Things to do in Athens

Athens fills a basin ringed by four mountains, with one limestone hill in the middle. Parnitha, Penteli, Hymettus and Aigaleo close it in. Most things to do in Athens sit within a kilometre of that rock.

What the centre holds

The Acropolis carries the Parthenon and is why most people come. Below it lie two agoras, Greek and Roman. The rest gets walked past.

• Temple of Olympian Zeus. Seven centuries in the building. Fifteen columns stand; a sixteenth fell in an 1852 gale.
• Kerameikos. The ancient cemetery and city gate, where the Sacred Way starts.
• National Archaeological Museum. Off the tourist line in Exarcheia: the Antikythera mechanism, the Artemision bronze, Mycenaean gold.
• Lykavittos. The steep cone with the view, on foot or by funicular.

Quarters, and what each is for

• Plaka and Anafiotika. Lanes under the north slope; Anafiotika was built by Anafi masons.
• Monastiraki and Psyrri. Flea market by day, loud eating after dark.
• Koukaki and Pangrati. Where Athenians go for dinner.
• Syntagma and Kolonaki. Parliament, the guard change, expensive shops above.
• Exarcheia. Political, scruffy, and home to the archaeological museum.

What people book, and where the days go

Guided walking is the backbone and earns its fee. The ruins are foundations; the explanation is the building. Food is second, from Varvakios market walks to rooftop cooking classes.

Whole days leave the city too.

• Delphi. Three hours up Parnassos, with Arachova on the way back.
• The Argolid. Mycenae, Epidaurus and Nafplio in a day, Corinth canal first.
• Meteora. Far enough north that the train is the sane way.
• The Saronic islands. Hydra, Poros and Aegina by boat from Piraeus.
• Cape Sounion. The sunset run to the temple of Poseidon.
• Marathon. The battlefield and the burial mound.

Practical

• Heat and season. July and August pass 38C, and the Acropolis has shut midday on the worst of them. April to June and late September to November are the walking months.
• Tickets. The old five-day combined ticket is gone. The seven sites it covered are charged separately, and together cost several times the pass.
• Transport. Metro Line 3 runs from the airport to the centre in about forty minutes and on to Piraeus. Acropoli is the stop for the rock.
• Money. Coffee two to three euros, dinner twenty to thirty a head. Rounding up covers the tip.
• Rhythm. Lunch starts around two, dinner around nine. The airport line and the Monastiraki crush are where bags get opened.