Last Updated on 29 September 2026 by Vanessa

Looking for a fun and unique spot to grab coffee or lunch in Athens’ Thissio neighborhood? How about enjoying your drink or snack while hanging out with rescue cats—and supporting a good cause at the same time?

What makes Cat Café Athens meaningful is its focus on giving rescued cats a safe place to stay while they wait for their forever homes. The café helps support their care and works to connect them with adopters. Also, a portion of its revenue goes toward animal welfare organizations.

I stopped by Cat Café Athens on June 3, 2026, to give you a good idea what the experience is like. I’ll take you inside the café, walk you through the menu, explain how the tickets work, and share everything else you’ll want to know before visiting. And yes—there are lots of cat photos! 🐾

Cat Café Athens: a coffee break with rescued cats

What is Cat Café Athens?

Cat Café Athens is part café, part home for rescued cats. You can stop in for a coffee or something to eat while around 15 to 20 cats wander through the space, nap, play, or climb around you.

The café opened in September 2023 and was the first cat café in Greece. But the idea had been brewing for years. Founders Natalie Sellinidou and Dimitris Sgouros first visited a cat café in Seoul in 2015 and instantly fell in love with the concept. Natalie later went to other cat cafés around the world while working as a flight attendant. When her own cat saved her from heart failure, Natalie knew she wanted to give back to the creatures that had saved her life. That was what eventually led her to create Cat Café Athens.

Cat Café Athens isn’t only about coffee and cats, either. It regularly holds events and talks on subjects such as pet health and pet loss, as well as other topics related to living with animals.

In 2025, the founders also launched the first Cat Festival in Greece, bringing together animal-welfare groups, adopters, and visitors for talks, activities, and adoption events.

👉 Want to understand why their mission matters? This in-depth guide to stray cats in Greece tells you everything you need to know.

The cats

There are generally around 15 to 20 cats at Cat Café Athens at any given time. When I visited, there were 17, although I didn’t get to see all of them. Some were hiding, while others were new arrivals that the café kept separate for medical reasons or to give them time to adjust to their new surroundings. One cat, Jasmine, was staying in the gift shop away from the others. She’s the official “merchandising manager” of the café.

Another permanent resident is Jordan, a black-and-white cat who has become the café’s face and mascot.

All the other cats are rescued cats waiting to be adopted. The café originally took in cats through the Ilioupolis Animal Welfare Union and now works with the ZEIL animal-welfare organization to find them homes.

Since opening, more than 200 rescued cats have found homes through the café.

🐱 Want to adopt one of the cats but live abroad? Our guide to adopting a stray cat from Greece walks you through the process step by step.

The building

The café occupies an original Athens building in Thissio, close to the Upper Petralona and Kerameikos border. It still looks much as it did when it was built, complete with a patio with climbing trees. That makes Cat Café Athens one of the few cat cafés with its own yard.

The patio is also the coziest part of the café, although it can get very hot there. If you don’t handle the heat well, choose a spot out of direct sunlight.

A nice addition to the interior is the giant spinning wheel that gives you the chance to win a treat for one of the cats, among other things. The café also has a donation box where you can leave spare change for stray cats in need.

There’s also gift shop selling cat food, treats, toys, and other cat-related items such as T-shirts, socks, board games, and books.

What’s on the menu

Since the focus is on the animals, the Cat Café Athens menu is deliberately simple, but everything is prepared with quality and high hygiene standards in mind.

For food, you can choose from granola with yogurt or sandwiches with fillings such as eggs or falafel.

For drinks, you have quite a bit more choice. The menu includes coffee, tea, hot chocolate, chai latte, smoothies, and homemade lemonade, as well as beer, wine, cocktails, and sangria. If you don’t drink alcohol, there are also non-alcoholic beers and cocktails.

Have an allergy or need your order prepared without dairy? Tell the staff when you order, and they can take your requirements into account.

Practical information

Tickets

The café is often fully booked, so booking online in advance is the way to go. If your plans change, you can cancel up to 48 hours before your visit. Each reservation is for 90 minutes with the cats.

👉 Check availability and reserve your visit here!

(Part of the revenue goes toward animal welfare organizations.)

What does it cost

You’ll pay €16 per person to visit Cat Café Athens. That includes a drink and one sweet of your choice. If you want to order even more, additional food and drinks remain very affordable.

Become a VIP member

If you live in Athens, you may want to become a VIP member. It comes with discounts on drinks and at the gift shop, free coffees, tickets to the Cat Festival, and a Cat Café Athens sticker.

Address

Cat Café Athens, Nileos 54, Athens 118 51, Greece.

Nearest metro stations

The nearest metro stations are Thiseio or Kerameikos. Both are a good 10-minute walk away from Cat Café Athens.

Opening hours

• Monday: 12:00 pm – 09:00 pm
• Tuesday: Closed
• Wednesday: 12:00 pm – 09:00 pm
• Thursday: 12:00 pm – 09:00 pm
• Friday: 12:00 pm – 09:00 pm
• Saturday: 11:00 am – 09:00 pm
• Sunday: 11:00 am – 09:00 pm

Age restriction

To maintain the safety of both cats and children, Cat Café Athens currently only accepts visitors 14 and older.

What to combine with Cat Café Athens

Cat Café Athens sits in Thissio, so you can easily fit your visit into a day of exploring the historic center. A few things to do nearby are:

• Athens Stray Cat Walk: This small-group walking tour takes you around Thissio to meet the neighborhood’s stray cats. Proceeds go entirely toward food and medical care for these animals.
• Ancient Agora: The remains of ancient Athens, including the Temple of Hephaestus and the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos.
• Apostolou Pavlou: A wide and cozy pedestrian street around the Acropolis, with views of the Parthenon and easy access to several archaeological sites.
• Pnyx Hill: A historic meeting place associated with ancient Athenian democracy, with views towards the Acropolis.
• Kerameikos: An ancient cemetery and archaeological site with tombs, city walls, and remains from different periods of Athens’ history.

First time in Athens and not sure what each neighborhood is like? Our guide to the best neighborhoods in Athens for first-time visitors breaks down what you can expect from each area.

Final thoughts

Have you already visited Cat Café Athens? Or is it now on your list of must-visit cafés in Athens? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Read next: How to open your own successful cat café.

More Athens ideas

• Still need accommodation? These 7 hotels in Athens are worth a look if you want to stay somewhere that also supports the animals living in the city.
• Need a few more ideas for your itinerary? These historical sites in Athens are a good place to start.
• Visiting the country’s most famous landmark? Find out more about the 500+ cats living around the Acropolis.
• Want to see more of Greece beyond the capital? These day trips from Athens make it easy to explore more of the country.

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