Syntagma Square
Syntagma Square features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Athens. Give it roughly ~30 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type square
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Athens Athens guide
About Syntagma Square
Constitution Square is the heart of Athens, where kilted Evzones guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, change on the hour, and a metro station hides a 2,600-year-old aqueduct.
Syntagma (Constitution) Square is the central square of Athens. It was renamed from Palace Square after the uprising of 3 September 1843, when a movement led by the cavalry officer Dimitrios Kallergis massed before the palace and forced King Otto to grant Greece its first constitution. A large marble fountain from the mid-nineteenth century stands at its centre, flanked by two shaded green areas.
On the square's western side is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, guarded around the clock by Evzones of the Presidential Guard. A pair is relieved every hour, with a full ceremonial changing of the guard and a military band on Sunday mornings. Their ceremonial uniform includes the pleated foustanella kilt and red tsarouchia clogs topped with black pompoms. The Syntagma metro station beneath the square displays finds unearthed during its construction, including part of a sixth-century-BC aqueduct and ancient graves.
Did you know? Tradition says the Evzones' white foustanella kilt is sewn with exactly four hundred pleats, one for each year Greece spent under Ottoman rule. It is a powerful symbol, even if no official tailor's manual actually confirms the count.
How long is a visit to Syntagma Square?
Set aside roughly ~30 min for Syntagma Square. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Syntagma Square worth your time?
Syntagma Square is among the 35 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Athens, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Athens
Day 2 of the Athens in 2 days itinerary →Day 3 of the Athens in 3 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Syntagma Square
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