Kolonaki Square 3.jpg, View of the square
External links
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Squares in Athens
{{Squares in Greece