Destination:
Athens

Athens Festival

The city of Athens' cultural showcase is the two-phase Athens Festival, held every summer since 1955 at the magnificent 2,000 year old Herod Atticus Odeon, built in 161 AD, as well as other venues throughout the city. The ancient tiered theater nestles at the foot of the Acropolis and during summer and autumn resounds each evening to the tune of symphony orchestras, classical drama and dance, and operatic performances. The large and varied program of international and Greek artists is available from the Athens Festival office on Stadiou Street. The summer section of the festival runs from about June to July, while the autumn section covers August to October.

Lycabettus Hill Festival

A perfect way to spend the hot summer nights in Athens in stunning surroundings and with first class entertainment is to attend some of the items presented at the annual Lycabettus Hill contemporary arts festival. The various performances take place in the open-air theater atop the hill which provides magnificent views across Athens. The program includes contemporary jazz, pop, rock and dance shows. For more information contact the Lycabettus Theatre on (0)210 722 7233.

Traditional Greek Dance Festival

The warmth and energy of the Greek people is nowhere better demonstrated than in their traditional dancing, and this can be witnessed in fine style each summer night (except Mondays) at the theater established by Greek folk expert, Dora Stratou, on Philopappus Hill in Athens. The dancers in each show do full justice to the costumes and ancient routines that make up each packed performance.

Rockwave Festival

Since it was first held in 1996 Athens' Rockwave Festival has become one of Europe's most popular annual live rock music events, drawing the hottest performers and an enthusiastic crowd of tens of thousands. The music fest takes place over three days, featuring three stages offering different types of music: metal, rock and dance. The latest addition is the 'silent' dance experience, featuring the Silent Disco.

Acropolis

Those arriving in Athens for the first time generally head immediately for the Acropolis. There are very few visitors who are not already familiar with the image of this distinctive citadel of ancient Athens, perched on its steep flat-topped rock above the sprawling city. It is the spot where Athens, and classical Greek civilisation, began, and the site of a collection of beautiful temples, most dedicated to the goddess of wisdom, Athena. The ruins that remain visible today date from the 4th century BC, most of them erected by Pericles after the Persians destroyed many of the original Acropolis buildings. Visitors toil up the slopes past the souvenir stands and enter the site through the monumental entranceway, the Propylaia, which in ancient times contained an art gallery. To the right of the entrance is the tiny temple of Athena Nike, reconstructed and restored. The Parthenon, the greatest surviving monument of Doric architecture, is the biggest drawcard on the Acropolis, built of Pentelic marble quarried from the distant mountains, which form the backdrop to the magnificent view of Athens from the Acropolis. Alongside the Parthenon is another temple, the Erechtheion, which bears holes on its northern porch where Poseidon's trident struck it during his contest with Athena to have the city named after him. There is a museum on the Acropolis, too, where some of the carving and friezes recovered from the temples are on show, although many of the archeological finds from the Acropolis are now housed in the British Museum in London.

Ancient Agora

Clustered below the Acropolis (enter from Odos Adrianou, east of Monastiraki Square) is the remains of the Agora, ancient Athens' commercial and civic center, where once walked and talked the great philosophers Socrates and Plato. In fact the disgraced and despairing Socrates committed suicide in a prison in the southwest corner of the Agora, by drinking poison. The area is littered with the ruins of numerous ancient buildings, including the Dionysos Theatre (the world's oldest theater where great plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were first performed). One building that has been restored is the 200 BC Stoa of Attalos (a stoa is a long, low roofed promenade which served as a combination law court, municipal office and shopping arcade in classical Greece). The reconstructed building now has a museum on its ground floor containing artifacts covering 5,000 years of Athenian history.

National Archaeological Museum

This is the largest and most popular of Athens' many museums, and is usually very crowded. Its vast collection includes treasures unearthed from Mycenae by Heinrich Schliemann; a staggering array of sculpture including the earliest known Greek figurines dating from around 2,000 BC; frescoes from the volcanic island of Santorini; and so much more that it is recommended visitors make several visits to absorb it all.

Piraeus

Although not really attractive to tourists, the confusing, bustling port of Athens is the departure point for hundreds of island ferries and cruise ships, so most tourists pass through it while visiting Greece. Piraeus has been Athens' port since ancient times. It actually consists of three harbors, with most of the tourist boats using the Zea Limani section. There are several fish restaurants in the harbor precincts, and a sprawling street market. Visitors with time on their hands while waiting for ferries can also explore the Maritime Museum at Akti Themistokleous, alongside the pier used by the island hydrofoils, which features models of ancient and modern ships.

Plaka

The old town section of Athens below the Acropolis has become the gathering place for travelers and tourists, particularly in the warm Athens evenings. Strolling the narrow streets of the Plaka flanked by ancient monuments, Byzantine churches and mosques, stately mansions, and inviting tavernas with vine-covered courtyards, makes a pleasant diversion.

Kolonaki/Lykavittos Hill

This hill juts a steep 984 feet (300m) right up from the center of the city, and is a great vantage point from which to take in the scope of Athens. The St. George chapel and Lykavittos Theatre perch atop this hill, which can be reached by car, cable car or a healthy hike! The cable car departs every 30 minutes, from the corners of Aristippou and Ploutarchou Streets in Kolonaki.

Syntagma Square

The square that forms the heart of modern Athens is home to the Parliament Building, built in 1840 as a royal palace. Tourists flock to photograph the unusually clad guards at the palace; the skirted and pom-pommed guard is changed ceremonially every hour. The square is a central point of access to all the major attractions of Athens, particularly 'museum mile' along Vassilissis Sophias Avenue, which runs from Syntagma Square. Here most of Athens' museums are clustered, including the Benaki Museum, Museum of Cycladic Art and the Byzantine Museum.

Cape Sounion

Cape Sounion, about 43 miles (69km) east of Athens, is a popular seaside resort used by locals and visitors alike. On the cliffs above the town is the 5th-century BC Temple of Poseidon, where, according to legend, King Aegeus waited for his son, Theseus, to return from Crete after slaying the Minotaur. Sounion is easily accessible by bus from the city.

Monastery of Daphni

This great Byzantine architectural masterpiece dates from the 4th century AD, and is situated about five and a half miles (9km) west of Athens on the road to Corinth. The church is built on a site where shrines have existed since ancient times, often destroyed by invaders and earthquakes. During the Crusades Cistercian monks turned Daphni into a Catholic monastery, but today it has been reclaimed by the Greek Orthodox Church and its beautiful mosaic work depicting Biblical scenes has been restored. A wine festival is held at Daphni each year in August/September.

Marathon

About 26 miles (42km) northeast of Athens, between the villages of Nea Makri and Marathona, is the site of the great battle between the small force of Athenians and the mighty Persian army in 490 BC. On the plain of Marathon today the burial mound of the 192 Athenians who fell in the fight can be seen, along with a small museum displaying archeological relics from the battlefield. The battle is famed not only for the Athenian victory against huge odds, but also for the fleetness of the Athenian runner, Pheidippides, who was dispatched to Athens with news of the victory and fell dead from exhaustion after delivering the message to the city; thus the name 'Marathon' was given to long-distance running races. The Marathon race in the 2004 Olympics started here, and followed the same route as that run by Pheidippedes in the legend, ending at the Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens, which was built for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

Delphi

In ancient times pilgrims came from all over the Greek world to seek advice from the god Apollo, via his oracle at the scenically beautifully situated site on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, known as Delphi. Today tourists flock constantly in the wake of the pilgrims of old up the Sacred Way to marvel at the remains of the marble Sanctuary of Apollo, the Castalian Spring and the Sanctuary of Athena. There is an excellent museum, too, at the site, which is northwest of Athens in the prefecture of Fokida.

Saronic Islands

The Saronic group of islands are all within an hour or two of Piraeus by boat, making them ideal destinations for day trips from the city for those who want to experience a taste of Greek island life. Alternatively, use the islands as tranquil bases on which to stay while commuting to Athens to see the sights. Aegina is the closest island, sporting a sandy beach called Agia Marina, and a quaint fishing village called Perdika. Hydra has no sandy beaches, but the town is picturesque and offers good seafood restaurants. Poros can be reached from Piraeus in little more than an hour and sports beautiful forests that descend to the beach. It offers water sports opportunities and a lively café scene, as well as being a ferry hub offering connections to all the popular Aegean islands. Spetsi has an attractive old harbor and one of the oldest wooden boat-building yards in Greece. It is also renowned for its beaches and pine forests.

Benaki Museum

Established in 1930, the museum houses prehistoric to modern Greek art and artifacts, occasionally hosting exhibitions, and restoration and conservation workshops. The collection features Paleolithic and Neolithic relics, and covers the late Roman Empire as it merged into the Byzantine Empire.