HFBC and STASY celebrate Christmas with books at the center

A Christmas tree, different from the usual ones, decorated with books and a book exchange library in an unexpected spot in the center of Athens, “transport” Metro passengers to the exciting world of books during the holidays.

This is the first collaboration between the Athens Metro and the Hellenic Foundation for Books and Culture, the beginning of a series of joint actions aimed at promoting reading.

From Monday, December 8, Syntagma, the central Metro station, became a meeting point for book lovers of all ages. The first library in the Metro network, which is open to passengers, opens its doors and a series of events throughout the holiday season took place, such as theatrical games, puppet theater, storytelling, fairy tales, carols, and bookbinding workshops.

For two weekends, on December 13 and 14 and December 20 and 21, 2025, activities for young and old were hosted at the station, with books taking center stage.

The book exchange library in Syntagma is located on the first level of the station and is the first to operate in a Metro station. STASY employees collected the books that will initially fill the library shelves. This is a pilot phase, with the aim of bringing books into the public space. The way it works is simple: passengers are given the opportunity to borrow the book they want and return it when they have finished reading it, with the request that it be in the same good condition as when they received it. This initiative requires everyone’s support and cooperation in order to become established and expand to other stations.

Images from the events