Rediscovering Maria Callas: A Royal Journey Through Athens

In the era of film and television–inspired travel, “Maria,” the Angelina Jolie biopic picturing Maria Callas’s last days, may make you dream of a Parisian escape. However, I would lobby for a Greek vacation instead. This summer, I stayed at a Callas-inspired boutique hotel in Athens. I’ve never felt more like a queen than I did sitting in the jacuzzi on the terrace of my suite at La Divina, sipping wine and gazing up at the illuminated Acropolis. The hotel, which opened in April 2024, was originally established around 1897 and served as the home to a series of wealthy families until it was commandeered by the Italian army for use as a barracks during World War II. It then became a zipper factory and was eventually abandoned. In 1996, the International Art Center Atheneum transformed the building into a conservatory called the Odeon Atheneum, which became the site of the International Grand Prix de Maria Callas competition. Dedicated to the opera legend, the Odeon housed a bust of Callas in the auditorium.

Today, the neoclassical landmark has been restored into a boutique hotel with 12 suites, each named after an opera Callas once performed. (My partner and I stayed in “Macbeth”; our kids in “La Bohème.”) Callas’s arias filled the halls in surround sound, and in our rooms, La Divina chocolate bars inspired by her performances featured a Callas image on the outer box, and a history of the famous show on its interior.

Discover the Maria Callas Museum

From the hotel, it was a 13-minute walk down pedestrian streets past the Theseion temple and the Roman forum to the Maria Callas Museum, an intimate, immersive tribute to Callas. The top floor recreates moments from Callas’s best-loved operas, inviting the visitor to sit in a forest grove listening to “Norma,” the Druid princess sing; enter the Palazzo Farnese to hear “Tosca” plead with the wicked Baron Scarpia for her lover’s life; visit a French salon to hear the courtesan Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata”; and participate in a master class led by Callas at the Juilliard School in New York City. The floor below showcases Callas’s gowns, her jewelry, her correspondence, and various exhibits and headphones, so you can listen to her evade invasive questions in televised interviews. My favorite moment may have been in the courtyard outside the museum, in front of Athens’ cathedral, where the museum was hosting numerous young children coloring in the queen’s portrait.

Athens: The City of Maria Callas

Callas’s face is not hard to find in Athens; she rises in a mural above the elevator in the Megaro Mousikis metro station, and there’s a bronze statue of her in Roberto Galli park, not far from the Acropolis. Her talent permeates the city even further; an exhibit of her personal belongings enhances the Maria Callas Cultural Area in the Olympia Municipal Music Theatre Maria Callas, where she made her operatic debut in 1944. And fans can enjoy performances of all kinds in the second-century Odeon of Herodes Atticus, at the foot of the Acropolis, where Callas sang in 1944, and again, as part of the Athens Festival, in 1957.

Athens: A Perfect Setting for a “Maria”-Inspired Journey

While Callas was born in New York and only lived in Athens from the ages of 13 to 21 before returning to the United States, Greece launched her career—making Athens the ideal destination for a “Maria”-inspired trip. Her story is woven deeply into the fabric of the city, with reminders of her influence found around almost every corner. From the iconic landmarks of the Acropolis and the ancient sites where she performed, to the intimate Callas Museum and the luxurious La Divina hotel, Athens provides the perfect backdrop for a magical, Callas-inspired vacation.