Tatoi (ex Greek Royal estate)

This time I am taking you North of Athens up to Tatoi where the ex Royal family used to own an impressive estate which also hosted their summer palace.

I'll do an anti commercial spoiler at this point in order to be frank as always: Don't expect the royal ruins to impress you. The Greek state just started to renovate these buildings which were left totally deserted and neglected for half a century. Besides, Greece never had an impressive royal heritage anyway (we are royal free for half a century as well). Also keep in mind that this visit took place only a few weeks before the area was devastated from a huge wildfire that lasted for days. 

Obviously I'll spare you the morning traffic of the city as the only interesting thing about it is that it definitely puts to test the modifications I made with my own hands on my car's cooling system (works perfect!). However, as soon as I leave the airport of Tatoi behind and take Tatoiou avenue heading North, the scenery makes me forget it all and instantly puts a smile on my face. Only a few kms later I am already outside the ex royal estate where it takes no time to be sure I couldn't have a better parking spot than this at the shady woods generously provided by her majesty nature:

(You can also watch this spot during the 1st minute of the video I embed at the end of this post.

I take my bicycle out of the car and... boy the road ahead attracts me:

And it's not just the main road but also those countless intriguingly scenic paths/openings on the side:

However, I decide to keep going till I reach the North end of the estate and then start exploring it.

Besides, look at the road ahead - it screams "follow me":

It's still early and I am not warmed up yet hence the uphill challenges my breath so I take a break which I would anyway to adore those amazing trees providing me precious shade from the sun:

It's also a good chance for capturing the less lucky ones:

The higher I go the denser the vegetation gets:

Around the North end of the estate I make a stop at the local spring. I can't recall when it was the last time I tried pure water like this one there:

(You can also watch that spring at 01:00 of the video at the end).

I could stay there all day drinking but I have even better things to do definitely much better ones than observing how "Christians" vandalised this thing.

The beauty of this forest puts me in a tough dilemma: Where should I aim first?

Down at those lovely trails?	Or up at the blueish sky?

Finally time to enter the estate - when the whole renovation project finishes this ugly bar will be useless memory:

Before I start rolling my wheels in it some more info might help you get a better background idea and understanding of what you'll see later:

In 1871 King George I bought 20 square kms inside the forest of the South East end of Parnitha mountain. His initial intentions were relatively modest but the growing needs of the royal family doubled the size of this estate by the end of the same century making it 42 square kms big. Still was far from being called the largest in Greece though it was the first recreational estate of the country. This estate was a ping pong between the royal family and the Greek state ever since as a consequence of the change of regimes. In 1924 it was confiscated by the Greek state but in 1936 it was returned to King George II. The dictatorship in 1973 reconfiscated it deciding a small payback for the royal family and 21 years later it was again confiscated by the Greek government this time with no payback at all which led the royal family to the European Court of Human Rights. The latter ruled in favour of the Royal family in 2003 but the case ended with a payback of around 1% it's real value: 12million euros. The Greek state paid the money but did nothing about this exceptional estate until now - the current government started a renovation project to convert this place to a real attraction for visitors.

Tired of this ping pong? So am I.

Let's ride 🙂

From the first meters I know I'm in heaven scenic enough to bring moments of indecisiveness on which path to take like this:

I take the left one (straight) which brings me to a meeting with this turtle:

(Watch the meeting @ 01:30 of the video at the end)

The turtle is hanging out were the royal garages used to be and I leave her and the bike to picture and walk around a bit. Almost everything looks in pathetic condition:

As you can see the shutters are shielded to prevent further looting till the renovation is done.

I like how nature takes care decorating one of them:

I step closer to it and find out some royal dog houses:

Time to move on. I can't stop staring on this mountain bike heaven wishing that I'll soon be back preferably with an electric mountain bike this time:

A few meters East of the previous buildings is the oldest one of the whole complex, built in 1874, also known as "Sturm house":

I warned you about the condition of the findings didn't I?

Chances are that it was not initially a two floor building and the second floor was probably added around 1888 when similar add ons where made to the Palace as well. It took its nickname after Sturm, a Berliner winemaker who stayed there with his wife for many years. There's an interesting story, a tragedy actual involving Sturm and the young King Alexander who died only 27 years old in 1920 after a bite from Sturm's monkey. Alexander received first aid in this building you see above but what was considered a not so serious bite initially it caused severe blood infection later with lethal results. To prevent lethal results to the house itself today it is supported and surrounded by this metal frame:

As you can see in the next picture there's not even a floor to make it possible to walk inside:

As I move South I find the house of the Chief of the male Royal personnel:

It was probably built in the beginning of the previous century. Here's a few more:

A few meters away from that building I find a narrow stone tunnel in the ground that I couldn't identify, that's all I can see:

I couldn't find any substantial info about this next one, surprisingly enough considering it's size, but it's too beautiful to skip:

Just like the rest all shutters are blocked except one:

I'm happy to find my way in but sad to find nothing but... nothing inside:

Not that I expected that much after decades of looting. I picture what is left from the rest of its beauty:

                            Cycling on lovely trails like this...

...leads me to the Palace's cook house. In the next two pictures you'll see it in the background as I am more attracted by a huge plane tree stomb where I put my bike for size comparison:

Through all this time you might have wondered were is the effin Palace? Well, prepare to stretch your imagination on how it looked back in the day cause now it's all fenced and that's all I could picture:

Such a good life there in summer. You stay in the heart of this forest and whenever you felt like swimming you could take these stairs down:

And enjoy your time at the pool:

In the condition it is today it takes a bit of imagination to see it as a pool. I've heard though that they didn't used it that much cause it had a construction flaw. Haven't confirmed this yet.

How many times have I mentioned "looting"? Well, have a look at the columns missing by the pool:

Here's view to the Palace from the pool:

Some nice details by the pool:

And now see the pool with the palace on your back and imagine how it would be like swimming under those trees:

Sublime isn't it? At least as long as no tree falls on your head:

I get on my bike again to continue cycling (check the video I will embed at the end). That brings me to this relic of an outer check point of the estate, coloured in faded shades of Greece:

A little more cycling and I arrive at the main checkpoint inside the estate (watch video @ 03:56). Signs of dereliction are beyond obvious:

A few meters East is the Directorate, among the newest buildings as it was finished in 1939 influenced by the looks of British cottages:

I love it's back side too:

And also those trees cuddling:

Speaking of trees I feel like I am picturing one of the last moments of this one:

On the other side of this road I find what probably used to be a greenhouse:

All conquered by nature today. I spot a heater they had in it:

I could cycle for the rest of my life around Tatoi's ex Royal estate. I'm in the heart of it cycling South (watch this video @ 04:35 for that part) when the road leads me to this cute old thing which was where they made butter back in the day:

I deviate on the right to have a closer look and that leads me to a barn behind it where I find this:

That Mercedes truck is old enough to have wipers operated by hand (if I am not mistaken). Anything automotive can catch me eye so this made me stop in a heartbeat. (watch video @ 05:10)

The most interesting part automotive wise though was waiting for me only a few steps away where I see this:

That's two of the cars used by the royal family, both vandalised as you can see. Unfortunately I couldn't get any closer to them but this image alone says a lot about the luck of this place over the last decades. The same spot gives me another beautiful picture of the butter house from behind before I move on:

Next building is the winery, supported as you can see by this metal frame till the renovations bring it to the condition it deserves:

I manage to climb a wall and take a picture of those old barrels:

The cars you saw before are actually lying in its yard. I have no idea how they ended there but I guess they were not supposed to park there under normal conditions.

I'm heading back East where I find this stone building worth stopping for some pictures:

This one used to be a hotel aptly named "Tatoion" which opened its doors for the first time in the early 1890s. It closed for good in 1936 and later was repurposed various times.

Outside this ex hotel these fuel pumps really travel you back in time:

Back in the day you could also change engine oil there:

A poor old tractor I find nearby doesn't even have a cylinder head on its engine:

I also find a newer pump compared to the previous ones but still old enough:

I don't know the exact purpose of those huge Royal containers I'd love to see them exhibited with details when the renovations are complete:

I head down South and picture the old dairy farm that I find later:

I like it as well as this one which used to be the stud farm:

I like this view of hotel "Tatoion" that we saw before from here:

MY next mission is to make it up to the hill with the Royal graves so I get on my bike again and the road brings me to this lovely open space:

The way to the top of the hill leads me to a paved but relatively narrow way for cars which as a result of never being repaved today it looks like this:

This condition is also due to the weather as this area attracts a significant amount of snow on an annual basis even on years that the center of Athens might nos see a single snow flake (which is usually the case). You can see part of this ride @ 06:19 of this video .

I make it to the top of the hill which is a rather special spot full of trees like most of the rest estate. This is the first grave I see:

You wanna know who's grave is this? Well, this actually belong to Andreas, father of Prince Philip who died recently (Queen Elizabeth's husband) and (as a matter of fact) grandfather of Prince Carol. His grave is kinda isolated from the rest which are located in and around the royal cemetery. You can watch my walk around the cemetery @07:17 of the video and here's some pictures as well:

Also at the top of the hill is this Christian church "Anastaseos" (Easter Resurrection):

What's for sure is that we all die one day, trees included:

On my way downhill I take an alternative route via this narrower and tougher path:

The end of this path meets the main road and as I cross it to the other side I see this huge plane tree:

Hard to judge its size from an image but I'll place some here with my bike for comparison:

However, there's an even older and bigger one only a few steps away, unfortunately so old that it's torn in two:

I don't think I have seen an older/bigger one. These guys can host a whole village in their shade.

As I cycle to my car I meet one more turtle which is also starring in the end of the video I embed below:

Here's the video I made during the whole tour with location links in the description:

I left this place unexpectedly rejoiced. The microclimate of this area does wonders. You breath pure clean air enhanced with the scent of the trees making your lungs thank you for the rest of your life while even on the hardest heatwave you can keep walking/cycling in the shade ignoring what the thermometer reads. It was so nice around there that my visit to IKEA later felt like trying to survive in a gas chamber. However, we have to wait for nature to do its wonders recovering the area from the latest wildfires in order to enjoy this place close to its primary grace.

I also want to mention that tatoi.org is a great source of info about this place in case you want to look for further details.

Thanks for stopping by,

See you on the next one!