Athens Dark Tourism: 8 Places most People Miss
I first came across the term dark tourism in 2023, when my partner suggested we watch David Farrier’s Netflix documentary, which I ended up loving.
A few months later, I visited a former Nazi torture site in the centre of Athens, and that curiosity only grew.
I found myself wondering what else in Athens could fall under that label.
As it turns out, quite a lot.
Athens has sites tied to the Nazi occupation, the violence of the junta, cemeteries, battlefields, abandoned hospitals, and places wrapped in grief, silence, and urban legend.
Together, they reveal a side of Athens that most people (including locals) never really see.
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Athens Dark Tourism Map
By researching and visiting the sites for this guide I discovered that most places don’t appear right in Google maps. That’s why I created this map In order to help you better plan your visits.
1. The Rifle Range (Skopeftirio) of Kaisariani
The story of the Kaisariani rifle range, where 200 Greek partisans were executed by the Nazis on May 1, 1944, resurfaced very recently when the first-ever photographic proof of the event were suddenly found in an auction on eBay.
This became a huge story here in Greece, leading to the greek ministry of culture meeting the collector and buying the entire collection.
The rifle range itself has been turned into a memorial site with black plaques with the names of the people executed on that day.
There is also a small museum dedicated to EAM, the biggest resistance force in Greece during WWII with original wartime artefacts, documents, and photographs.
The wider area is part of a massive public park, which was one of my favourite places to go when the quarantine hit. It’s very popular among university students who go there for picnics on sunny days.
2. The Athens Polytechnic
In 1973, students occupied the National Technical University of Athens in protest against the military dictatorship that had seized power in 1967.
What began as a peaceful student uprising was met with brutal force by the regime, culminating in a tank crashing through the university gates.
That short-lived but powerful act of resistance became known as the Athens Polytechnic Uprising, and it is commemorated every year on 17 November.
On that day, students and locals gather at the site to leave flowers, play music, and pay their respects. A march through Athens then follows.
The original gate, the one destroyed by the tank, is still there to see.
I would recommend stopping by to leave a flower yourself. It is a small gesture, but a meaningful one, in memory of the students who risked their own lives standing up to the dictatorship.
3. The Haidari Concentration Camp
The Haidari concentration camp (also known as Block 15) was the largest Nazi concentration camp in Greece during World War II.
It is often considered the greek equivalent of Auschwitz and Dachau.
The camp served as a place of imprisonment for Jewish people, political dissidents, and resistance fighters. It was notorious for its harsh living conditions, forced labor, and executions.
You can visit the site today, and there is a small museum there, but entry inside is not allowed.
However, the Department of Informatics at the Athens University of Economics and Business created a virtual reality app, where you take the role of a cook’s male assistant.
The story walks you through everyday scenes in the camp and its isolation ward and allows you to glimpse events, both as part of the story or in the background.
4. The EAT-ESA Museum
EAT-ESA was the Special Interrogation Section of the Greek Military Police, one of the most feared instruments of repression during the Greek military dictatorship.
It was synonymous with arrests, interrogations, torture, and the intimidation of anyone seen as an opponent of the regime.
It is a very important place, though it is hard not to feel disappointed that the original space in Parko Eleftherias has been left in such disrepair.
There is a museum now housed in the offices of the Association of Imprisoned and Exiled Members of the Resistance right next to the original building.
Inside, you will see former torture chambers and learn more about the people who were imprisoned there.
The bad thing is that it’s only open on Saturday mornings.
But for me, one of the most meaningful part of the visit is that you’ll get the chance to be shown around by members of the resistance movement, who will share these stories firsthand.
5. The Parnitha Sanatorium and the Park of Souls
From a historical point of view, this is the place most associated with dark tourism in Athens, even though the building has long been unsafe to enter after the 1999 earthquake.
Plenty of people still go inside for the atmosphere and the thrill of it, but I’d not encourage that.
The Parnitha Sanatorium began as a tuberculosis facility on Mount Parnitha. But as tuberculosis treatment changed with the spread of penicillin, the building lost its original purpose.
In 1965 it passed to the Greek National Tourism Organisation, was turned into a hotel, and later housed tourism education facilities before being abandoned in the mid-1980s.
Over the years, the abandoned complex has gathered countless urban legends about ghosts, strange noises, and unexplained sightings.
From a practical point of view, this is not the easiest stop to reach from central Athens, and I don’t think there are many ways to head up there other than by car.
Oh, and I should also mention the park of souls.
It was created in 2012 by sculptor Spyros Dasiotis, who used burned tree trunks from the surrounding area to make human figures inspired by the memories, pain, and isolation associated with the sanatorium.
While it is not dark tourism in the strict sense, it is very much part of the atmosphere of the place.
The sculptures are simple, rough, and exposed to the mountain landscape, which gives the whole place an eerie weight.
If you are already heading up to see the abandoned sanatorium, it is worth stopping here too.
6. The Marathon burial mound
The ancient Battle of Marathon was one of the most important moments in Greek history, when the Athenians defeated the advancing Persian forces against the odds.
An artificial burial mound was raised over the cremated remains of the Athenians who died in the battle of 490 BC, and it can still be visited today.
Funnily enough, I still remember a high school trip there, when our teacher casually said, “Do you see this hill? There are ancient soldiers buried inside.”
That said, getting to Marathon can be a hassle, so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a car, or you’re particularly interested in ancient history.
7. The Penteli cave
This cave was once believed to be the hideout of the infamous 18th-century outlaw Davelis.
It is said that a network of tunnels stretches deep into the mountain.
Before that, the site had been home to an ancient Greek sanctuary dedicated to Pan, and later to an Orthodox church.
Some stories also say that certain monks spent their entire lives there.
Over the years, the cave has become surrounded by stories of strange apparitions, unusual cold spots, audio disturbances, and the unsettling feeling of being watched.
While I am not personally drawn to the supernatural, I still love the eerie of mystery.
8. The First Cemetery of Athens
The First Cemetery of Athens is a very different kind of dark tourism stop.
It is not disturbing in the same way as former prisons, torture sites, or abandoned institutions, but it is still a place tied to memory, and the city’s history.
Opened in the 19th century shortly after Athens became the capital of the modern Greek state, it is the city’s oldest official cemetery and the burial place of political figures, artists, writers, and public personalities.
It is full of impressive tombs, family mausoleums, and funerary sculptures, the most famous being “The Sleeping Maiden” by Yannoulis Chalepas.
Walking through it feels quiet, heavy, and strangely beautiful at the same time.
I don’t believe that every dark tourism site should feel heavy. Some places are just good opportunities for reflection
And this is one of the places in Athens that fits that category best.
Final Thoughts
Writing this made me realise, once again, how impossible Athens is to fit into one neat category.
It can be beautiful, chaotic, funny, exhausting, and heavy, sometimes all within the same afternoon.
You can spend years focusing on the ancient sites, the cafés, the islands, and still miss the spaces that hold some of its heaviest stories.
For me, that is part of what keeps Athens interesting. The more I look into it, the more the city opens up far beyond the obvious, and that is exactly the side of it I keep trying to explore on this blog.
If you want to keep exploring, I’ve put together more guides on the best things to do in Athens, the museums I’d prioritise, and other corners of the city that are worth your time.
