If you’re anything like me, one of the first things you check out when you visit a city is its bookstores. I can only say that I’m sorry for all the bookworms who’ve passed through Athens over the years and weren’t aware of the existence of this here gem of a shop.
“Platonos Politeia” is Greek for Plato’s Republic. “Politeia” can also mean state (as in the United States) or land/country. Quite literally, Politeia is the land, the republic of books.
I’m going to be perfectly clear with you: when it comes to size, selection and prices, this is hands-down the best bookshop in Athens. This is where I bought my José Saramago collection; my Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy of Four; my first Discworld novel… I could go on, but the point is that you can find just about anything here. It’s so big as to have four separate entrances divided by genre: literature, fiction and sci-fi, non-fiction and arts & misc.
One of the biggest reasons I feel so excited to be sharing this spot with you is that Politeia has a surprisingly large selection of books in English as well as Greek – as good if not better than the likes of big media chains like Public but with stunningly better prices. The only reason I don’t visit more often is because it’s virtually impossible to leave without spending half the day browsing and then buying some title or other I didn’t even know existed before. Highly recommended.
