Places to see in Athens

Acropolis and Parthenon

The crowning sight of Athens and the symbol of classical Greece.

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Acropolis Museum

A striking modern museum holding the treasures of the Acropolis.

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Ancient Agora

The civic heart of ancient Athens, with the preserved Temple of Hephaestus.

Photo: Ελένη Μαυρομανωλακη, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Plaka

The oldest neighbourhood, a maze of neoclassical lanes below the Acropolis.

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Anafiotika

A tiny, whitewashed island style quarter on the Acropolis slope.

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Monastiraki

A lively square and flea market with street food and rooftop views. Read the Monastiraki close up.

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Mount Lycabettus

The highest point in central Athens, best at sunset.

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National Archaeological Museum

One of the world's great collections of ancient Greek art.

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Varvakios Central Market

Athens' historic covered market near Monastiraki. Meat, fish and produce stalls make for a lively, authentic stop beyond the monuments.

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Temple of Olympian Zeus

A colossal temple begun in the 6th c. BC and finished under Hadrian; fifteen giant columns still stand near Hadrian's Arch.

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Panathenaic Stadium (Kallimarmaro)

The all marble stadium that hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896, rebuilt on an ancient running track.

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Hadrian's Arch

A Roman gateway of the 2nd century AD marking the boundary between the old city and Hadrian's new quarter, beside the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

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Zappeion

A grand 1888 hall and its gardens beside the National Garden, used for exhibitions and events.

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Kerameikos

The ancient cemetery and potters' quarter, with a quiet archaeological site and museum near Gazi.

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Odeon of Herodes Atticus

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A Roman stone theatre (161 AD) on the Acropolis' south slope, still used for summer concerts and the Athens and Epidaurus Festival. Your site ticket covers the outside of it

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Areopagus

The rocky outcrop below the Acropolis where the ancient council once met; today a popular (and slippery) sunset viewpoint.

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Philopappou Hill

A green hill facing the Acropolis, with paved paths and one of the best free views in the city.

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Pnyx

The rocky hill west of the Acropolis where the citizens' assembly of ancient Athens met, often called a birthplace of democracy.

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Syntagma Square

The central square before Parliament, where kilted Evzones guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

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Kaisariani Monastery

An 11th century Byzantine monastery on the wooded lower slopes of Mount Hymettus, an easy trip from the centre.

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Technopolis

The restored 19th century gasworks in Gazi, now a cultural centre hosting concerts and festivals, home to the Industrial Gas Museum.

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Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

A Renzo Piano designed complex in Kallithea housing the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera, set in a large seaside public park. What is on there, and how to get there

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Varkiza

A sandy resort beach on the Athens Riviera beyond Vouliagmeni, popular for swimming and watersports.

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Vouliagmeni

A smart Riviera resort area with a warm, spring fed thermal lake and organised beaches.

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Ermou Street

The main pedestrian shopping street, running from Syntagma Square down toward Monastiraki.

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National Garden

A shady 19th century park behind Parliament, a cool retreat linking Syntagma to the Zappeion.

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Astir Beach

An organised beach on the Athens Riviera at Vouliagmeni, known for calm, clear water and sunbeds.

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Museum of Cycladic Art

The Goulandris museum in Kolonaki, best known for its slender, minimalist marble Cycladic figurines.

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Byzantine and Christian Museum

A museum on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue devoted to Byzantine art (icons, frescoes, mosaics and sculpture) from the early Christian era onward.

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Numismatic Museum

A coin museum housed in Iliou Melathron, the ornate former mansion of archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann on Panepistimiou Street.

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Ilias Lalaounis Jewellery Museum

A museum below the Acropolis showing the work of goldsmith Ilias Lalaounis, whose designs drew on ancient Greek and other historic motifs.

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Benaki Museum

A sweeping collection of Greek art and history from antiquity to the modern state, in a neoclassical mansion near the National Garden.

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Daphni Monastery

An eleventh century Byzantine monastery around 10km west of central Athens, celebrated for its glittering gold ground mosaics and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, reachable by public transport for a half day visit.

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Roman Agora & Tower of the Winds

A Roman era marketplace in Plaka centred on the octagonal Tower of the Winds, an ancient marble weather station and water clock decorated with reliefs of the eight wind deities.

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Stoa of Attalos

A reconstructed second century BC colonnaded hall in the Ancient Agora, originally a gift from the King of Pergamon, now housing the Museum of the Ancient Agora's collection of finds.

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Kapnikarea

A tiny eleventh century Byzantine church marooned on Ermou Street amid modern shopfronts, built over an earlier ancient temple and now used as the University of Athens' official chapel.

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War Museum of Athens

A museum covering Greek military history from antiquity to the present day, displaying uniforms, weapons and models across several floors near the National Garden.

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Choragic Monument of Lysicrates

A small 4th century BC monument in Plaka, thought to be the first Greek structure to use the Corinthian order on its exterior. Built to display a prize won in a musical competition, it still stands in its own garden on Tripodon Street.

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Little Metropolis

A tiny Byzantine church beside the Metropolitan Cathedral in central Athens, built almost entirely from reused marble carvings salvaged from earlier buildings, a detail found nowhere else in the city.

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Flisvos Marina

A palm lined seafront promenade and marina in Palaio Faliro, popular for an evening walk, waterside dining and watching the yachts moored along the Athens Riviera.

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Aegina

A short ferry ride from Piraeus, this Saronic Gulf island is known for its pistachios, the well preserved Temple of Aphaia and an easygoing harbour town, making it an easy day trip from central Athens.

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Hydra

A car free Saronic island reached by ferry from Piraeus, with a stone harbour, donkeys instead of vehicles and steep lanes lined with old sea captains' houses.

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Cape Sounion

The marble Temple of Poseidon on a headland about 70 km south of Athens, a classic sunset day trip.

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Exarcheia

A bohemian, politically charged quarter known for bookshops, street art, live music and student cafes.

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Kolonaki

An upscale district below Lycabettus, known for designer shops, galleries and smart cafes.

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Psyrri

A former workshop district turned nightlife hub, packed with mezedopoleia, bars and street art.

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Glyfada

The lively hub of the southern Riviera suburbs, with beaches, shopping and nightlife.

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