Greece builds Europe’s largest coastal park

August 31, 2026

Greece is transforming the site of a former Athens airport into a vast climate-resilient green space designed to cool the city, conserve water and restore nature along the Athenian Riviera.

The Ellinikon Park, located in Elliniko in the southern suburbs of Athens, will cover approximately 200 hectares, making it Europe’s largest coastal urban park once completed. The ambitious regeneration project will replace much of the former airport landscape with more than 30,000 trees and roughly three million shrubs.

Around 70% of the park will be dedicated to greenery, creating one of Europe’s most significant new urban ecosystems.

The first major areas are expected to welcome visitors in early 2027, while additional infrastructure and landscaping will continue to be developed through 2030.

Former Athens airport transformed into a green landmark

The Ellinikon Park is being designed as much more than a traditional recreational space. Its planners are treating the site as climate infrastructure capable of helping Athens respond to rising temperatures, water scarcity, flooding and other environmental pressures.

The development incorporates sustainable water systems, extensive native vegetation, climate-conscious materials and carefully designed pedestrian routes.

Among its major features will be a tertiary wastewater treatment facility capable of supplying up to 7,000 cubic metres of treated water every day. A 10,000-cubic-metre storage reservoir and sensor-controlled irrigation network will further reduce pressure on freshwater supplies.

According to the project's sustainability research, smart irrigation could cut water consumption by as much as 90%.

Climate-resilient park design offers a model for cities

The Ellinikon Park has also been used as a case study for sustainable urban green-space planning.

Landscape architect Dimitra Theochari and UNEP Global Chief Heat Officer Lenio Myrivili, who also serves as a Special Advisor for Climate Resilience, have documented approaches for developing and operating climate-conscious parks.

Their work examines international best practices while showing how strategies involving vegetation, water, materials, pathways and microclimate management can be combined within a single large-scale development.

Rather than considering parks solely as destinations for recreation, the approach recognizes urban green areas as essential infrastructure that can improve resilience to heat and other climate-related challenges.

Cool Routes could lower temperatures by 4°C

Heat mitigation has been integrated directly into The Ellinikon Park's layout.

Designers used digital thermal mapping and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to understand how sunlight, shade and airflow would behave throughout different sections of the site.

The analysis helped create a planned network of “cool routes,” where temperatures could be as much as 4°C lower than in nearby asphalt-covered areas.

Resting areas will have more than 60% shade coverage while remaining sufficiently open to encourage natural ventilation.

Trees and other vegetation will provide additional cooling through evapotranspiration, helping create more comfortable conditions during Athens' increasingly hot summers.

Water features add natural cooling

Water will play another important role in controlling temperatures throughout the park.

Channels, misting installations and low-water-use basins will be positioned across the landscape to encourage evaporative cooling.

Walking routes will follow the site's natural topography and connect different areas through a continuous and accessible pathway system. Vegetation and shade will surround individual sections, producing alternating pockets of sunlight and cooler microclimates.

The result is intended to make moving through the park more comfortable even during periods of intense summer heat.

Smart technology will help the park withstand heatwaves

A network of environmental sensors will continuously provide information about conditions across The Ellinikon Park.

Measurements will include air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, soil moisture and shade levels. This information can then be used to optimize irrigation, vegetation management and broader microclimate strategies.

Weather and soil sensors connected to the smart irrigation network will determine how much water individual areas actually require rather than relying on fixed watering schedules.

This data-driven approach is expected to deliver water savings of up to 90% while keeping vegetation healthier during prolonged hot and dry periods.

More than 520 plant species planned

Biodiversity will be another major element of the regeneration project.

More than 520 species of plants are planned for the site, with approximately three-quarters consisting of native Greek vegetation or species well adapted to local environmental conditions.

Choosing plants suited to the Mediterranean climate should reduce irrigation requirements while improving the landscape's ability to cope with drought and extreme temperatures.

Once mature, tens of thousands of trees and millions of shrubs will also provide extensive habitats for urban wildlife.

Recycled wastewater to supply irrigation

Water independence is a central objective of the park's sustainability strategy.

The planned tertiary wastewater treatment facility will produce as much as 7,000 cubic metres of recycled water per day. The treated water will support permitted non-drinking applications, including landscape irrigation.

A separate storage reservoir capable of holding 10,000 cubic metres will provide additional capacity, helping secure irrigation supplies during periods of high temperatures and increased water demand.

Rainfall will also be managed differently from conventional urban drainage systems.

Green and blue infrastructure is intended to retain and manage 100% of rainwater within the site rather than immediately directing it away through traditional drainage networks.

Trachones stream restoration to improve flood protection

The project will also seek to restore natural water flows disrupted by decades of urban development.

One important example is the Trachones stream, which will become part of the site's broader water-management and flood-resilience strategy.

Restoring natural drainage systems can help slow and absorb stormwater while reducing pressure on conventional infrastructure during heavy rainfall.

Combined with extensive vegetation and water-retention features, this could turn the park into an important component of local flood protection.

Greek materials give the park a local identity

Construction materials have been selected with both sustainability and the surrounding Attic landscape in mind.

Natural Greek materials planned for paths and paved areas include Kavala marble, white Dionysos-Penteli marble, Karystos slate and Mandras sandstone.

In addition to durability, the materials have been selected for their thermal characteristics and their ability to visually connect the new park with the regional landscape.

The redevelopment will also reuse materials recovered from the former airport.

Existing concrete slabs will be repurposed for retaining walls, structural bases and other features. Crushed construction materials will be incorporated into gabions and backfills, reducing demand for newly produced resources and lowering the environmental impact associated with construction waste.

How big is the Ellinikon Park?

At approximately two million square metres, or 200 hectares, The Ellinikon Park will rank among Europe's largest major urban green spaces and is expected to become its biggest coastal urban park.

Its scale becomes clearer when compared with several internationally known parks.

London's Hyde Park covers approximately 142 hectares, meaning Ellinikon will be about 40% larger. Berlin's Tiergarten, at roughly 210 hectares, is similar in overall size.

 Brussels' Parc du Cinquantenaire covers around 30 hectares, making the Greek development almost seven times larger.

New York's Central Park remains significantly bigger at approximately 341 hectares, or around 1.7 times the size of Ellinikon.

A massive green space connected directly to the sea

What particularly distinguishes The Ellinikon Park from many other large European urban parks is its coastal location.

While famous parks such as Hyde Park and Tiergarten are surrounded by dense city development, Ellinikon will connect directly with approximately two kilometres of coastline along the Athenian Riviera.

Its 200-hectare footprint will also dwarf Barcelona's Parc de la Ciutadella, which occupies roughly 31 hectares, and will be almost four times the size of Greece's planned fully developed Faliro Bay redevelopment, estimated at around 54 hectares.

Larger coastal landscapes exist elsewhere in Europe, but many are protected forests or national parks rather than purpose-built urban parks. Examples include Tuscany's Parco della Sterpaia and the enormous Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in Wales.

The Ellinikon сould іet a тew іtandard for urban parks

The transformation of a former airport into a 200-hectare coastal ecosystem represents a major shift in how large redevelopment sites can be integrated into climate adaptation strategies.

Instead of simply adding greenery to a new urban district, The Ellinikon Park combines extensive planting, recycled wastewater, smart irrigation, heat-reducing routes, natural drainage, recycled construction materials and digital environmental monitoring.

With its first sections expected to open in 2027 and development continuing through 2030, the project could provide an important real-world example of how major cities can use urban parks to address extreme heat, water shortages, biodiversity loss and flooding while creating accessible public spaces.