Athens
ATHENS INTRODUCTION
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Some of the sites you’ll be visiting are a testament to the greatness of the Greek civilization that for centuries – even after its decline and fall – influenced the social,...
THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE
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Let’s start with the sauces: tirocafterì, made with feta, the most famous Greek cheese in the world, flavored with genuine olive oil and chili pepper; tzatziki, fresh and aromatic,...
ACROPOLIS
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In Greek, Acropolis means “high city”, and the rock outcrop that rises above Athens, with an elevation of 156 meters, has been of enormous political and religious significance since the...
ACROPOLIS MUSEUM
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The idea of building a new museum dates to 1976; it took 33 long years and numerous designs to complete the museum you can visit today. When a location had finally been decided upon, the excavation...
THEATER OF DIONYSUS
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For the Greeks, the theater was the place where citizens would gather to take part in the presentation of the great enigmas that concerned everyday life.
It was Peisistratos who introduced the...
SYNTAGMA SQUARE
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Otto was placed on the Greek throne by France, the UK and Russia in 1832, after the war fought by the Greeks for liberation from the Ottoman Empire. The aim of the European superpowers was to control...
NATIONAL GARDEN
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This delightfully romantic garden, right next to the Parliament, was commissioned in 1838 by Queen Amalia, the wife of King Otto of Greece. Both were German, and the project was entrusted to the...
PANATHENAIC STADIUM
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In 330 BC, the statesman Lykourgos had a 260-meter-long granite stadium built here, with stone benches around the 204-meter-long course.
This length of approximately 200 meters corresponded to an...
PLAKA
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Inhabited for seven thousand years, the neighborhood offers an incredible variety of winding little lanes, balconies embellished with bougainvillea, geranium and jasmine flowers and, above all, of...
TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS
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The remains before you are what is left of one of the most striking temples ever built: 110 meters long and 43 meters wide, with columns over 17 meters high, like a six-storey house.
Just fifteen of...
MOUNT LYCABETTUS
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Even if you’re fond of walking, I suggest you take the funicular, the characteristic little train that climbs the extremely steep route up to the top; you’ll need to walk up the last...
ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
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The artworks of Ancient Greece have influenced not only Roman art, but the whole of Western art – don’t forget that Greece was part of the Roman Empire from 146 BC.
The canons of beauty...
MONASTIRAKI
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Monastiraki is a favorite shopping haunt with tourists.
The square takes its name from the old Church of the Pantanassa, founded about a thousand years ago and now a small monastery, monastiraki in...
AGORA
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The Greek term “agora” has multiple meanings, all of them linked to a space in which common activities are carried out: agora means gathering place, assembly; it was the place where the...
TOWER OF THE WINDS
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This octagonal tower once contained an ingenious water clock, presumably constructed by Andronicus of Cyrrhus, a Syrian architect, around 50 BC, when Athens had been under Roman rule for some time....
STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION CULTURAL CENTER
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I suggest you make your way in through the entrance at the intersection of Evripidou Street and Diranis Street, so you can immediately enjoy a striking view of the building, which is at the end of a...
