What’s New in the Athenian Riviera—the Best Hotels, Restaurants, and Shops

In the 1960s, the stretch of coastline just south of Athens—beginning at the port of Piraeus and sprawling some 40 miles along the western shore of the Attica Peninsula—was the place to see and be seen. Brigitte Bardot, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Frank Sinatra, and other celebrities vacationed there, camping out at the Astir Palace—the grande dame of Riviera elegance and a fixture in films, fashion shoots, and society pages. In the 1970s, however, once travelers could reach the Greek islands directly by air, the area’s fortunes began to fade.

But the tides are changing once again. In 2019, the Astir Palace reopened as the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens, kicking off a renaissance that, in the past two years, has included the arrival of more stylish hotels, restaurants, and beach clubs.

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The suburb of Vouliagmeni, where the Four Seasons sits, saw the opening last year of the Astir Marina, with 50 berths for yachts and mega-yachts. There’s also a shopping complex, with boutiques for Greek fashion brands like Zeus & Dione and Karkalis. 

In the upmarket neighborhood of Glyfada, 10 minutes north of Vouliagmeni, the Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens has been generating buzz since it opened in the fall. The brand’s first European outpost is housed in a Modernist building from the 1970s, which has been given an update by the French design firm Ciguë and has a swim club where guests can stretch out by the pool on retro-striped loungers.

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New restaurants are diverging from traditional taverna fare. Among them is Bungalow 7, where chef Dinos Fotinakis—who made his name at Mykonos’s acclaimed Beefbar—has crafted a menu that elegantly blends classic Italian dishes with Asian flavors, such as carbonara with Wagyu bacon and matcha tiramisu. Also worth a stop are Sofi’s Eatery, a café and deli that’s become a popular brunch spot in Vouliagmeni, and Oven Manufactory, a sceney bakery and coffee shop in the heart of Glyfada. 

Sandwiched between these two glamorous neighborhoods is the One&Only Aesthesis, set within 50 acres of forest reserve overlooking the Saronic Gulf. There are 95 bungalows spread across the grounds—some tucked among olive trees and bougainvillea, others right on the water—each with wood paneling, floor-to-ceiling windows, and expansive outdoor spaces with showers and fireplaces. 

Nearby is 91 Athens Riviera, which was opened last June by Greek hospitality brand Domes. Accommodations take the form of futuristic tents, with canvas strung across domed structures, and include all the trappings you’d expect on a luxury safari, like canopy beds and private plunge pools.

A version of this story first appeared in the August 2025 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline “Age of the Aegean.”