Did you know that the northern suburbs of Athens have a beautiful park? Close to the Omilo School, you will find the Sygrou Park, which belongs to the suburbs of Maroussi and Kifissia.
The park has an area of 950 acres which houses greenhouses, crops, parking, a school for agricultural education, the neoclassical Villa Sygrou and the church of St. Andrew (built by Ernest Schiller, it is the only Orthodox Gothic-style church in Greece).
The park has a rich network of dirt roads and different paths, some surfaced, some narrow footpaths, between fruit trees, pine trees, etc.
The land belonged to Andreas Sygrou, a successful and wealthy businessman. After his death, the park passed to his wife Iphigenia Sygrou, who lived in the park‘s villa for 20 years. After the death of her husband, Iphigenia Sygrou built the hospital Andrea Sygrou, made donations for the construction of the water supply system of Athens and the construction of the avenue A. Sygrou. She also donated the park to the Greek Agricultural Company.
Today a variety of seminars are taking place in the park: seminars of oinology, floriculture, of horticulture, of gardening, beekeeping etc. It is one of the best places for walking, cycling or even for a picnic in the heart of the city! Syngrou Park is best described as an area of unspoiled countryside where people can forget for a while that they are near the center of the capital city.
All the students coming for an Omilo intensive course in Athens, have the opportunity to discover this beautiful park in one of our afternoon walks from Maroussi till Kifissia. We are looking forward to introducing even more students to this small green paradise!
Note: during winter sometimes we have some days of snow in Maroussi, and then the park looks even more beautiful 🙂
Take a look at the video, with scenes of Maroussi center as well as the Singrou Park, covered in snow. (video was recorded in February 2021)