Panepistimiou Street (named after the University of Athens the central building of which is on the upper corner) is a major street in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 that runs one way for non-transit vehicles since 2002 from Amalias Avenue

Amalias Avenue

Vasilissis Amalias Avenue is a major avenue linking Andrea Syngrou Avenue along with Athanasiou Diakou Street, a small artery to Vouliagmenis Avenue and Panepistimiou Street along with Vassilissis Sofias Avenue...

, Syntagma Square

Syntagma Square

Syntagma Square , is located in central Athens, Greece. The Square is named after the Constitution that King Otto was forced to grant the people after a popular and military uprising, on September 3, 1843....

 and Vassilissis Sofias Avenue

Vassilissis Sofias Avenue

Vasilissis Sofias Avenue is a major avenue in the east side of Athens, the Greek capital. The avenue was originally part of the Kifisias Avenue. The part from Syntagma Square to the intersection with Alexandras Avenue was renamed after Queen Sophia the consort of King Constantine I...

 to Omonoia Square

Omonoia Square

Omonoia Square is a central square in Athens. It marks the northern corner of the downtown area defined by the city plans of the 19th century, and is one of the city's principal traffic hubs...

 in which is now a pedestrian crossing and before an intersection. Its total length is about 1.2 km. The street was formally renamed as Eleftherios Venizelos

Eleftherios Venizelos

Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...

 Avenue in the 1980s (after the famous Prime Minister), but is still known by its historical name. It has six lanes, of which five are for traffic and one eastbound lane for transit buses only. Most of the street runs almost diagonally from southeast to northwest.

Buildings along the street include the Bank of Greece

Bank of Greece

The Bank of Greece is the nationalcentral bank of Greece, located in Athens on Panepistimiou Street, with several branches across the country. Founded in 1927...

, Athens Eye Clinic, the University of Athens, the Academy of Athens

Academy of Athens (modern)

The Academy of Athens is Greece's national academy, and the highest research establishment in the country. It was established in 1926, and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Education...

, the National Library

National Library of Greece

The National Library of Greece is situated near the center of city of Athens. It was designed by the Danish architect Theophil Freiherr von Hansen, as part of his famous Trilogy of neo-classical buildings including the Academy of Athens and the original building of the Athens...

, the Numismatic Museum

Numismatic Museum of Athens

The Numismatic Museum in Athens is one of the most important museums of Greece and houses one of the greatest collections of coins, ancient and modern, in the world...

, Titania Hotel

Titania (Hotel)

Titania Hotel is a historic hotel in the center of Athens, Greece. It is located on Panepistimiou Street, in the heart of the historical and commercial centre of the Greek capital, between the two major squares, Syntagma & Omonoia. Titania has been renovated in 2004 and 2007, is decorated with the...

, Attica Department Store,as well as a part of the Grande Bretagne Hotel and the Catholic Cathedral of Athens. Many buildings as high as ten to fifteen stories line this street. Old neoclassical buildings of no higher than two to three stories used to exist until the 1950s, when a construction spree, which lasted several decades, demolished all but a few of them.

History

Originally a two-way street until after the Greek Civil War

Greek Civil War

The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...

 with bus lanes, traffic lights on major intersections as well as street lights were installed in the 1950s. Several classic films were shot in this street. The Athens Metro Red Line runs underneath with stations linking with this street including the Panepistimiou station. During construction which lasted from 1997 to 2001, part of the underground soil was removed to make the underground subway system, causing a hole of 22 m below and a sinking of the street of about 4 m. Workers filled the hole with concrete so that traffic can resume. In the 2000s, the transit buses which can run eastbound can now run two way and is at the lower end of the street.

Intersections

• Kriezotou Street
• Voukourestiou Street
  Voukourestiou Street
  Voukourestiou Street named after the Treaty of Bucharest, which in 1913 ended the second Balkan War, is a rather narrow street in the Kolonaki district of Athens known for its high-end boutiques...
  
  
• Amerikis Street
• Omirou Street (major)
• Eduardo Lo and Sina Streets
• Korai Street
• Ippokratous Street (one way westbound)
• Pesmatzoglou Street
• Charilaou Trikoupi Street
• Santarosa Street
• Emmanouil Benaki Street
• Themistokleous Street
• Aiolou
  Aiolou Street
  Aiolou Street is a street in downtown Athens, the Greek capital. It is named after Aeolus, the god of winds in Greek mythology. The street is one-way and originally ran entirely southbound but since the closure of Athinas Street in the late-1990s as part of the renovation plan, the part north...
  
   and Patission
  Patission Avenue
  Patission Street is one of the major streets in central Athens, Greece. Though it is known as Patission, its name was changed to 28 October Street, commemorating the day in 1940 that the Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas refused the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's ultimatum that Greece submit to...
  
  (formal name: 28 Oktovriou Street) Streets