▲▲ “Acropolis Loop” (a.k.a. Dionysiou Areopagitou and Apostolou Pavlou)
▲▲▲Ancient Agora: Athens’ Market
▲Roman Forum (a.k.a. “Roman Agora”) and Tower of the Winds
▲Museum of Greek Popular Instruments
Museum of Greek Folk Art (Ceramics Collection)
Museum of Greek Folk Art (Main Collection)
▲Syntagma Square (Plateia Syntagmatos)
Churches in the Plaka and Syntagma Area
The National Garden: South and East of the Parliament and Syntagma Square
▲Panathenaic (a.k.a. “Olympic”) Stadium
▲▲▲National Archaeological Museum
In Kolonaki, East of Syntagma Square
▲▲Benaki Museum of Greek History and Culture
▲▲Byzantine and Christian Museum
The sights listed in this chapter are arranged by neighborhood for handy sightseeing. When you see a 
in a listing, it means the sight is covered in much more depth in my Athens City Walk or in one of my self-guided tours. This is why Athens’ most important attractions get the least coverage in this chapter—we’ll explore them later in the book.
Don’t count on the opening hours printed in this book. Though they were accurate at the time of printing, the times are likely to fluctuate wildly at the whims of the government and the Greek economy. Check locally before planning your day.
Note that most of Athens’ top ancient sites are covered by the Acropolis ticket (see here). For tips on sightseeing, see here.
A broad pedestrian boulevard that I call the “Acropolis Loop” strings together the Acropolis, Mars Hill, Theater of Dionysus, Acropolis Museum, and more. The Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum are covered in more detail in their respective tour chapters.
The most important ancient site in the Western world, the Acropolis (which means “high city” in Greek) rises gleaming like a beacon above the gray concrete drudgery of modern Athens. This is where the Greeks built the mighty Parthenon—the most famous temple on the planet and an enduring symbol of ancient Athens’ glorious Golden Age from nearly 2,500 years ago.
This icon of Western civilization was built after a war with Persia. The Athenians had abandoned their city when the Persian king’s troops invaded Greece; his soldiers destroyed everything on the Acropolis. But in the naval Battle of Salamis (480 B.C.), the outnumbered Athenians routed the Persians, reclaiming their city. Now at the very peak of its power, Athens became the most popular kid on the block. Other city-states and islands paid cash tributes to be on the winning side. The Athenian ruler, Pericles, spared no expense as he set about rebuilding the Acropolis, transforming it into a complex of lavishly decorated temples to honor the city’s patron goddess, Athena.
Your €12 Acropolis ticket gives you entry to Athens’ major ancient sites, including the Acropolis, Ancient Agora, Roman Forum, Keramikos Cemetery, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Library of Hadrian, and Theater of Dionysus. If you see only the Acropolis, you’ll still pay €12—so the other sights are effectively free add-ons. (The other attractions do sell cheaper individual tickets—but as you’re virtually guaranteed to visit the Acropolis sometime during your trip, these are pointless.) It’s technically valid for four days, but there’s no date printed on the ticket, so in practice you can use it anytime. Tickets bought at any of the non-Acropolis sights are one long strip; perforated “coupons” are removed and used to enter the smaller sights. If you buy your ticket at the Acropolis, however, you receive a digital printout with a code that gets scanned. You can buy the ticket at any participating sight.
The four major monuments built during this time—the Parthenon, Erechtheion, Propylaea, and Temple of Athena Nike—survive in remarkably good condition given the battering they’ve taken over the centuries. Although the Persians, Ottomans, and Lord Elgin were cruel to the Acropolis in the past, the greatest dangers it faces now are acid rain and pollution. Ongoing restoration means that you might see some scaffolding—but even that can’t detract from the greatness of this sight.
Cost and Hours: €12 for Acropolis Ticket; free for those 18 and under, on first Sun of month Nov-March, and on all national holidays; open daily June-Aug likely 8:00-20:00, Sept-Oct and April-May 8:00-18:00, Nov-March 8:00-15:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing; free Rick Steves audio tour available—see here; main entrance at the western end of the Acropolis—if you’re at the Ancient Agora in the Plaka, signs point uphill; tel. 210-321-4172, www.culture.gr.
See the Acropolis Tour chapter.
One of Athens’ best attractions, this wide, well-manicured, delightfully traffic-free pedestrian boulevard borders the Acropolis to the south and east. It’s composed of two streets with tongue-twisting names—Dionysiou Areopagitou and Apostolou Pavlou (think of them as Dionysus Street and Apostle Paul’s Street); for simplicity, I refer to them collectively as the “Acropolis Loop.” One of the city’s many big improvements made in preparation for its 2004 Olympics-hosting bid, this walkway immediately became a favorite local hangout, with vendors, al fresco cafés, and frequent special events enlivening its cobbles.
Dionysiou Areopagitou, wide and touristy, runs along the southern base of the Acropolis. It was named for Dionysus the Areopagite, first bishop and patron saint of Athens and a member of the ancient Roman-era senate that met atop Mars Hill (described next). The other section, Apostolou Pavlou—quieter, narrower, and tree-lined—curls around the western end of the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora. It feels more local and has the best concentration of outdoor eateries (in the Thissio neighborhood). This section was named for the Apostle Paul, who presented himself before Dionysus the Areopagite at Mars Hill.
Where Apostolou Pavlou meets the Thissio Metro stop, you can head west on Ermou—a similarly enjoyable, recently pedestrianized boulevard—to reach the Gazi district’s Technopolis and the Keramikos Cemetery. If you head east on Ermou (with traffic), you’ll come to Syntagma Square. Or, if you want to encircle the base of the Acropolis, head east on Adrianou, the pedestrian street you’ll hit just before the Thissio Metro stop, and stroll through the Plaka on your way back to Dionysiou Areopagitou.
Stray cats are common in this warm part of Europe, but Athens also has a huge population of stray dogs. Many of them—including some who hang out along the Dionysiou Areopagitou—are cared for (but not housed) by local animal-rights organizations. Even if a dog has a collar, it might be a stray.
The knobby, windswept hill crawling with tourists in front of the Acropolis is Mars Hill, also known as Areopagus (from Areios Pagos, “Ares Hill,” referring to the Greek version of Mars). While the views from the Acropolis are more striking, rugged Mars Hill (near the Acropolis’ main entrance, at the western end) makes a pleasant perch. As you’re climbing Mars Hill, be warned: The stone stairs (and the top of the rock) have been polished to a slippery shine by history, and can be treacherous even when dry. Watch your step and use the metal staircase.
This hill has an interesting history. After Rome conquered Athens in 86 B.C., the Roman overlords wisely decided to extend citizenship to any free man born here. (The feisty Greeks were less likely to rise up against a state that had made them citizens.) Whereas Rome called the shots on major issues, minor matters of local governance were determined on this hill by a gathering of leaders. During this time, the Apostle Paul—the first great Christian missionary and author of about half of the New Testament—preached to the Athenians here on Mars Hill. Paul looked out over the Agora and started talking about an altar he’d seen—presumably in the Agora (though archaeologists can’t confirm)—to the “Unknown God.” (A plaque embedded in the rock near the stairs contains the Greek text of Paul’s speech.) Although the Athenians were famously open-minded, Paul encountered a skeptical audience and only netted a couple of converts (including Dionysus the Areopagite—the namesake of the pedestrian drag behind the Acropolis). Paul moved on to Corinth and a better reception.
The very scant remains of this theater are scattered southeast of the Acropolis, just above the Dionysiou Areopagitou walkway. During Roman times, the theater was connected to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (see here) by a long, covered stoa, creating an ensemble of inviting venues. But its illustrious history dates back well before that: It’s fair to say that this is where our culture’s great tradition of theater was born. During Athens’ Golden Age, Sophocles and others watched their plays performed here. Originally just grass, with a circular dirt area as the stage, the theater was eventually expanded, and stone seating added, to accommodate 17,000 patrons in 342-326 B.C., during the time of Alexander the Great. Later the Romans added a raised stage. Because the theater is included in your Acropolis ticket, consider a stroll through its rubble. Plans are afoot to restore the theater to its former greatness.
Cost and Hours: €2, covered by Acropolis ticket, Mon-Fri 8:00-17:30, Sat-Sun 8:00-14:30, may be open weekdays until 20:00 in summer, likely closes weekdays at 15:00 in winter, main gate across from Acropolis Museum, tel. 210-322-4625.
This museum is a modern-day temple to the Acropolis. Located at the foot of Athens’ famous ancient hill, it contains relics from the Acropolis, including statues of young men and women, gods and goddesses, reliefs that once adorned the hilltop temples, and five of the six original Caryatids (lady-columns) that once held up the roof of the prestigious Erechtheion temple. But the highlight is a life-size re-creation of the frieze that once wound all the way around the outside of the Parthenon, blending original pieces with copies of panels housed in the British Museum and other collections. Completed in 2009, the stunning glass building is a work of art in itself. The top floor sits slightly askew, like a graduation cap, mimicking the orientation of the Parthenon. The glass walls are designed not only to flood the place with natural light, but also to disappear into the background so that the architecture plays second fiddle to the real stars: the statues and the views of the Acropolis.
Cost and Hours: €5; open Tue-Sun 8:00-20:00, Fri until 22:00, closed Mon, last entry 30 minutes before closing. The museum faces the south side of the Acropolis from across the broad Dionysiou Areopagitou pedestrian drag, and is right at the Akropoli Metro stop (line 2/red); tel. 210-900-0900, www.theacropolismuseum.gr.
See the Acropolis Museum Tour chapter.
These sights are listed in geographic order, starting with the Agora and fanning out from there (mostly to the west—see the map on here). You can walk to the last three sights—the cemetery, Technopolis, and the Gazi district—via the wide, recently pedestrianized Ermou street.
If the Acropolis was Golden Age Athens’ “uptown,” then the Ancient Agora was “downtown.” Although literally and figuratively overshadowed by the impressive Acropolis, the Agora was for eight centuries the true meeting place of the city—a hive of commerce, politics, and everyday bustle. Everybody who was anybody in ancient Athens spent time here, from Socrates and Plato to a visiting missionary named Paul. Built upon, forgotten, and ignored for centuries, the Agora was excavated in the 1930s. Now it’s a center of archaeological study and one of the city’s top tourist attractions. A visit here lets you ponder its sparse remains, wander through a modest museum in a rebuilt stoa (the Agora Museum), admire its beautifully preserved Temple of Hephaistos, and imagine sharing this hallowed space with the great minds of the ancient world.
Cost and Hours: Don’t pay the €4 admission if you’re also going to the Acropolis, as the Ancient Agora is covered by the Acropolis ticket (see sidebar, earlier); open daily 8:00-15:00, possibly open later in summer, last entry 15 minutes before closing, Agora Museum opens at 11:00 on Mon; free Rick Steves audio tour available—see here; main entrance on Adrianou; from Monastiraki (Metro line 1/green or line 3/blue), walk a block south (uphill, toward the Acropolis); tel. 210-321-0180, www.culture.gr.
See the Ancient Agora Tour chapter.
These two neighborhoods, just west and north (respectively) of the Ancient Agora, offer a real-world alternative to the tourist-clogged, artificial-feeling Plaka. Thissio, around the far side of the Acropolis (just follow the main pedestrian drag) has a trendy, yuppie vibe and a thriving passel of cafés and restaurants with point-blank Acropolis views. Psyrri—the yang to Thissio’s yin—is grungy and run-down, but increasingly populated by a wide range of eateries, cafés, and clubs, with everything from dives to exclusive dance halls to crank-’em-out chain restaurants. While enjoyable any time of day, both neighborhoods are ideal in the evening—either for dinner or for a stroll afterward. Both also have appealing open-air cinemas. For more details on Thissio and Psyrri, see the Nightlife in Athens chapter.
Sometimes it seems the Greeks would rather just forget the Ottoman chapter of their past...but when you’re talking about nearly 400 years, that’s difficult to do. If you’re intrigued by what Greeks consider a low point in their history, pay a visit to this branch of the prominent, private Benaki Museum (see listing for main branch on here). The 8,000-piece collection, displayed in two renovated Neoclassical buildings, includes beautifully painted ceramics, a 10th-century golden belt, a rare 14th-century astrolabe, and an entire marble room from a 17th-century Cairo mansion.
Cost and Hours: €7, Thu-Sun 9:00-17:00, closed Mon-Wed, northeast of Keramikos Cemetery at Agion Asomaton 22, on the corner with Dipilou, Metro line 1/green: Thissio, tel. 210-325-1311, www.benaki.gr.
Named for the ceramics workshops that used to surround it, this is a vast place to wander among marble tombstones from the seventh century B.C. onward. While the sprawling cemetery provides more exercise than excitement—and requires a good imagination to take on much meaning—the small, modern museum (air-con, great English descriptions) is a delight. With a wealth of artifacts found right here, it explains the evolution of ancient burial rituals one age at a time.
Cost and Hours: €2, covered by Acropolis ticket; daily 8:00-15:00, museum closed Mon; Ermou 148, Metro line 1/green: Thissio or line 3/blue: Keramikos, tel. 210-346-3552.
This events center, built from the remains of a 19th-century gasworks, hosts an eclectic assortment of cultural happenings, including art exhibits, rock concerts, and experimental theater. After dark, the still-standing smokestacks are illuminated in red, giving an eerie impression of its former industrial activity. Technopolis is located in the up-and-coming Gazi district (described next), across a busy street from Keramikos Cemetery.
Cost and Hours: Varies depending on what’s on, Pireos 100, Metro line 3/blue: Keramikos—as you exit, walk to the square brick smokestacks, tel. 210-346-1589, www.technopolis-athens.com.
Huddled around the Technopolis complex just beyond Keramikos Cemetery, this former industrial zone is now the center of the city’s gay community. Recent gentrification is transforming it into one of central Athens’ most interesting neighborhoods (for details, see the Nightlife in Athens chapter).
These sights are scattered around the super-central Plaka neighborhood. The first two sights are covered in more detail in the Athens City Walk chapter.
Clinging to the northern slope of the Acropolis (just above the Plaka), this improbable Greek-island-on-a-hillside feels a world apart from the endless sprawl of concrete and moped-choked streets that stretch from its base. For a break from the big city, escape here for an enjoyable stroll.
After the Romans conquered Athens in 86 B.C., they built their version of an agora—the forum—on this spot. Today it’s a pile of ruins, watched over by the marvelously intact Tower of the Winds. Panels circling the top of the tower depict the eight winds that shape Athenian weather.
Cost and Hours: €2, covered by Acropolis ticket, daily 8:00-14:00, possibly open later in summer, corner of Pelopida and Aiolou streets, Metro lines 1/green and 3/blue: Monastiraki, tel. 210-324-5220.
Nearby: About one block away, down Aiolou street and across from Agora Square, is a separate, fenced-in area of Roman ruins containing what’s left of the Library of Hadrian.
Small but well-presented, this charming old place is one of the most entertaining museums in Athens. On its three floors, you can wander around listening (on headphones) to different instruments and styles of music. Examine instruments dating from the 18th century to today, including flutes, clarinets, bagpipes, drums, fiddles, violins, mandolins, bells, and even water whistles. Photos and paintings illustrate the instruments being played, and everything is described in English. This easily digestible collection is an enjoyable change of pace from more of the same old artifacts.
Cost and Hours: Free, Tue and Thu-Sun 10:00-14:00, Wed 12:00-18:00, closed Mon, near Roman Forum at Diogenous 1-3, Metro lines 1/green and 3/blue: Monastiraki, tel. 210-325-0198, www.culture.gr.
Housed in the old mosque overlooking Monastiraki Square, this contains mostly pieces from the early 20th century, with an emphasis on traditional Greek and Cypriot workshops. Each item is accompanied by a brief description of the artist who crafted it. With its rainbow-painted niche, the mosque interior is more interesting than the collection.
Cost and Hours: €2, Tue-Sun 9:00-16:00, closed Mon, just off Monastiraki Square—entrance along fence to right of mosque, Metro lines 1/green and 3/blue: Monastiraki, tel. 210-322-9031, www.culture.gr.
This dusty but well-presented little museum offers a classy break from the folk kitsch on sale throughout the Plaka. Five small floors display four centuries (17th-20th) of traditional artwork, all well-described in English. And though the collection can be a little difficult to appreciate, it offers a good look at Greek folk art.
Cost and Hours: €2, Tue-Sun 9:00-14:00, closed Mon, across from the Church of Metamorphosis at Kidathineon 17, Metro line 2/red: Akropoli or lines 2/red and 3/blue: Syntagma, tel. 210-322-9031, www.culture.gr.
Visiting the Museum: From the entry, turn left to find the stairs (or right to find the elevator) and head to the top floor. Here you’ll see wonderful folk costumes from each region, followed by jewelry and weaponry.
Continue working your way down through each part of the collection. One floor down is a photo essay about Karpathos Island, called “Ethnographic Images of the Present.” These vivid photos give you a fun trip to one of the country’s most remote and traditional corners, with poetic descriptions: “In the coffee shop, there is room for everybody and everything: wise political words, incredible nautical tales, and memories.” Tucked away on the same floor is a room of colorful frescoes from the “best room” of a small island home.
Continue down to the mezzanine, displaying Greek shadow puppets and ceramics. The ground floor holds a series of tapestries.
Many Jewish communities trace their roots back to medieval Spain’s Sephardic diaspora and, before that, to classical Greece. (Before the Nazis invaded, Greece had 78,000 Jews; more than 85 percent of them perished in the Holocaust.) This impressive collection of more than 8,000 Jewish artifacts—thoughtfully displayed on four floors of a modern building—traces the history of Greek Jews since the second century B.C. Downstairs from the entry, you can visit a replica synagogue with worship items. Then spiral up through the split-level space to see exhibits on Jewish holidays, history, Zionism, the Nazi occupation and Holocaust, traditional dress, everyday life, and the recollections of Greek Jews.
Cost and Hours: €6, borrow English descriptions in each room, Mon-Fri 9:00-14:30, Sun 10:00-14:00, closed Sat; Nikis 39, at the corner with Kidathineon, behind the Hard Rock Café—ring bell to get inside; Metro lines 2/red and 3/blue: Syntagma, tel. 210-322-5582, www.jewishmuseum.gr.
The Syntagma area borders the Plaka to the north and east. All of these sights are covered in detail in the Athens City Walk chapter. I’ve listed only the essentials here.
The “Times Square” of Athens is named for Greece’s historic 1843 constitution, prompted by demonstrations right on this square. A major transit hub, the square is watched over by Neoclassical masterpieces such as the Hotel Grande Bretagne and the Parliament building.
The former palace of King Otto, this is now a house of democracy. In front, colorfully costumed evzone guards stand at attention at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and periodically do a ceremonial changing of the guard to the delight of tourists (guards change five minutes before the top of each hour, less elaborate crossing of the guard on the half-hour, full ceremony with marching band Sundays at 11:00).
This pedestrianized thoroughfare, connecting Syntagma Square with Monastiraki (and on to Thissio and Keramikos Cemetery), is packed with top-quality international shops. While most Athenians can’t afford to shop here, it’s enjoyable for people-watching and is refreshingly traffic-free in an otherwise congested area.
All of these sights are covered in detail in the Athens City Walk chapter. Only the basics are listed here.
Sitting unassumingly in the middle of Ermou street, this small 11th-century Byzantine church offers a convenient look at the Greek Orthodox faith.
Cost and Hours: Free, likely open daily 8:30-13:30 plus Tue and Thu-Fri 17:00-19:30.
Dating from the mid-19th century, this big but stark head church of Athens—and therefore of all of Greece—is covered in scaffolding. The cathedral is the centerpiece of a reverent neighborhood, with a pair of statues out front honoring great heroes of the Church, surrounding streets lined with religious paraphernalia shops (and black-cloaked, long-bearded priests), and the cute little Church of Agios Eleftherios (described next).
Cost and Hours: Free, generally open daily 8:00-13:00 & 16:30-19:00, no afternoon closure in summer, Plateia Mitropoleos.
This tiny church, huddled in the shadow of the cathedral, has a delightful hodgepodge of ancient and early Christian monuments embedded in its facade. Like so many Byzantine churches, it was partly built (in the late 12th century) with fragments of earlier buildings, monuments, and even tombstones. Today it’s a giant Da Vinci Code-style puzzle of millennia-old bits and pieces.
Cost and Hours: Free, likely open daily 8:30-13:30 & 17:00-19:30, Plateia Mitropoleos.
These two sights, dating from Athens’ Roman period, overlook a busy highway at the edge of the tourist zone (just a few steps up Dionysiou Areopagitou from the Acropolis Museum and Metro line 2/red: Akropoli, or a 10-minute walk south of Syntagma Square). Both are described in greater detail in the Athens City Walk chapter.
This stoic triumphal arch stands at the edge of the new suburb of ancient Athens built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the second century A.D. (always viewable).
Started by an overambitious tyrant in the sixth century B.C., this giant temple was not completed until Hadrian took over, seven centuries later. Now 15 (of the original 104) Corinthian columns stand evocatively over a ruined base in a field. You can get a good view of the temple ruins through the fence by the Arch of Hadrian, but since the sight is included in the Acropolis ticket, you can easily drop in for a closer look.
Cost and Hours: €2, covered by Acropolis ticket; daily in summer 8:00-20:00 (in theory), Sept 8:00-19:00, off-season 8:00-15:00; Vasilissis Olgas 1, Metro line 2/red: Akropoli; tel. 210-922-6330, www.culture.gr.
The busy avenue called Vasilissis Amalias rumbles south of Syntagma Square, where you’ll find the following sights. Note that the Arch of Hadrian and the Temple of Olympian Zeus (both described earlier) are just south of the National Garden and Zappeion.
Extending south from the Parliament, the National Garden is a wonderfully cool retreat from the traffic-clogged streets of central Athens. Covering an area of around 40 acres, it was planted in 1839 as the palace garden, created for the pleasure of Queen Amalia. Opened to the public in 1923, the garden has many pleasant paths, a café, WCs, scattered picturesque ancient columns, a playground, and several zoo-type exhibits of animals.
Cost and Hours: Free, open daily from dawn to dusk.
At the southern end of the National Garden stands the grand mansion called the Zappeion, surrounded by formal gardens of its own. To most Athenians, the Zappeion is best known as the site of the Aigli Village outdoor cinema in summer (behind the building, on the right as you face the colonnaded main entry; for details, see here). But the building is more than just a backdrop. During Ottoman rule, much of the Greek elite, intelligentsia, and aristocracy fled the country. They returned after independence and built grand mansions such as this. Finished in 1888, it was designed by the Danish architect Theophilus Hansen, who was known (along with his brother Christian) for his Neoclassical designs. The financing was provided by the Zappas brothers, Evangelos and Konstantinos, two of the prime movers in the campaign to revive the Olympic Games. This mansion housed the International Olympic Committee during the first modern Olympics in 1896 and served as a media center during the 2004 Olympics. Today the Zappeion is a conference and exhibition center.
Cost and Hours: Gardens free and always open, building only open during exhibitions for a fee, Vasilissis Amalias, Metro line 2/red: Akropoli or line 3/blue: Evangelismos.
In your travels through Greece, you’ll see some ruined ancient stadiums (including the ones in Olympia and Delphi). Here’s your chance to see one intact. This gleaming marble stadium has many names. Officially it’s the Panathenaic Stadium, built in the fourth century B.C. to host the Panathenaic Games. Sometimes it’s referred to as the Roman Stadium, because it was rebuilt by the great Roman benefactor Herodes Atticus in the second century A.D., using the same prized Pentelic marble that was used in the Parthenon. This magnificent white marble gives the place its most popular name: Kalimarmaro (“Beautiful Marble”) Stadium. It was restored to its Roman condition in preparation for the first modern Olympics in 1896. It saw Olympic action again in 2004, when it provided a grand finish for the marathon and a wonderful backdrop for the Paralympics opening ceremony. In ancient times, around 50,000 spectators filled the stadium; today, 60,000 people can pack the stands.
Cost and Hours: €3, includes good audioguide, daily March-Oct 8:00-19:00, Nov-Feb 8:00-17:00, located southeast of the Zappeion off Vasileos Konstantinou, Metro line 2/red: Akropoli or line 3/blue: Evangelismos, tel. 210-752-2985, www.panathenaicstadium.gr.
Athinas street leads north from Monastiraki Square to Omonia Square. Walking this grand street offers a great chance to feel the pulse of modern, workaday Athens, with shops tumbling onto broad sidewalks, striking squares, nine-to-fivers out having a smoke, and lots of urban energy. The first two sights are on the way to Omonia Square (see map on here). Farther up Athinas street, past Omonia Square, is the superb National Archaeological Museum.
Take a vibrant, fragrant stroll through the modern-day version of the Ancient Agora. It’s a living, breathing, smelly, and (for some) nauseating barrage on all the senses. You’ll see dripping-fresh meat, livestock in all stages of dismemberment, still-wriggling fish, exotic nuts, and sticky figs. It may not be Europe’s most colorful or appealing market, but it offers a lively contrast to Athens’ ancient sites.
The entire market square is a delight to explore, with colorful and dirt-cheap souvlaki shops and a carnival of people-watching. The best and cheapest selection of whatever’s in season is at the fruit and vegetable stalls, which spread across Athinas street downhill to the west and are flanked by shops selling feta from the barrel and a dozen different kinds of olives. Meat and fish markets are housed in the Neoclassical building to the east, behind a row of shops facing Athinas street that specialize in dried fruit and nuts. Try the roasted almonds and the delicious white figs from the island of Evia.
Hours: Mon-Sat 7:00-15:00, closed Sun, on Athinas between Sofokleous and Evripidou, between Metro lines 1/green and 2/red: Omonia and Metro lines 1/green and 3/blue: Monastiraki.
This contemporary gallery is worth seeking out for fans of cutting-edge art. Various temporary exhibits fill some of this skyscraper’s eight stimulating floors; if it’s open, just poke around. Located near the Central Market action, it’s squeezed between produce stalls, overlooking the big, open square with the underground parking garage.
Cost and Hours: Free, Tue-Fri 14:00-17:00, closed Sat-Mon, during big exhibits may open on weekends and/or stay open until 20:00 on weekdays, Armodiou 10—look for APMOΔIOY 10, mobile 693-726-7217, www.artower.gr.
This museum is the single best place on earth to see ancient Greek artifacts. Strolling through the chronologically displayed collection—from 7000 B.C. to A.D. 500—is like watching a time-lapse movie of the evolution of art. You’ll go from the stylized figurines of the Cycladic Islands, to the golden artifacts of the Mycenaeans (including the so-called Mask of Agamemnon), to the stiff, stoic kouros statues of the Archaic age. Then, with the arrival of the Severe style (epitomized by the Artemision Bronze), the art loosens up and comes to life. As Greece enters the Classical Period, the Bronze Statue of a Youth is balanced and lifelike. The dramatic Artemision Jockey hints at the unbridled exuberance of Hellenism, which is taken to its extreme in the Statue of a Fighting Gaul. Rounding out the collection are Roman statuary, colorful wall paintings from Thira (today’s Santorini), and room upon room of ceramics.
Cost and Hours: €7; free for those 18 and under, on the first Sun of Nov-Dec, and on the last weekend of Sept; open Tue-Sun 8:00-15:00, later in summer—until 18:00 or 20:00 depending on sunset, Tue-Sun 9:00-16:00 in winter; Mon 13:30-20:00, may close at 15:00 in winter; last entry 30 minutes before closing; live guides available for hire in lobby, free Rick Steves audio tour available—see here; 28 Oktovriou (a.k.a. Patission) #44, a 10-minute walk from the Omonia Metro station; tel. 213-214-4800, www.namuseum.gr.
See National Archaeological Museum Tour chapter.
For an edgier taste of Athens, wander into Exarchia, just a short walk behind the National Archaeological Museum. Wedged between the National Technical University, Omonia Square, and Lykavittos Hill, Exarchia is nicknamed the city’s “New Berlin.” As you roam its colorful streets, you’ll begin to understand why.
Populated mostly by students, immigrants, and counterculture idealists, Exarchia is defiant, artsy, coated in graffiti, and full of life. According to locals, many of the anarchists who are the firepower behind Athens’ violent protests call this area home. While Exarchia sounds intimidating—and is a bit farther afield than other areas described in this book—with a sense of adventure and an extra helping of common sense, it can be a fascinating and worthwhile area to wander.
From the small Exarchia Square, side streets spin off into grungy neighborhoods. Mainstream businesses tend to steer clear of this area; instead, streets are lined with alternative boutiques, record stores, and cafés. About two blocks south of the main square—at the corner of Mesolongiou and Tzabella streets—is a memorial to Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a local teen who was shot and killed here in December 2008, when police fired into a crowd of protestors. The incident sparked an attention-grabbing wave of riots across Greece, and ever since, frustrated neighbors keep the cops out and do their own policing. The juxtaposition between Exarchia and the adjacent, very ritzy Kolonaki district makes the tragedy even more poignant. (You might notice that Exarchia’s border with Kolonaki is marked by Athens police vans.)
With its penchant for riots and protests, Exarchia feels less safe than other Athens neighborhoods. For some people this is the seedy underbelly of Athens they came to see; others can’t wait to get back to the predictable souvlaki stands and leather salesmen of the Plaka. If you do venture here, exercise caution, try to avoid conflict, and, unless you’re street-smart and comfortable in gritty urban neighborhoods, think twice before wandering around after dark.
The district called Kolonaki, once the terrain of high-society bigwigs eager to live close to the Royal Palace (now the Parliament), is today’s diplomatic quarter. Lining the major boulevard called Vasilissis Sofias are many embassies, a thriving local yuppie scene, and some of Athens’ top museums outside the old center. These are listed in the order you’d reach them, heading east from the Parliament (see map on here).
This exquisite collection takes you on a fascinating walk through the ages. The mind-boggling array of artifacts—which could keep a museum lover busy for hours—is crammed into 36 galleries on four floors, covering seemingly every era of history: antiquity, Byzantine, Ottoman, and modern. The private collection nicely complements the many state-run museums in town. Each item is labeled in English, and it’s all air-conditioned. The Benaki gift shop is a fine place to buy jewelry (replicas of museum pieces).
Cost and Hours: €7, free entry on Thu though €1 donation requested; open Wed-Sat 9:00-17:00, Thu until 24:00, Sun 9:00-15:00, closed Mon-Tue; classy rooftop café, across from back corner of National Garden at Koumbari 1, Metro lines 2/red and 3/blue: Syntagma, tel. 210-367-1000, www.benaki.gr.
Visiting the Museum: The first exhibit kicks things off by saying, “Around 7000 B.C., the greatest ‘revolution’ in human experience took place: the change from the hunting-and-gathering economy of the Paleolithic Age to the farming economy of the Neolithic Age...” You’ll see fine painted vases, gold wreaths of myrtle leaves worn on heads 2,300 years ago, and evocative Byzantine icons and jewelry.
Upstairs, the first floor picks up where most Athens museums leave off: the period of Ottoman occupation. Here you’ll find traditional costumes, furniture, household items, farm implements, musical instruments, and entire rooms finely carved from wood and lovingly transplanted. In rooms 22 and 23, a fascinating exhibit shows Greece through the eyes of foreign visitors, who came here in the 18th and 19th centuries (back when Athens was still a village, spiny with Ottoman minarets) to see the same ruins you’re enjoying today.
Climb up through smaller rooms to the café and exhibit hall (which has good temporary exhibits). On the top floor, Romantic art depicts Greece’s stirring and successful 19th-century struggle for independence. Finally, one long hall brings you into the 20th century.
Other Branches: Note that other branches of the Benaki are scattered around Athens, including the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art (see here) and the Benaki Cultural Center (a.k.a. “Pireos Street Annex”), which hosts temporary exhibits with a more modern/contemporary flavor (€3-5 depending on exhibits, Wed-Sun 10:00-18:00, Fri-Sat until 22:00, closed Mon-Tue, about seven blocks southwest of Keramikos Cemetery and Technopolis at Pireos 138, Metro line 3/blue: Keramikos, tel. 210-345-3111, www.benaki.gr).
This modern, cozy, enjoyable, and manageable museum shows off the largest exhibit of Cycladic art anywhere, collected by one of Greece’s richest shipping families (the Goulandris clan). While you can see Cycladic art elsewhere in Athens (such as in the National Archaeological Museum), it’s displayed and described most invitingly here. The top-floor exhibit is an excellent primer on the culture of ancient Greece—consider visiting here before hitting the major archaeological museums. Note that the museum’s entrance is a few steps up the side street (Neophytou Douka); the more prominent corner building, fronting Vasilissis Sofias, is their larger annex (or “New Wing”), hosting special exhibits. A pleasant café is near the gift shop.
Cost and Hours: €7, €3.50 on Mon; open Mon and Wed-Sat 10:00-17:00, Thu until 20:00, Sun 11:00-17:00, closed Tue and many religious holidays; Neophytou Douka 4, Metro line 3/blue: Evangelismos, tel. 210-722-8321, www.cycladic.gr.
Visiting the Museum: The first floor up focuses on art from the Cycladic Islands, which surround the isle of Delos, off the coast southeast of Athens. The Aegean city-states here—predating Athens’ Golden Age by 2,000 years—were populated by a mysterious people who left no written record. But they did leave behind an ample collection of fertility figurines. These come in different sizes but follow the same general pattern: skinny, standing ramrod-straight, with large alien-like heads. Some have exaggerated breasts and hips, giving them a violin-like silhouette. Others (likely symbolizing pregnancy) appear to be clutching their midsections with both arms. These items give an insight into the matriarchal cultures of the Cycladic Islands. With their astonishing simplicity, the figurines appear almost abstract, as if Modigliani or Picasso had sculpted them.
While that first floor is the headliner, don’t miss three more floors of exhibits upstairs: ancient Greek art, Cypriot antiquities, and scenes from daily life in antiquity. The highlight—for some, even better than the Cycladic art itself—is the engrossing top-floor exhibit that explains ancient Greek lifestyles. Artifacts, engaging illustrations, and vivid English descriptions resurrect a fun cross-section of the fascinating and sometimes bizarre practices of the ancients: weddings, athletics, agora culture, warfare, and various female- and male-only activities (such as the male-bonding/dining ritual called the symposium). Listen for the music that accompanies the exhibit—historians’ best guess at what the ancients rocked out to. One movie uses actors and colorful sets to dramatize events in the life of “Leon,” a fictional young man of ancient Greece. Another movie demonstrates burial rituals (for the dearly departed Leon), many of which are still practiced by Orthodox Christians in Greece today.
This excellent museum displays key artifacts from the Byzantine Empire, covering the chapters of the Greek story that come after its famed Golden Age. It traces the era from Emperor Constantine’s move from Rome to Byzantium (which he renamed Constantinople, now known as Istanbul) in A.D. 324 until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453. While the rest of Europe fell into the Dark Ages, Byzantium shone brightly. And, as its dominant language and education were Greek, today’s Greeks proudly consider the Byzantine Empire “theirs.” Outside of the Golden Age of antiquity, the Byzantine era is considered the high-water mark for Greek culture.
Cost and Hours: €4, Tue-Sun 9:00-16:00, closed Mon, last entry 30 minutes before closing, café, Vasilissis Sofias 22, Metro line 3/blue: Evangelismos, tel. 210-213-9501, www.byzantinemuseum.gr.
Visiting the Museum: The museum consists of two buildings flanking an entry courtyard. The building on the right holds temporary exhibits, while the one on the left features the permanent collection, which sprawls underground through the complex and is well-described in English.
The permanent exhibit—organized both chronologically and thematically—traces the story of the Byzantine Empire, from the waning days of antiquity to the fledgling days of early Christianity and on to the glory days of Byzantium. It’s divided into two sections.
The first section, “From the Ancient World to Byzantium,” explains how the earliest Byzantine Christians borrowed artistic forms from the Greek and Roman past and adapted them to fit their emerging beliefs. For example, the classical Greek motif of the calf bearer became the “good shepherd” of Byzantine Christianity, while early depictions of Jesus are strikingly similar to the Greek “philosopher” prototype. You’ll also view mosaics and capitals from the earliest “temples” of Christianity and see how existing ancient temples were “Christianized” for new use. Other topics include Coptic art (from Egyptian Christians) and graves and burial customs.
The second section, “The Byzantine World,” delves into various facets of Byzantium—the administration of a vast empire, the use of art in early Christian worship, wall paintings transplanted from a Byzantine church, the role of Athens (and the surrounding region of Attica) in the Byzantine Empire, the introduction of Western European artistic elements by Frankish and Latin Crusaders during the 13th century, everyday countryside lifestyles (to balance out all that stuffy ecclesiastical art), the final artistic flourishing of the 13th and 14th centuries, and the fall of Constantinople (and the Byzantine emperor) to Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. All together, it’s a fascinating place to learn about a rich and often-overlooked chapter of Greek history.
This imposing three-story museum documents the history of Greek warfare, from Alexander the Great to today. The rabble-rousing exhibit, staffed by members of the Greek armed forces, stirs the soul of any Greek patriot. Start by riding the elevator upstairs to the first floor. Here you’ll get a quick chronological review of Greek military history, including replicas of ancient artifacts you’ll see for real in other museums. The mezzanine level focuses on the Greek experience in World War II, including the Nazi occupation, resistance, and liberation. Back on the ground floor you’ll parade past military uniforms, browse an armory of old weapons, and (outside) ogle modern military machines—tanks, fighter jets, and more (visible from the street, even when the museum is closed).
Cost and Hours: €2, Tue-Sun 9:00-14:00, closed Mon, scant English descriptions, Rizari 2-4 at Vasilissis Sofias, Metro line 3/blue: Evangelismos, tel. 210-725-2975, www.warmuseum.gr.
A few blocks up from Syntagma Square and the traffic-free Ermou street thoroughfare are more museums, including the National History Museum and the Numismatic Museum (i.e., coins). This one is the best of the bunch:
Housed in the former residence of King Otto and Queen Amalia (where they lived from 1836 to 1843), this museum combines an elegant interior with a charming overview of the 19th- and early-20th-century history of Athens.
The highlight (on the ground floor) is a giant panoramic late-17th-century painting of Louis XIV’s ambassador and his party, with Athens in the background. The work shows a small village occupied by Ottomans (with prickly minarets rising from the rooftops), before the Parthenon was partially destroyed. In another room, an interesting model shows Athens circa 1842, just as it was emerging as the capital of Greece.
Upstairs are lavishly decorated rooms and exhibits that emphasize King Otto’s role in the fledgling Greek state following the Ottoman defeat. Throughout the place you’ll see idyllic paintings of Athens as it was a century and a half ago: a red-roofed village at the foot of the Acropolis, populated by Greek shepherds in traditional costume. Stepping back outside into the smog and noise after your visit, you’ll wish you had a time machine.
Cost and Hours: €3, audioguide-€0.50, Mon and Wed-Fri 9:00-16:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-15:00, closed Tue, Paparigopoulou 5-7, Metro line 2/red: Panepistimio, tel. 210-323-1397, www.athenscitymuseum.gr.
