AKTO Art & Design College

Greece is the birthplace of Western art.

No study of the history of art is complete without an extensive tour of its principal museums, where almost all that is best in ancient Greek marble and bronze sculpture is on display.

AKTO's Athens and Thessaloniki campuses are also located at the heart of the country's largest urban centres. Both are vibrant university towns, demographically young, and filled with retail commerce, museums, performing arts and nightlife.

Athens Life

AKTO's two Athens campuses are located in the heart of the capital. Its main building is on Evelpidon Street, just off Pedion Areos, the largest open park space in Athens. The Evelpidon campus is across the street from The park incorporates the Panhellenic Athletic Association, open to use by students who purchase an annual membership. Its second campus is on Kranaou Street in Thiseio, just off the ancient Agora. Both are within walking distance of the city's most important sites, museums and monuments, as well as the city's nightlife and fine dining.

From the two campuses it is easy to walk to the Acropolis and the new Acropolis Museum, the National Archaeological Museum, the Athenian Agora and the later Roman Agora, as well as the ancient cemetery of the Kerameikos. Also a few minutes' walk from the campus are the Athens observatory and the old gasworks, known as Gazi, now converted to exhibition and office space. The historic downtown area with its 19^th century public buildings is a 15 minute walk away. So here students can study art and architecture from the Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and 19^th century Neoclassical periods all within hundreds of yards of each other.

The Thiseo campus is also situated in a lively area of entertainment and cultural diversity. Some of the best restaurants in Athens and much of the live music and nightlife are in the Kerameikos, Gazi, Thiseio and Psyrri areas, all within a 20 minute walking radius of the campus.

Athens life has been enriched by enormous investments in infrastructure such as the pedestrianisation of the streets around the Acropolis, allowing visitors to circumambulate it without the noise of traffic. A National Gallery with an extensive permanent collection operates in the city centre, soon to be joined by Athens' first Museum of Contemporary Art.

Further afield students can see the ancient  marble stadium where the first modern  Olympics were held in 1896. A short drive  from Athens is the temple to Poseidon at  Sounio, whence king Aigeus fell into the sea  according to myth. Also nearby are the Doric  remnants of the girls' boarding school of  Brauron, specialising in unruly teenagers. And  Aigina, crowned by a Classical temple to  Athena, is only an hour's sail away. Students  can also take day trips by bus to the ancient  oracle at Delphi, and to the palace of Agamemnon at Mycenai.

Thessaloniki Life

AKTO's Thessaloniki campus is also located at a recently re-developed area at 38-40, 26 October Street and A. Georgiou.

At the new west entrance of the city, the new campus is located at a place with many development potentials. It has a great view to the harbor of Thessaloniki, easy access to the main roads of the city and really close to the new central bus station "MACEDONIA" and the new Rail Road station.

The area offers many choices of entertainment. It is close to the Water Supply Museum, which has a gallery, theatres, restaurants and concert space. In a short distance from the new campus stretches the long promenade of the Thermaikos gulf, which following a recent reformation, is a great place for pleasant walks. Some of the best restaurants of the city are at the end of this walking stroll, at the area locally known as Laladika.