What I can see

Veikou Park belongs to the biggest parks of the city. It covers an area of ​​256 acres, it is amphitheatrical and has two entrances. From the top, where there is also a sanctuary of Zeus, the view is impressive. One can see all of northern and western Athens, Penteli and Parnitha mountains, and has a full view of OAKA from above. Combined with the greenery on the opposite side of Veikou Avenue and the rest of the greenery on the hill, which reaches up to the Attic Grove, this is a large area of urban green. The park includes open and indoor sports venues (football, basketball, tennis, pentaque), playgrounds, children’s bike track, swimming pool, skateboard court, open air movie theatre, fitness equipment, open theater, cafes, rest areas, pergolas and kiosks. The dominant plant is the pine, but there are also plane trees, cypresses, palms and bushes of many kinds.

What I can't see

It was named after the local landowner and fighter of the Greek Revolution, Lambros Veikos, whose villa is located near the park, while his grave and the graves of his family are located in the park. It has many visitors, and every September the Galatsi Festival takes place here. It is a landscape of great natural value as it hosts rich flora and fauna and improves the microclimate of the surrounding areas. The architectural design of the landscape is fragmentary, because the park was built gradually, with several changes during the decades of its operation. The series of hills stretching from Veikou Park to Attic Grove—still known as ‘Tourkovounia’ (meaning Turkish mountains, named after the Turks who camped there in 1456 after conquering the city)—once had a rich flaura. It was a favourite hiking destination of Lord Byron and was home to wild fauna, possibly even wolves, which may explain the name “Lykovounia” (meaning wolf mountains). This rich natural environment was lost over time due to landscape’s conversion into pastures and quarries, as well as the spread of urban settlements.

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