the tree-lined one-way street runs from north (vasilissis sofias avenue) to south (vasileos konstantinou avenue) connecting the districts of kolonaki and pangrati. it is, by far, the most expensive piece of housing real estate in greece and one of the most expensive in europe. the five-block-long eastern side of the street is lined with luxurious apartments and mansions, foremost among them the presidential palace, the official workplace and residence of the president of the hellenic republic, and the maximos mansion (μέγαρο μαξίμου, "megaro maximou"), the official workplace of the prime minister. kolonaki, a shopping district, lies immediately to the north, and pangrati, a residential district, to the south, the national gardens to the west and the panathenaic stadium to the southeast. the barracks of the presidential guard are the only buildings on the western (national garden) side of the street. the street is heavily guarded by police (both uniformed and plainclothes) round the clock.