The best Athens souvenirs run from olive oil, honey and worry beads to handmade leather sandals, Greek jewellery, ceramics and Korres cosmetics, found in Plaka, Monastiraki and the Central Market. Build your souvenir shopping into an easy city visit with skip-the-line sightseeing tickets and tours from My Greece Tours.
Bringing home a piece of Greece is part of the Athens travel guide. The sections below cover food and drink gifts, leather and olive wood, worry beads and evil eyes, jewellery and ceramics, cosmetics and modern gifts, and where to shop.
What are the best souvenirs to buy in Athens?
The best souvenirs to buy in Athens are food and drink like olive oil, honey and ouzo; leather sandals and olive wood; worry beads and evil-eye charms; Greek jewellery; ceramics; and cosmetics like Korres.
These choices range from edible treats to lasting keepsakes, and Athens rewards souvenir shopping with an enormous range of authentic Greek gifts to suit every taste and budget. The best souvenirs reflect genuine Greek culture, craft and produce rather than mass-made trinkets, and the city’s old quarters are full of shops, stalls and markets where you find them.
Among the most popular and authentic choices are the country’s food and drink products, such as olive oil, honey, herbs and spirits; traditional handicrafts including leather sandals and olive-wood items; cultural keepsakes like worry beads and the famous blue evil-eye charm; fine Greek jewellery inspired by ancient designs; hand-painted ceramics bearing classical motifs; and natural Greek cosmetics.
Modern, fun souvenirs such as Parthenon-printed bags and quirky shop finds round out the choice. Over the following sections, this guide sets out the best things to buy and where to find them, so you can bring home a meaningful piece of Greece. Thoughtful souvenirs make the trip last longer. They complement the shopping covered in the Athens shopping guide. Edible gifts are a favourite place to start.
What food and drink souvenirs should you buy?
The best edible souvenirs from Athens are Greek olive oil in beautiful bottles; local thyme or pine honey; herbs like oregano and Greek mountain tea; olives; and drinks such as ouzo, tsipouro and Greek wine.
Traditional sweets like loukoumi (Greek delight), baklava and pasteli also travel well and make delicious gifts. The most enjoyable souvenirs from Athens are edible and drinkable, capturing the flavours of Greece to enjoy long after the trip. Top of the list is Greek extra-virgin olive oil, renowned for its rich flavour and quality and often sold in beautifully designed bottles and tins that make handsome gifts. Greek honey is another superb choice, particularly the prized thyme and pine varieties, along with herbs and spices such as fragrant oregano, sage and mint, and the beloved Greek mountain tea, all of which you can buy loose and inexpensively in and around the Athens Central Market and on the spice street of Evripidou.
Olives and olive products, jars of preserved delicacies, and Greek spirits such as ouzo, the anise-flavoured aperitif, tsipouro and bottles of Greek wine are all popular drinkable gifts. For a sweet treat, traditional confections travel well, including loukoumi (Greek delight), sticky baklava, and pasteli, the sesame-and-honey bars. These authentic flavours of Greece are affordable, easy to pack and always welcome at home. Edible souvenirs are a delicious way to remember Athens. The food itself appears in the Greek dishes to try guide. Handmade crafts are equally tempting.
What about leather sandals and olive wood?
Handmade leather sandals are a classic Athens souvenir, sold in Monastiraki and Plaka from around €30. Olive-wood products such as boards, bowls and spoons are practical, each with a unique grain, and both are quintessentially Greek gifts.
These two handicraft souvenirs are authentic, durable and lasting reminders of Athens. Handmade leather sandals are a timeless classic, drawing on a tradition that stretches back to antiquity, and you can find them throughout the old town, especially in Monastiraki and Plaka, with budget pairs starting from around €30 or even less; some workshops are famous, including long-established sandal-makers that have crafted footwear for international celebrities and film stars, where you can have a pair fitted or even made to measure. They make a stylish, comfortable and characterful gift or personal keepsake.
Equally appealing are products carved from Greek olive wood, the beautiful, hard-wearing timber of the olive tree, prized for its rich golden colour and distinctive swirling grain that makes every piece unique. Olive-wood cutting boards, salad bowls, spoons and utensils, and small ornaments are both decorative and genuinely useful in the kitchen, combining craft and practicality. Durable, natural and unmistakably Greek, leather sandals and olive wood are among the most satisfying souvenirs to carry home from Athens. They are easy to find in the old-town markets. The flea market is detailed in the Monastiraki guide. Cultural charms carry deeper meaning.
What are worry beads and evil-eye charms?
Worry beads (komboloi) are bead strings made from amber, coral, resin or olive wood, fingered for relaxation. The blue evil-eye charm (mati) wards off bad luck and is sold as pendants, bracelets and keyrings.
Both are authentic, affordable and culturally rich Athens souvenirs. These two cultural keepsakes are deeply woven into Greek daily life. Worry beads, known as komboloi, are short strings of beads, traditionally made from materials such as amber, coral, resin, bone or olive wood, that Greeks finger, click and roll through their hands as a way to relax, pass the time and relieve stress, a charming and very Greek habit. A set of komboloi makes a tactile, affordable and authentic gift, and specialist shops in Athens offer beautiful examples in a range of materials and prices, with knowledgeable sellers happy to explain their use.
Equally iconic is the mati, the blue-and-white evil-eye charm, a powerful symbol in Greek folk belief thought to protect the wearer against bad luck and the envious “evil eye”. You will find the eye everywhere, fashioned into pendants, bracelets, rings, keyrings, wall hangings and decorations, in everything from cheap trinkets to fine jewellery, making it one of the most popular and recognisable souvenirs of all. Both the komboloi and the evil eye carry genuine cultural meaning, making them keepsakes with a story. They are sold throughout the old town. Jewellery and ceramics offer lasting beauty.
What about jewellery, ceramics and cosmetics?
Greek jewellery inspired by ancient and Byzantine designs, from gold laurel-wreath pieces to silver evil-eye pendants, makes a timeless souvenir. Ceramics with classical motifs and natural cosmetics like Korres round out the choice.
For souvenirs of lasting beauty, Athens excels in jewellery, ceramics and natural cosmetics. Greek jewellery is both timeless and symbolic, drawing on the rich traditions of ancient and Byzantine design, so you can find everything from elegant gold pieces echoing the laurel wreaths and motifs of antiquity to delicate silver evil-eye pendants and meander-patterned rings, available across a wide range of prices from museum shops, designer boutiques and the workshops of Plaka and Monastiraki.
Hand-painted ceramics make another timeless keepsake, with plates, bowls, vases and decorative tiles bearing classical Greek motifs such as the meander key pattern and ancient figures.
These pieces, in the blue-and-white of the islands or earthy terracotta tones, are beautiful to display at home.
For a more modern and easily packable gift, Greek natural cosmetics are hugely popular, above all the well-known brand Korres, whose skincare and beauty products are made with Greek ingredients such as olive oil, honey, yoghurt and herbs and which has a flagship store on the main shopping street of Ermou, alongside other Greek natural-beauty brands. These elegant, high-quality souvenirs combine Greek heritage with everyday usefulness and appeal. They make especially thoughtful gifts to bring home. The best are found across the central shopping districts. Knowing where to shop completes the picture.
Where should you buy souvenirs in Athens?
The best places for souvenirs in Athens are Plaka for crafts and jewellery; the Monastiraki flea market for sandals and antiques; Ermou Street for cosmetics; and the Central Market and Evripidou street for food and spirits.
Shop a few blocks from the busiest spots for better value, and look for genuine handmade, local products. Knowing where to shop helps you find the most authentic souvenirs at fair prices, and Athens concentrates its souvenir shopping in a few central, walkable areas. The picturesque old quarter of Plaka, beneath the Acropolis, is full of charming shops selling crafts, jewellery, ceramics, leather sandals, worry beads and gifts, making it the most pleasant place to browse, though prices on the busiest lanes can be higher. Adjoining Monastiraki, with its famous flea market and the lanes around Ifestou Street and Avissinias Square, is the classic spot for sandals, evil-eye charms, olive wood, antiques and quirky finds, often at keener prices and with room for gentle haggling.
The main shopping street of Ermou is the place for cosmetics brands like Korres and high-street shopping, while for edible and drinkable gifts, the Varvakios Central Market on Athinas Street and the spice-and-deli shops of nearby Evripidou street offer olive oil, herbs, spices, teas, olives and spirits at local prices. As a general rule, walking a few blocks away from the most crowded tourist spots brings better value and more genuine goods, and seeking out handmade, locally produced items ensures a souvenir worth keeping. With this guidance, souvenir shopping is a pleasure. The old town is profiled in the Plaka guide. The questions below cover the points visitors ask most.
How do you tell authentic Greek souvenirs from tourist-trap trinkets?
Authentic Greek souvenirs are handmade, sold by makers or specialist shops, and carry real craft or produce; tourist-trap trinkets are mass-produced, imported and clustered in the busiest lanes. Check materials and ask about origin.
The clearest sign of quality is the material and the maker. Genuine leather sandals feel supple and are stitched, not glued; real olive wood shows a swirling grain and weight; hand-painted ceramics carry small brush marks that printed transfers lack; and worry beads in amber, coral or bone differ from plastic imitations by warmth and heft. Reputable sellers name the region an olive oil or honey comes from and explain how a komboloi is used.
Location and price also signal authenticity. The stalls packed with identical fridge magnets and printed T-shirts on the most crowded corners of Plaka and Monastiraki sell imported goods at inflated prices. Walking two or three streets back toward Ermou, Athinas and Evripidou brings you to workshops, delis and specialist stores where prices reflect the craft. Buying directly from a maker, a museum shop or the Central Market keeps your money with local producers and secures a souvenir worth keeping.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I buy as a souvenir in Athens?
The best souvenirs in Athens include Greek olive oil, honey, herbs and ouzo, handmade leather sandals, olive-wood goods, worry beads (komboloi), evil-eye charms, Greek gold and silver jewellery inspired by ancient designs, hand-painted ceramics, and natural cosmetics like Korres. They range from edible treats to lasting, authentic keepsakes.
Where is the best place to buy souvenirs in Athens?
The best places to buy souvenirs in Athens are Plaka for crafts, jewellery and gifts, the Monastiraki flea market for sandals, evil eyes and antiques, Ermou Street for cosmetics and brands, and the Central Market and Evripidou street for olive oil, herbs, spices and spirits. Shopping a few blocks from the busiest spots gives better value.
What is a traditional Greek souvenir?
Traditional Greek souvenirs include worry beads (komboloi), the blue evil-eye charm (mati), handmade leather sandals, olive-wood products, and food and drink such as olive oil, honey and ouzo. Greek jewellery inspired by ancient and Byzantine designs and hand-painted ceramics with classical motifs are also classic, authentic keepsakes.
Can you take Greek olive oil and food souvenirs home on a plane?
Greek olive oil, honey and other liquids over 100 millilitres must travel in checked luggage, not hand baggage. Pack bottles in sealed bags and cushion them with clothing to prevent leaks. Dry gifts like herbs, mountain tea, pasteli and loukoumi pack easily in carry-on. Travellers heading outside the European Union should check their own country’s customs limits on food imports before buying large quantities.