The Ellinikon: a new city on the old airport

About The Ellinikon: a new city on the old airport

By the ULTIMATE Athens Editorial Team

Picture it: a vast green park flowing down to a golden shore, children playing in fountains, a slender green skyscraper rising against the blue, cafés and boutiques along a new seaside promenade. This is the Ellinikon, rising on the runways of Athens’s old airport, and it is one of the most exciting things happening anywhere in Europe.

Join the debate on the Ellinikon and the Riviera Tower ↓

From runway to riviera

For more than sixty years, this stretch of coast was where Athens said hello and goodbye. The airport opened in 1938 as a little airfield, grew into the city’s international airport after the Second World War, and gained a graceful East Terminal by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen. Generations of travellers had their first glimpse of Greece here, stepping out into the heat with the sea glittering just beyond the runway.

When the new airport opened in 2001, the planes left and the silence moved in. Venues were built on the old aprons and hangars for the 2004 Olympic Games, and then, for years, it was a place of empty runways, weeds pushing through the tarmac and fences along the shore. For years, one of the most beautiful pieces of coast in Athens was locked away.

When the new airport opened in 2001, the planes left and the silence moved in.

The dream

Now that is changing, and it is a joy to watch. Lamda Development is turning the whole site, about 6.2 million square metres, into a brand-new seaside district for the city, with an estimated investment of around €8 billion. By late 2025 there were more than 40 active building sites, about 3,000 workers and 18 contractors on the ground. It is one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Europe, and you can feel the energy every time you pass.

A park the size of a town, running down to the sea

The heart of it all will be the Ellinikon Park, about 2 million square metres of green, designed by the landscape architects Sasaki and described by the developer as the largest coastal park in the Mediterranean. Imagine walking from the city through olive trees, meadows, water gardens and shady groves all the way to the sea, with the coastal road along Poseidonos Avenue being put underground so the park can flow straight down to the shore. A new coastal front, with promenades and beaches, will give Athenians back a seafront they have not been able to enjoy for generations.

You do not have to wait to get a taste of it. The Ellinikon Experience Park is already open, with gardens, walking and cycling paths, playgrounds and a water maze where children run through the fountains on summer evenings, beautifully lit after dark. The new Sports Park is opening in phases, with an Olympic-size pool due at the end of 2026 and new football pitches to follow in early 2027.

The Riviera Tower

Rising over it all is the Riviera Tower, designed by Foster + Partners: around 200 metres and 50 floors, the tallest building in Greece and the country’s first green residential skyscraper, with planting woven through its terraces and about 170 homes looking out over the Saronic Gulf. Seeing it climb above the coast, floor by floor, has become one of the great sights of the Athens Riviera.

Neighbourhoods by the sea

Around the park, whole new neighbourhoods are taking shape. Little Athens is planned as a green city within the city, with more than 1,100 homes by Greek and international architects and more than 100 shops, cafés and restaurants at street level, all within a short walk of the park and the beach. On the coast, the Cove Residences and Cove Villas offer apartments, duplexes and villas among landscaped gardens near the water, and East Village will add homes close to schools, healthcare and the mall.

Demand has been extraordinary: by the summer of 2026, all 315 homes on the coastal front had been sold and around 90 per cent of the homes in the first phase of Little Athens reserved. The first residents are expected to move in by Easter 2027, with more than 1,000 apartments due by 2028.

Shopping, dining and the marina

For shopping and long lunches, Riviera Galleria, designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, will bring around 100 shops and restaurants to about 23,000 square metres by the sea, with opening expected in the second half of 2027. Inland, the Ellinikon Mall is planned as the largest and most advanced shopping centre in Greece. Add a marina with a luxury hotel, further hotels, an integrated resort for entertainment and leisure, and you can see why the Riviera is buzzing.

A place to live, learn and work

This is not just somewhere to visit; it is a real district, with new schools, health and wellness facilities and offices, including a research and development campus announced with ION Group. The idea is a modern, walkable neighbourhood where almost everything you need is a short stroll away.

The debate

Not everyone is convinced. A project on this scale was always going to divide opinion, and the Ellinikon has its critics as well as its fans. The Riviera Tower in particular has sparked debate: supporters see an elegant, green landmark and a symbol of a confident new Athens, while others question whether a skyscraper belongs on the coast at all and how it will change the skyline of the Riviera. There are also questions about how open the new seafront and park will feel, and who the new homes are really for, given their high prices.

Supporters point to the jobs, the investment, the return of a long-closed coastline to the city and a vast new park where once there were only runways. Whichever side you are on, it is one of the most important changes to the face of Athens in a generation, and we would love to hear what you think in the discussion below.

Visiting today, and tomorrow

Getting here is easy: Elliniko station on metro line 2 is right by the site, and the coastal tram runs along the Riviera between the centre, Glyfada and Voula. Come now for the Experience Park and its events, and come back as the park, the beaches and the promenades open. Picture a summer evening on the new seafront, with the tower glowing above and the city strolling past: we can’t wait.

The Ellinikon at a glance

Figures and dates from the developer and public reports; timetables for large projects can change.

Listings, fees, stock and opening hours change, so please contact The Ellinikon: a new city on the old airport directly before you visit.