The Original Guide to Athens
Athens is a spirited mix of ancient myth and modern life – where ruins meet rooftop bars and street art pulses alongside democracy’s birthplace. From souvlaki stalls to open-air jazz nights, it’s a sensory city that’s full of surprises, with history and charisma around every corner
Words: Rebecca Hall
02/10/2025
Mount Lycabettus framed by foliage
This gritty, award-winning portrait of Athens was first published in 2007
Klavdia performs ‘Asteromáta’ during the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel
Pre-trip culture checklist
WATCH: The Athens Way of Life. Always Was, Always Will Be – short films by Marketing Greece and Athens Airport – use animated works by Greek painters to spotlight everyday Athenian life, inviting you to discover the city’s timeless core.
READ: 92 Acharnon Street: A Year in Athens is a sharp, witty memoir by British poet John Lucas. Set in Agios Panteleimonas, a working-class, immigrant-rich neighbourhood, it offers a down-to-earth view of Athens that’s far from tourist clichés.
LISTEN: Rebetiko, Greece’s gritty urban blues, is back – revived by Ioulia Karapataki and reimagined by Marina Satti and Eurovision 2025’s Klavdia. Dive deeper at the Rizes Fest, where folk meets modern Athens in every beat.
Myller coffee shop (Rebecca Naylor)
A local’s view
Athens is a canvas – a mix of ancient energy, rebellious creativity and chaotic beauty. I always tell people: don’t just look up at monuments – look around. Take a walk through Psyrri, Exarchia or Metaxourgeio, where modern street art tells the story of today’s city. Grab a coffee at Saorsa or Myller Coffee Shop, then follow the murals into lesser-known neighbourhoods such as Kerameikos and Gazi. That’s where you’ll feel the real pulse of the city.
I run street art tours and hands-on graffiti workshops in the city – including Greece’s only black light painting room. There’s something magical about helping visitors create art instead of just observing it when they visit.
Anafiotika belongs to the old historical neighbourhood of Plaka (Rebecca Naylor)
New view
A 19th-century village tucked just below the Acropolis, Anafiotika offers a hidden island oasis in the heart of Athens. Built by Anafi island craftsmen, its whitewashed alleys, tiny houses and overflowing flowerpots feel more Cycladic than capital. Calm and maze-like, it contrasts with the sprawl below and, from here, the city unfurls, its ruins, rooftops and street art all framed by this serene, culturally different perch.
Ancient Greek sculptures in the Acropolis Museum; Little Tree Books and Coffee (Rebecca Naylor)
Rainy-day saviours
Athens still sparkles on wet days. Take cover in the legendary Acropolis Museum, now featuring an excavation museum with more than 1,000 everyday artefacts spanning more than 4,500 years. Warm up at nearby Little Tree Books and Coffee, where you can browse Greek and international titles (its hot lemonade is legendary). In Syntagma, explore the Maria Callas Museum as you learn about the life and legacy of the Greek soprano, then sip homemade hot chocolate at Sokolata 56 inside a cosy atmospheric arcade on Voulis Street.
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus theatre on the southern slopes of the Acropolis (Rebecca Naylor)
The original…cultural icons in plain sight
Classical Athens – the cradle of democracy, theatre, and athleticism – still pulses through the city’s bones. The all-marble Panathenaic Stadium hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896, with more than 240 athletes from 14 nations competing in 43 events, while the Ancient Agora lay the groundwork for democratic thought. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus on the Acropolis’s southern slopes still stages summer performances, especially during the Athens Epidaurus Summer Festival, while Kerameikos Ancient Cemetery marks the Sacred Way (the road from Athens to Eleusis).
Bird’s-eye view
Skip touristy rooftops and head to Deos, on the 24th and 25th floors of Apollon Tower – Athens’ highest, in Ambelokipi neighbourhood. Locals love it for brunch, lobster rolls, risotto and cocktails with panoramic views (above), from Mount Hymettus to the Saronic Gulf. In summer, relax by the rooftop pool.
Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst in The Two Faces of January (Studio Canal/supplied by LMK)
As seen on screen
Sophia Loren’s Boy on a Dolphin, filmed at the Acropolis in 1957, made Athens a Hollywood muse and helped to launch Greece’s early tourism campaigns. The Two Faces of January (2014), a glossy thriller set in 1960s Greece featuring Kirsten Dunst, also had its Athens scenes shot at the Acropolis. Since 2017, Greece’s cash rebate programme for film and television has lured productions. For Apple TV+’s Tehran (2019), Athens stepped in for the Iranian capital, more specifically Omonia Square roundabout and its fountains. And season three of Jack Ryan (on Amazon Prime) showcases spots from Monastiraki to Cape Sounion.
Many sites offer step-free access (Rebecca Naylor)
Access all areas
Athens is becoming steadily more inclusive. Discover Greece’s dedicated hub spotlights wheelchair tours, accessible museums and ramp-equipped attractions. The Acropolis now includes a tactile experience for visually impaired visitors and a high-tech lift for step-free access.
EMST: The National Museum of Contemporary Art has partnered with the NGO The Happy Act to make its space more neurodivergent friendly – identifying sources of visual and aural triggers, while Seatrac systems help wheelchair users navigate into the sea at several Riviera beaches via specialised chairs.
The sensory six
Cinnamon sticks at Fotsi (Rebecca Naylor)
Strong, unfiltered coffee at Vryssaki (Rebecca Naylor)
Giant mural on the side of the Piraeus Bank building (Rebecca Naylor)
Multi-purpose cultural space Gazarte (Rebecca Naylor)
Trinkets at Monastiraki Flea Market (Rebecca Naylor)
A screening at outdoor Cine Paris (Rebecca Naylor)
Smell
Athens is an aromatic city. From souvlaki sizzling with oregano to the spice shops of Evripidou Street (nicknamed ‘the city’s stomach’), scents are everywhere. Stop by Fotsi at number 39 for a heady mix of herbs and spices.
Taste
Coffee is religion here. Try a freddo espresso or Greek coffee at Vryssaki in Plaka. It also hosts art events to deepen your sensory immersion.
See
Street art in Athens is a visual symphony, not just a rebellious scrawl. Awesome Athens Experiences offers walking tours that showcase the city’s story far beyond its ruins – raw, bold, and beautiful. A moving, visual window into Athens now.
Hear
Catch rooftop jazz at Gazarte in Gazi, once Athens’s gasworks district. Its lantern-lit terrace attracts a cool local crowd and international acts with a backdrop of the glowing Acropolis.
Touch
Monastiraki Flea Market is a tactile adventure in itself. Touch handwoven fabrics, cool brass trays or supple leather sandals. Every item feels interwoven with Athenian stories.
Sixth sense
Athenians adore summer nights at open-air cinemas. Watch classics under the stars at Cine Paris in Plaka, or head to Dexameni, nestled beneath Lycabettus Hill, for more urban vibes. It’s more than a movie – it’s an Athenian ritual.
TAF (The Art Foundation) in the Monastiraki district (Rebecca Naylor)
The one thing
Drop by Cinque in Monastiraki for Greek wine and terroir tales – taste before you choose. Nearby, TAF (The Art Foundation) hides behind a crumbling doorway. Once a prison, it’s now a buzzing gallery-bar.
For dinner, Merceri offers a quiet culinary gem – seasonal Greek dishes, standout wine, and Michelin recognition. End the night at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center – a modern landmark with a park, library and sea views. There’s a free shuttle you can hop on from Syntagma.
The opulent lobby of Hotel Grande Bretagne
Where to stay
If the walls at the Hotel Grande Bretagne could talk, they would certainly have many a secret to tell. Celebrating her 150th birthday last year, Athens’ grande dame has seen countless esteemed guests step off Syntagma Square and into her shimmering lobby. Maria Callas, David Bowie and Elizabeth Taylor all checked into chandelier-adorned suites over the years, while World War II saw this luxury landmark transformed into the royal HQ. Today, the GB retains her historic opulence, from the original stained-glass ceiling of the Winter Garden (painstakingly restored during extensive renovations for the 2004 Summer Olympics) to the palatial en-suite bathrooms twinkling in 50 shades of marble. The star of the show? Scale the eight floors of this towering lodging and bid good morning to the Acropolis over Greek coffee and breakfast eggs strapatsada-style at the Roof Garden – or watch in awe as the Parthenon illuminates come nightfall over a glass or two of local wine, expertly selected by the delightfully diligent sommelier.
Palermo, Sicily, is flanked by mountains
Where next?
From Greece’s capital to Sicily’s. Palermo mirrors Athens’s chaos and culture with its citrus-scented markets such as Ballarò and La Vucciria echoing Athenian street life, while layers of Phoenician, Arab, Roman and Norman rule show in every golden dome, mosaic and palazzo.
Marvel at the Palatine Chapel, where Islamic muqarnas meets Christian iconography. And if Athens gives you marble chills, Palermo’s Cathedral, a hybrid of Gothic, Moorish and Baroque styles, might do the same. Art lovers should head to Palazzo Butera, a converted mansion and art space, or escape to Mondello beach for retro glamour-channelling an Athens Riviera style.
