By type of crime
- 16Overall safety
- 15Property crime
- 18Violent crime
Monastiraki scores 15 out of 100 (modelled estimate, Eurostat 2021–2024) for property crime — high crime, on a scale where 50 is the average for Greece. Monastiraki has no police figures of its own. Its estimate starts from Athens's rate — Athens scores 28 for property crime — and is adjusted for documented local reporting about Monastiraki. An estimated 2,299 people live there: the 2021 census counts the surrounding community as a whole, and this is its share by area.
The score is absolute, not a ranking: 50 is the offence rate of Greece as a whole and every doubling of the rate costs the same points, so any two places compare directly. How the scores are made
Updated · police figures: Eurostat 2021–2024 · What's new
What Monastiraki is actually like
Monastiraki is the hinge of tourist Athens: the square where Ermou, the flea market, the Ancient Agora and the Acropolis approach all meet, and the interchange between Line 1 and Line 3, which puts Piraeus port and the airport one ride away. It is relentlessly busy from mid-morning to midnight and is the single most crowded piece of ground in the city centre.
After dark
The square and Ermou stay full until late, with buskers, rooftop bars and a young drinking crowd on the steps. It is not a place where you feel alone; the risk here is your pockets, not your safety.
What to watch for
- Pickpocketing at Monastiraki metro station and on the Line 1 (green line) trains between Piraeus and the centre - consistently named with Syntagma and Omonia as the top three stations
- Organised pickpocket teams working the boarding crush on the platforms, and the Monastiraki flea market crowds
- Bracelet and rose scams at the flea market and along Ermou
- Restaurant overcharging around the square perimeter - ask for a printed menu with prices before ordering
Staying here
Excellent for a short, sight-focused trip: you can walk to nearly everything and reach the airport without changing trains. The trade-off is noise and crowds. Choose Plaka or Thiseio if you want the same walkability with calm.
Reputation against reality. Monastiraki reads as risky online mostly because it is where the largest number of visitors are concentrated, so it generates the largest number of theft reports; per head it is no worse than any other European tourist square. Forum regulars who have stayed there report no problems at all.
Streets and squares: Monastiraki Square · Ermou · Adrianou · Athinas · Monastiraki flea market · Monastiraki metro station
Other neighbourhoods in Athens
Nearby municipalities
Questions people ask
Is Monastiraki safe?+
SafetyMap estimates Monastiraki (Μοναστηράκι) at 15 out of 100 for property crime — high crime, on a scale where 50 is the Greek average. It is a modelled estimate, not a count of crimes recorded there: it comes from the estimate for Athens, adjusted for documented local reporting about Monastiraki; there are no police figures for Monastiraki itself. As a rate, the estimate comes to roughly 3,400 property and 270 violent offences per 100,000 residents a year. The written notes on this page class it as “Ordinary precautions”.
Is Monastiraki safe at night?+
The square and Ermou stay full until late, with buskers, rooftop bars and a young drinking crowd on the steps. It is not a place where you feel alone; the risk here is your pockets, not your safety.
How does Monastiraki compare with the rest of Athens?+
Monastiraki has no police figures of its own. Its estimate starts from Athens's rate — Athens scores 28 for property crime — and is adjusted for documented local reporting about Monastiraki.