15 min
50 min
50 min
M1 · M2
2.4 / km²
0 - one reason for the Mixed verdict
2
877
−21% vs city
Counted from OpenStreetMap and Inside Airbnb (CC BY 4.0)
Poor after dark
Wikivoyage names Vathis Square and the streets between Agiou Konstantinou and Karolou as places locals avoid at night, and drug use in the open happens by day as well. Nothing here is dangerous to walk through at 10:00; after dark, take a taxi to the door.
Staying in Omonia & Vathis Square
This is the district behind Omonia Square: Agiou Konstantinou, Vathis Square and Agios Pavlos, out towards Larissa station. It was built as the grand approach to the city from the railway and it is still lined with hotels, many of them the cheapest central rooms in Athens, often half what Plaka charges.
The practical case is real. Omonia is the M1/M2 interchange, Larissa station and the Metaxourgeio stop are at the edge, and everything that leaves Athens by train or bus is close. Monastiraki is fifteen minutes on foot.
It is also the part of the centre locals tell you to avoid at night, and they mean these streets specifically: Vathis Square, and the blocks between Agiou Konstantinou and Karolou. Drug use in the open happens in daylight, sex work around the side streets at night, and there is not a single notable sight in the district to make the walk back worth it. It is a cheap bed for a night before a train, not a base for a week.
What works
- The cheapest central rooms in Athens, often half the Plaka rate
- Omonia is the M1/M2 interchange, so anywhere in the city is one change
- Close to Larissa station for trains north
- Fifteen minutes on foot to Monastiraki
What does not
- The streets locals tell you to avoid after dark, by name
- Open drug use by day, not only at night
- No notable sight anywhere in the district
- The walk home from Plaka ends in the worst blocks of the centre
Athenians hold negative perceptions of the areas around Omonia Square. Locals advise you to avoid these areas late at night. The area is notorious for pickpockets and prostitutes, and there are many people who use drugs in the open, even during the day.Other places to avoid are Vathi square and the area between Agiou Konstantinou and Karolou/Marni.