City guide · Greece
Athens
Ancient marble above a loud, modern Mediterranean city
April–June & September–October
Euro (EUR)
Greek
Europe
The guides
The best of Athens, by category
Athens layers 3,400 years of history under the Parthenon's marble gaze, yet the modern city hums with souvlaki smoke, anarchic street art, and some of the world's best rooftop bars. Since hosting the 2004 Olympics and weathering the debt crisis, it has reinvented itself as a year-round culture capital rather than a mere stopover to the islands.
The shortlist
If you only have time for the best
The single highest-rated picks across every category in Athens.
Hotels
See all 6- 1
Hotel Grande Bretagne
Syntagma
4.7★5,000+ reviews
- 2
King George, a Luxury Collection Hotel
Syntagma
4.7★2,000+ reviews - 3
Electra Metropolis Athens
Syntagma / Mitropoleos
4.7★5,000+ reviews
Restaurants
See all 6- 1
Funky Gourmet
Keramikos / Metaxourgeio
4.6★1,000+ reviews - 2
Karamanlidika tou Fani
Psyrri / Athinas Street
4.7★5,000+ reviews - 3
Atlantikos
Psyrri
4.6★3,000+ reviews
Bars
See all 6- 1
The Clumsies
Central Athens / Praxitelous Street
4.5★7,500+ reviews - 2
Baba Au Rum
Klitiou Street, city center
4.5★5,000+ reviews - 3
A for Athens Rooftop
Monastiraki
4.5★10,000+ reviews
Attractions
See all 6- 1
Acropolis of Athens
Acropolis / Makrygianni
4.8★150,000+ reviews
- 2
Acropolis Museum
Makrygianni
4.8★75,000+ reviews - 3
Ancient Agora of Athens
Thissio / Monastiraki
4.7★25,000+ reviews
Where to base yourself
Athens neighborhoods, decoded
Pick your area first — it shapes everything else about the trip.
Plaka
Postcard old town charmThe neoclassical 'neighborhood of the gods' wraps around the Acropolis' northern slopes with bougainvillea lanes and the island-like Anafiotika quarter built by Cycladic stonemasons. Touristy, yes, but unmissable in the quiet early morning.
Psyrri
Gritty, artsy, late-nightWorkshops and warehouses turned street-art canvases, mezedopoleia, and bars that go until dawn around Iroon Square. By day come for Little Kook's themed decor street and handmade sandal shops; by night for live rebetiko.
Kolonaki
Polished, designer, gallery-richAthens' old-money quarter below Lycabettus stacks designer boutiques, the Benaki and Cycladic Art museums, and pavement cafés for serious people-watching. Skoufa and Tsakalof streets are the axis of the city's smartest dining.
Koukaki
Local, laid-back, well-locatedA residential strip just south of the Acropolis that quietly became one of the city's coolest bases, all neighborhood tavernas and third-wave coffee on pedestrian Drakou and Georgaki Olympiou. You are a 10-minute walk from the Acropolis Museum without Plaka prices.
Beyond the city
Day trips worth the ride
Cape Sounion & Temple of Poseidon
1.5 hr by car or coastal busA 5th-century BC temple on a cliff over the Aegean where Byron carved his name; sunset here is the classic Athens excursion along the Athens Riviera.
Delphi
2.5 hr by car or busThe sanctuary the ancients called the navel of the world, its theatre and Temple of Apollo stacked on Mount Parnassus' slopes with a superb museum holding the bronze Charioteer.
Hydra
1.5-2 hr by hydrofoil from PiraeusA car-free island of stone mansions and donkey lanes beloved by Leonard Cohen; swim off the rocks at Spilia and lunch on the harbor.
Eat like a local
What to order in Athens
Souvlaki & gyros
Charcoal-grilled pork or chicken wrapped in pita with tzatziki, tomato, onion, and fries.
Try it at: O Thanasis or O Kostas in the city center
Moussaka
Baked layers of eggplant, spiced minced meat, and béchamel, served molten.
Try it at: Taverna tou Psyrri or any old-school Plaka taverna
Horiatiki (Greek salad)
Tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and a full slab of feta under oregano and olive oil, no lettuce.
Try it at: Karamanlidika tou Fani, with their aged feta
Loukoumades
Fried dough puffs soaked in honey syrup and cinnamon, Greece's answer to doughnuts.
Try it at: Krinos on Aiolou Street, serving them since 1923
Good to know
Athens essentials, answered
Two to three days covers the Acropolis, the major museums, and neighborhoods like Plaka and Psyrri at a comfortable pace. Add a day or two for trips to Sounion, Delphi, or a Saronic island before heading on.
