Well, Greek President Karolos Papoulias may not be strolling in the Presidential Gardens on Sundays, but he has started opening the gate to the general public every Sunday (except holidays) from 10 AM until 2 PM.
I’ve often marveled at how I can just walk up to the fence and snap a photo from the sidewalk and how when I walk home along Vasilios Georgiou II that I often find the driveway gate wide open – giving me a sneak peak into the gardens beyond the high walls. But I guess that wasn’t enough for the Greek President, he wanted me and others like me to have a chance to wander through his 6 acres of lush, green space. The grounds, which were once the Palace vegetable because of the fertile nature of the soil in this area, are planted with over 140 types of plants, trees and bushes. Some of the trees are more than 100 years old.
The Presidential Gardens are located beside the President’s home on Herodou Attikou Street. The mainsion was the former Crown Prince’s Palace, which was designed by Ernst Ziller was completed in 1897. It served briefly as the Royal Palace when a fire destroyed the official Royal Palace (today’s Parliament building) and has been the official home of the President of Greece since 1974 (although from 1924 until 1935, when the King returned, the President lived here as well).