Top 10 Things to Do in Athens

The oldest continuously inhabited neighbourhood in Athens is a labyrinth of neoclassical houses, bougainvillea-draped tavernas, and craft shops at the foot of the Acropolis.

A raucous Sunday market spilling through the streets around Monastiraki Square, piled with antiques, old coins, vintage cameras, and souvenirs of every kind.

A short drive from the city, this dramatic clifftop sanctuary overlooking the Aegean was where ancient sailors prayed for safe passage — and where Byron carved his name.

The Psiri district is Athens's street-food heartland, where charcoal-grilled souvlaki wrapped in warm pita with tzatziki is the undisputed king of fast food.

A stunning modern building at the foot of the Acropolis houses thousands of artefacts from the hill's temples, including the celebrated Parthenon Marbles.

The world's finest collection of ancient Greek art, including the gold mask of Agamemnon and the bronze Artemision Jockey, housed in a grand neoclassical building.

The civic heart of ancient Athens, where Socrates philosophised and democracy was born, now a peaceful archaeological park with a beautifully reconstructed Stoa of Attalos.

A tiny Cycladic village clinging to the northern slope of the Acropolis, its whitewashed cubic houses transplanted by island stonemasons in the nineteenth century.

The ceremonial centre of modern Athens, where the Presidential Guard performs the changing of the guard in traditional evzone costume every hour.

The oldest continuously inhabited neighbourhood in Athens is a labyrinth of neoclassical houses, bougainvillea-draped tavernas, and craft shops at the foot of the Acropolis.

A raucous Sunday market spilling through the streets around Monastiraki Square, piled with antiques, old coins, vintage cameras, and souvenirs of every kind.

A short drive from the city, this dramatic clifftop sanctuary overlooking the Aegean was where ancient sailors prayed for safe passage — and where Byron carved his name.

The Psiri district is Athens's street-food heartland, where charcoal-grilled souvlaki wrapped in warm pita with tzatziki is the undisputed king of fast food.

A stunning modern building at the foot of the Acropolis houses thousands of artefacts from the hill's temples, including the celebrated Parthenon Marbles.

The world's finest collection of ancient Greek art, including the gold mask of Agamemnon and the bronze Artemision Jockey, housed in a grand neoclassical building.

The civic heart of ancient Athens, where Socrates philosophised and democracy was born, now a peaceful archaeological park with a beautifully reconstructed Stoa of Attalos.

A tiny Cycladic village clinging to the northern slope of the Acropolis, its whitewashed cubic houses transplanted by island stonemasons in the nineteenth century.

The ceremonial centre of modern Athens, where the Presidential Guard performs the changing of the guard in traditional evzone costume every hour.