Athens Agora
The Athens Agora or ancient market is a must-see site and one of the
best things to do in Athens with its restored arcade building, the Stoa, and
its museum.
At the Ancient Agora in Athens
After the Acropolis and National Archaeological Museum, the
market place of ancient Athens is another of the best things to do in Athens. It features some good
remains and a fine, small museum.
Athens Agora
Imagine the Agora filled with stalls and shops, its streets
and squares packed with buyers and sellers. It helps to buy a plan or to
consult one of the information boards dotted around the site. The area was
first used as a market place in about the 6th century BC. Before that it was a
cemetery.
The Ancient Agora Stands Below the Acropolis
Photo by Donna Dailey
The site was at the heart of Athenian life for centuries, along with the Acropolis, which rises behind it. In fact, a good overview of the Agora can be had from the Acropolis, or from the neighbouring Areopagos.
At ground level the foundations of many buildings are still evident, with signs in English for some of them. Two buildings dominate opposite ends of the site. One is the Temple of Hephaistos, and the other the Stoa Atallou (Stoa of Attalos), which contains the Agora's excellent little museum.
The Temple of Hephaistos
Athens Agora: The Stoa of Attalos
The Stoa is a two-storey arcade, first built in the 2nd
century BC. It has been immaculately restored by the American School of
Classical Studies in Athens, giving us a rare opportunity to see what Greek buildings
of the period actually looked like when they were in use.
The Stoa of Attalos
Athens Agora Museum
Inside, the museum is full of quirky finds that bring old
Athens to life: a child's commode, a fragment of a library rule-book, a clever machine
used for the selection of officials. Between the museum and the Acropolis is
another restored building, the Church of the Holy Apostles.
Our Pick of the Athens Guides
Some other Athens pages
Greece Travel Secrets gives its choice of the best hotels in Athens from budget and moderate options through to 5-star luxury choices.
Athens Airport car rentals include Alamo/National Car Rental, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt, all with offices at the airport.
The Athens National Historical Museum is in the former Greek Parliament building and houses an archive of historical artefacts and documents.
Athens walking tours and other experiences like cookery lessons, ceramics workshops, dining with a family, and street art are available from Alternative Athens
Athens Airport hotels include the luxury Sofitel at the terminals, Holiday Inn near the airport, and others close by like the Hotel Pantheon.
In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Monastiraki Flea Market, followed by Sunday lunch at Sigalas on Monastiraki Square
This beginner's guide to Greek architecture explains how to tell your Ionic from your Doric columns, and what to look for in temples and Byzantine churches.
If you're wondering where to eat in Athens and Piraeus we have a few suggestions including some favorites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square, and Syntagma.
A History of Athens from the first people to live on the Acropolis through the Golden Age of Pericles and Alexander the Great to the military junta.
The National Archaeological Museum is one of the best things to see in Athens, and the best museum in the world for seeing Greece's archaeological treasures.
Athens International Airport is east of Athens city centre with its own Metro train station, buses to Athens and Piraeus, taxis and car rental offices.
The beach resorts of Athens are easily reached from the city and also close are Cape Sounion with the Temple of Poseidon, ancient Marathon and Rafina's port.
The Athens Museum of Cycladic Art houses a remarkable collection of Cycladic figurines and other items and is one of the best museums in Athens.
The best views in Athens include views from the Acropolis and of the Acropolis from the top of some of the city’s several hills and from hotels and restaurants.
Around Monastiraki is the flea market, Athens cathedral, Kerameikos Cemetery, the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art and the Psirri and Gazi nightlife districts.
Amusing children in Athens is easy as there is lots to do including a children’s museum, planetarium, beaches, and easy excursions to the nearest islands.
Athens car rental options include almost all of the major international car hire firms such as Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Europcar.
There are lots of flights from Athens to Santorini as well as a ferry service from Piraeus, with flights to Santorini leaving from Athens International Airport.
There's all kinds of entertainment in Athens whether you're interested in theatre, dance, classical music, jazz, Greek music, rock music, disco, opera or movies.
The Greece Travel Secrets website looks at the Athens weather, the chance of rain, the climate in summer and winter and the best time to visit Athens.
Greece Travel Secrets lists the ten best museums in Athens, with the top two being the National Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum.
This walk around the Kolonaki neighbourhood of Athens starts and ends in Syntagma Square and takes you to several museums, Kolonaki Square and Mount Lykabettos.
The Greece Travel Secrets guide to the original Athens Olympic Stadium, built for the 1896 Olympic Games and open to the public for jogging and photography.
Ten Fun Things to Do in Athens include eating in the Central Market, watching the sun set over the Acropolis and seeing one of the world's oldest theatres.
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