Kolonaki · Athens
Monsieur Didot.
Six rooms in an 1890 neoclassical townhouse. Named for a French philhellene printer. Sina and Didotou, Kolonaki.
Monsieur Didot occupies a neoclassical mansion built in 1890 at the corner of Sina and Didotou streets in Kolonaki — the street named after the same man the hotel honours. Ambroise Firmin Didot was a French publisher, typographer and committed philhellene whose family established the first printing press in the newly formed Greek state. The property was conceived by civil engineers Natalia Georgopoulou and Margarita Papaioannou and designed by Athens studio BaBatchas. Six rooms and suites, each named after a literary form.
"Some fifty years ago, John Lennon and Yoko Ono came to Athens incognito. They stayed here."
The building sits at the corner of Sina and Didotou — a street named after the man the hotel honours. Ambroise Firmin Didot was a French typographer, publisher and committed philhellene who supported Greek independence and whose family established the first printing press in the newly formed Greek state in the 19th century. The mansion was built in 1890. Civil engineers Natalia Georgopoulou and Margarita Papaioannou — who met on their first day at university in Athens — bought and restored it with Athens design studio BaBatchas, preserving the structure with minimum alteration: hand-painted ceilings, carved fireplaces, a solid marble balcony, vintage mosaics, and a wooden staircase that anchors the house.
Six rooms, each named after a literary form. The Tale and The Novel are suites. The Ballad, the Sonnet, the Anthem, and the Ode are rooms — the Sonnet has a marble fireplace and a secret door; the Anthem opens onto a balcony; the Ode is a penthouse with metal-framed windows and a private terrace. Breakfast arrives in the room each morning: kayana, Cretan smoked pork, sausage from Mani, Greek yoghurt, local cheeses. Or on the rooftop, if preferred. Natalia’s younger sister Tatiana runs the hotel day to day.
Three streets from the Benaki Museum. Five minutes on foot from Panepistimio metro. The neighbourhood runs deep into booksellers, galleries, independent publishers, and the French Archaeological School. Some fifty years ago, John Lennon and Yoko Ono came to Athens incognito. They stayed here.
1890
Since
6
Keys
