Alexander the Great Hotel – Baggeion

Built in 1889, this four-storey building was home for over 60 years to the Alexander the Great Hotel. Located at the corner of Athinas Street and Omonia Square, it was built according to designs of Ernst Ziller, and was sponsored by Ioannis Bagas.

This large building with its central, glass-covered atrium, is very similar to its twin, the Baggeion, built five years later by Ziller. These elements represented the birth of a new era for luxury hotels in the city; after 1920, the statues previously overlooking the entrance were removed, and a fourth floor was added.

Following the war, visitors gradually lost interest in the hotels around Omonia Square, and in the 1950s the hotel finally closed. Its ground floor housed a renowned creamery-cafe with the same name.

At the start of the 21st century, the building was fully renovated, and now serves as a shopping centre.