By Alex Aliferis
I traveled to Greece to see the motherland, but what I saw in Athens was disappointing—graffiti was everywhere.
I spent a few days walking and hanging out in Athens. What struck me most was how much graffiti covered the city. Frankly, Athens is an ugly city because of it. Let me explain.
While in Greece, I spoke to many American and international tourists. I went on two separate tours to different parts of the country. The topic of graffiti came up more than once. One tour operator explained to a group of tourists that graffiti in Athens isn’t necessarily a sign of gangs or criminals. She described it as street art, even suggesting that Greeks in Athens have convinced themselves of this idea.
But let’s be honest—tourists notice the graffiti, and it makes Athens look bad.
Graffiti is not art. It’s vandalism. It’s a crime.
I saw graffiti everywhere: in major tourist spots, at the marina where people board ships to the islands, even near ancient ruins. It gives off the impression that Athens is a city struggling with crime and neglect. This isn’t just about Athens—it applies to neighboring areas too, like Paleo Faliro, Alimos, and Piraeus, all plagued by the same problem.
As I walked from Mitropoleos Street in Syntagma Square down to Monastiraki, I passed beautiful shops, cafes, and restaurants—all defaced by graffiti. I even took a picture at an ancient Athenian ruin and sent it to a friend in the U.S. His first reaction? “What a shame about the graffiti—it’s so disrespectful.”
In the U.S., graffiti is treated as a serious offense. People who vandalize public spaces are often arrested, and cities actively fund programs to remove graffiti. We hire teams dedicated to cleaning it up.
Greek citizens should not have to accept this kind of behavior. It’s up to them to demand change—to call out their mayor, their city council, and their local leaders. Athens, like all Greek cities, should be clean and welcoming, especially for visitors.
So who’s responsible for fixing this? The Athens mayor and city council must take the lead. Local police should arrest vandals, and the city should fund efforts to clean or paint over the graffiti—using effective techniques like those employed in the U.S.
Want to help? Contact the Greek Embassy in the U.S. at 202-939-1300 and ask them to push for a clean-up of Athens and surrounding cities. This also goes for towns, highways, and tourist areas across Greece.
Let’s Make Greece Beautiful Again.
It resembles New York City in the 70’s. Very ugly. No doubt about it. But America was able to cut this bad habbit. Greece is unable. Unless walls are painted with anti-graffiti material. Most Athenians don’t see it any more. Its part of the landscape. For us that come from outside of the country, its very visible
I’ve see graffiti in Paris and London, but nothing like Athens
Who will follow the advice of this author and make some phone calls? Greece should NOT have graffitti! Respect!
I remember stopping in NYC for a few days on my way home after spending a month+ in Athens. To my surprise, NY looked much more civil. My eyes had been polluted by so much graffiti everywhere, that the tagging of bridges and trains seemed tame in NY. It was like comparing Konstantinos Argyros to Post Malone. Guess which one is Athens (hint: it’s not based on their nationality).
They need to handle graffiti the way Singapore handles it… PUBLIC CANING! Graffiti would end overnight!
Athens is such a beautiful city without the graffiti. There’s only one way to stop the vandals – remove the graffiti as soon as it appears. If it doesn’t stay up the vandals will stop.
Just been to Kalamata for a holiday and the graffiti is the same there and depressingly ugly. It really puts me off as a tourist and makes me think negatively about going again.