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Athens

Athens is a top vacation destination and the Greece Travel Secrets Athens pages have information on hotels, museums, Athens airport and all the best things to do.

Athens: The Old Reflected in the New
Photo by Donna Dailey

Athens, Greece's capital city, is a top vacation destination. The Greece Travel Secrets pages on Athens havs information on Athens International Airport (including Athens Airport Hotels), car rental, the Athens weather (including what to do in Athens in the rain!), entertainment in Athens, the history of Athens, public holidays and events, Athens for kids, the best views in Athens, the best museums, the best hotels, all of the best things to do in Athens - and much more!

Athens is one of Europe's top city break destinations. New chic boutique hotels seem to open every few months, there are now many fine-dining restaurants (some with Michelin stars), and some of the visitor attractions have had a major make-over in recent years too.

There are new museums, expanded museums, a sleek metro system, expanding pedestrian areas in the city centre, and the general buzz that you only get in a city where things are happening – good things.

The Publishers of Greece Travel Secrets in Athens

Don't miss this visual tour of Athens with photos by Donna Dailey of Greece Travel Secrets.

Many people visit Athens as a shore excursion from a cruise ship, and others for a day or two as part of a longer vacation. In both cases the two must-see sites are the National Archaeological Museum and the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis.

There's usually time for a stroll around the streets of the Plaka, one of the oldest parts of Athens, although the Athenians themselves tend to prefer the newer areas like Psyrri and Gazi. You should also visit Syntagma Square, preferably timed so that you can see the Changing of the Guard.

Athens even has a mountain (well, technically a hill) right in the centre of the city. See our pages on Mount Lykabettos and on Kolonaki about how to get to the top. The other prominent hill, close to the Acropolis, is the Pnyx. Don't miss our page on the Pnyx, which we hope will make you want to visit it. You should!

What are the Ten Best Things to Do in Athens?

We encourage you to stay for longer, though, and try to fit in some other sites, including several brilliant museums, like the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Byzantine and Christian Museum, the War Museum, and the Benaki Museum.

We've visited Athens many times and have written several guidebooks to the city, including Essential Athens, Essential Spiral Athens, CitySpot Athens, and the Berlitz Guide to Athens. We love the city, and always have done.

In the National Archaeological Museum: Photo (c) Donna Dailey

Alternative Athens Tours

Take a look at the website of Alternative Athens, who organise city tours and experiences with a difference: ceramics workshops, street art walks, enjoying a home-cooked meal with an Athens family... and more. You can read more about their tours and experiences on our Athens Walking Tours page.

Other Athens pages

  • This drive around Attica offers visitors high hills, beach resorts, small villages and classical sites like Marathon and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.

    A Drive around Attica

    This drive around Attica offers visitors high hills, beach resorts, small villages and classical sites like Marathon and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.

  • 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.

    Where to Eat in Athens and Piraeus

    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.

  • Pictures of Athens from the Greece Travel Secrets website

    Pictures of Athens

    Pictures of Athens from the Greece Travel Secrets website

  • In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!

    My Athens: a Portrait by Travel Writer Mike Gerrard

    In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!

  • Around Monastiraki is the flea market, Athens cathedral, Kerameikos Cemetery, the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art and the Psirri and Gazi nightlife districts.

    Monastiraki and Around

    Around Monastiraki is the flea market, Athens cathedral, Kerameikos Cemetery, the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art and the Psirri and Gazi nightlife districts.

  • 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.

    Entertainment in Athens

    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.

  • Easter in Athens is, like everywhere in Greece, the biggest religious celebration of the year and this page tells you what to expect over the Easter weekend.

    Easter in Athens

    Easter in Athens is, like everywhere in Greece, the biggest religious celebration of the year and this page tells you what to expect over the Easter weekend.

  • 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.

    Best Views 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.

  • Two of the best cocktail bars in Athens, MoMix Kerameikos and The Clumsies, are making creative cocktails using that most Greek of Greek spirits, Metaxa.

    Best Cocktail Bars in Athens

    Two of the best cocktail bars in Athens, MoMix Kerameikos and The Clumsies, are making creative cocktails using that most Greek of Greek spirits, Metaxa.

  • 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.

    Athens Weather and the Best Time to Visit

    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.

  • Athens walking tours and other experiences like cookery lessons, ceramics workshops, dining with a family, and street art are available from Alternative Athens

    Athens Walking Tours and Other Experiences

    Athens walking tours and other experiences like cookery lessons, ceramics workshops, dining with a family, and street art are available from Alternative Athens

  • 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.

    Athens to Santorini

    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.

  • Athens in the rain isn’t something you’re likely to experience but here are suggestions for things to do in the rain in Athens including museums and shopping

    Athens in the Rain

    Athens in the rain isn’t something you’re likely to experience but here are suggestions for things to do in the rain in Athens including museums and shopping

  • Athens Food Tours are being introduced by new company The Greek Fork, and will include tours of the Central Market, and the best street food.

    Athens Food Tours

    Athens Food Tours are being introduced by new company The Greek Fork, and will include tours of the Central Market, and the best street food.

  • Athens, an Eater's Guide to the City, is published by Culinary Backstreets, who do walking food tours in Athens and the book recommends the best places to eat.

    Athens Eaters Guide

    Athens, an Eater's Guide to the City, is published by Culinary Backstreets, who do walking food tours in Athens and the book recommends the best places to eat.

  • This Athens dining guide doesn't list restaurants but gives practical advice on types of eating places, tipping, hotel breakfasts and picnics.

    Athens Dining Guide

    This Athens dining guide doesn't list restaurants but gives practical advice on types of eating places, tipping, hotel breakfasts and picnics.

  • Athens culinary tours are among the food walking tours offered by an unusual company, Culinary Backstreets.

    Athens Culinary Tours

    Athens culinary tours are among the food walking tours offered by an unusual company, Culinary Backstreets.

  • Athens car rental options include almost all of the major international car hire firms such as Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Europcar.

    Athens Car Rental

    Athens car rental options include almost all of the major international car hire firms such as Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Europcar.

  • Athens Airport car rentals include Alamo/National Car Rental, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt, all with offices at the airport.

    Athens Airport Car Rental

    Athens Airport car rentals include Alamo/National Car Rental, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt, all with offices at the airport.

  • The Athens Acropolis has the city's most iconic building, the Parthenon, along with other historic buildings and is where the Elgin Marbles were taken from.

    Athens Acropolis

    The Athens Acropolis has the city's most iconic building, the Parthenon, along with other historic buildings and is where the Elgin Marbles were taken from.

  • This extract of Artistic Athens in the Lonely Planet book Culture Trails takes visitors on a journey through the artistic side of Athens..

    Artistic Athens

    This extract of Artistic Athens in the Lonely Planet book Culture Trails takes visitors on a journey through the artistic side of Athens..

  • 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.

    A Walk around Kolonáki

    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.

  • Greece Travel Secrets picks the best time to visit Athens with a month-by-month account of the weather, hotel prices and any special events that are happening.

    Best Time to Visit Athens

    Greece Travel Secrets picks the best time to visit Athens with a month-by-month account of the weather, hotel prices and any special events that are happening.

  • Greece Travel Secrets lists the ten best museums in Athens, with the top two being the National Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum.

    Ten Best Museums in Athens

    Greece Travel Secrets lists the ten best museums in Athens, with the top two being the National Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum.

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