The editors’ selection

At the foot of Lycabettus Hill, in the upscale neighbourhood of Kolonaki, Kora is Athens’ first sourdough-specialist bakery. What was once one of the city’s most popular gay clubs had lain empty for a decade before founders Maria Alafouzou and Ianthi Michalaki enlisted local studio En-Route Architecture to transform it into their new bakery. The result is a vibrant yellow and white-fronted space with floor-to-ceiling windows filled with crusty loaves, flaky croissants and sticky cinnamon rolls.
korabakery.com

This three-storey space at the foot of a 1960s apartment building in the neighbourhood of Metaxourgeio is dedicated to the late artist Alekos Fassianos. There’s more than his paintings on display: everything from door handles to light fixtures and seating was designed by the artist. Born in Athens in 1935, he studied at the city’s School of Fine Arts before moving to Paris in 1960, where he lived for 35 years. While other painters were looking to the European avant-garde for inspiration, Fassianos turned to his Greek heritage instead. He became known for his colourful paintings and lithographs inspired by mythology and the Byzantine churches he grew up visiting with his priest grandfather. The new museum, which is run by his daughter Viktoria, will host rotating exhibitions of his work as well as talks and educational programmes.
alekosfassianos.gr

In Athens, a new cultural space has opened in a former tobacco factory. Though the city has seen its fair share of new cultural institutions in the past couple of years, a 6,500 sq m space still feels like something of an exception. Many suspect that it could offer a new lease on life to the Kolonos neighborhood and it looks like they might be right. Neon’s first exhibition, Portals – which investigates the relationship between disruption and artistic creation – has already drawn in a slew of locals since it opened on 11 June. The show runs until the end of 2021.