Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis inaugurated infrastructure upgrades y at the Kerameikos archaeological site, part of a broader effort to connect Athens' scattered ancient monuments into a single walkable network for visitors.
Mr. Mitsotakis said the improvements make it easier to trace the same path ancient Athenians once walked, while preserving the site's distinctive landscape and showcasing its sculptures.
He described the route as now linking Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Acropolis, and the ancient Agora — much of it funded through Greece's Recovery and Resilience Fund — before culminating at Kerameikos, the site Thucydides called Athens' most beautiful suburb.
Mr. Mitsotakis noted Kerameikos included both a residential quarter inside the ancient city walls and, beyond them, potters' workshops, a cemetery and the public burial ground where Pericles delivered his funeral oration honoring Athenians who died for the city — a text Mr. Mitsotakis said feels increasingly relevant as democracy faces challenges from multiple directions today.
The prime minister praised Culture Minister Lina Mendoni for overseeing roughly €350 million in more than 100 separate cultural interventions across Attica, which he said have helped position Athens as a standalone destination rather than merely a gateway to Greece's islands, citing rising visitor numbers over the past year.
Mr. Mitsotakis closed by emphasizing that Greece completed its Recovery Fund-financed projects, including the Kerameikos upgrade, on schedule and without losing any allocated funding, calling the visit — despite rainy weather — validation that the investments are making the historic site better known to both tourists and Athenians themselves.