Athens Riviera by Stephanie Artarit, Assouline

Overlooking the Aegean Sea, a charming string of coastal neighbourhoods form the Athens Riviera, a serene escape from the constant activity in the city’s centre. A selection of high-end hotels lines the pristine stretch of beaches down to the southernmost point of the Attica Peninsula. The revamped Four Seasons Astir Palace, with a history of housing foreign dignitaries and film stars of the 1960s, is the most luxurious hotel in Athens, perhaps even in all of Greece. The night club, Island, is bringing back the glamour and excitement of the twentieth century bouzouki clubs reminiscent of names such as Melina Mercouri and Stavros Niarchos.

Athens is experiencing a revival—in art, night life and design. For a metropolis constantly associated with the past, the modern strides in development and culture are sometimes overlooked in favour of the ruins and artefacts from antiquity. When in fact, the juxtaposition only enhances the beauty of both. Athens Riviera puts the old-world beside the new-world and a deeper understanding of this ancient capital emerges. With one foot in the past and one foot in the future; access to both the electricity of city life and the tranquility of a beach side resort, Athens cannot be defined in simple terms. One just has to experience it for themselves.

Assouline's Athens Riviera hardcover book showcases the beauty and luxury of the Greek Capital. It's filled with 300 pages exploring the revival of art, culture and nightlife the coastal neighbourhood has experienced. Flip through to escape to a world of lavish hotels, tranquil beaches and electric nightclubs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Assouline is one of the world’s most respected publishers of high-end coffee table books. The publishing house, founded in Paris in 1994, is run by co-founders Martine and Prosper Assouline who are known as the “librarians of luxury”. Author Stéphanie Artarit began her career as a journalist and worked as a psychoanalyst for many years in Tokyo. She then went on to write the novel Variations of the Devil in 2013. Today, she divides her time between homes in Athens and the Cycladic island of Antiparos, where she also operates her boutique, Petit Tipota, and represents several French fashion labels in Greece. In 2018, she began her company, The Gang of Style, which specialises in designing in-house boutiques for luxury hotels all over the world.