Syntagma Square

Hotel Grande Bretagne, a Luxury Collection Hotel

★★★★★

For a century and a half the Grande Bretagne has been the place where Athens receives the world. It opened in 1874 on a site first occupied by a mansion of 1842, directly opposite the royal palace that is now the Hellenic Parliament, and its history reads like a history of modern Greece: it hosted officials of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, served as headquarters for the occupying forces during the Second World War, and later saw negotiations involving Winston Churchill. Today it is part of Marriott's Luxury Collection and remains the city's most prestigious hotel. Its 320 rooms include 61 suites with butler service, crowned by a Royal Suite of more than four hundred square metres on the fifth floor. Interiors are classical and opulent — marble, chandeliers, antiques and rich fabrics — and the service is polished in the old-school European way. The great draw for many guests is the GB Roof Garden restaurant and bar, which looks across the rooftops to the Acropolis, Lycabettus and the Parliament, and is one of the finest places in Athens for dinner or a drink at sunset; reserve ahead even as a guest. Downstairs, Alexander's Bar, named after the eighteenth-century tapestry of Alexander the Great that hangs there, is one of the most celebrated hotel bars in the world, and the Winter Garden serves afternoon tea beneath a glass ceiling, with a wine library of around three and a half thousand labels nearby. The location could hardly be better: Syntagma metro, with its direct line to the airport, is outside the door, and Plaka, the National Garden and Ermou Street are all a few minutes on foot.

What to know in late 2026: the GB Spa, with its indoor pool, is temporarily closed for renovation, with a selection of massages and facials offered in temporary rooms on the first floor, and the outdoor pool and its bar are seasonal, so check what is open for your dates if wellness is part of the plan. The hotel holds environmental certifications, and in summer it runs an open-air cinema. None of this dims the main attractions — the rooms, the service, the roof and the address — but it is worth knowing if you are choosing between the GB and a resort with a full spa.

Choosing a room: categories range from classic deluxe rooms to grand suites, and views vary enormously. Rooms facing Syntagma Square and the Parliament give you the bustle of the city's main square and the changing of the guard below; higher-floor rooms and suites with Acropolis views command a premium and are worth it on a special trip. Historic buildings mean room sizes and layouts differ, so be specific when booking. Breakfast is lavish, and the concierge team is skilled at arranging private guides for the Acropolis, early museum entries and restaurant reservations.

Base math: from the Grande Bretagne you can walk to Plaka in five minutes, the Acropolis Museum and the Acropolis in about twenty, Monastiraki along Ermou in fifteen, and Kolonaki and the Benaki Museum in ten. The metro from Syntagma reaches the airport and Piraeus. Rates are among the highest in the city, especially from spring to autumn, and the climate resilience fee for a five-star hotel is at its highest level from April to October. The value case is a legendary address, a roof with one of the best views in Athens, and the feeling of staying inside the city's history.