Athens Holidays 2026/2027

Plaka & Monastiraki: The oldest surviving part of the city, a knot of pedestrian lanes running under the Acropolis rock. Anafiotika, the tiny cluster of Cycladic-style cottages on the slope, feels like an island village dropped into the capital, and it is the natural base for first-time Athens city breaks.

Kolonaki: Athens at its most polished — designer boutiques, the Benaki and Cycladic Art museums, and the funicular up Lycabettus Hill (277 m) for the widest views the city offers. Quieter in the evenings and a favourite with couples.

Glyfada & the Riviera: The coastal strip south of the centre, lined with organised beaches, marinas, and seafront bars. Easy to reach on the tram for an afternoon away from the ruins, and a useful base if you want sand within walking distance of your hotel.

Psyrri: Once industrial, now the busiest eating-and-drinking quarter in the city — mezze tavernas, rooftop bars, and street art, all a couple of minutes' walk from Monastiraki square.

Piraeus: Better known as the ferry port than a place to stay, but worth considering if you are catching an early boat out to the islands and want to skip the dawn metro run.

The Acropolis & Parthenon: Go early or late to dodge both the heat and the cruise crowds. Beyond the Parthenon, the site takes in the Erechtheion with its carved maiden columns, the small Temple of Athena Nike, and the Theatre of Dionysus on the southern slope.

The Acropolis Museum: Glass floors look straight down onto live excavations beneath your feet, and the top-floor gallery frames the Parthenon itself through floor-to-ceiling windows aligned with the real thing. Two unhurried hours is about right, and the ground-floor terrace serves a fair lunch with the very same view if you time it well.

The Ancient Agora: The Temple of Hephaestus here is the best-preserved ancient Greek temple anywhere in the country, and the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos now houses the site museum. This was the civic centre of classical Athens.

The Panathenaic Stadium: The all-marble Kallimarmaro hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, rebuilt on the foundations of an ancient stadium. You can walk the running track and climb the marble tiers for a photograph back over the city. The small museum tucked beneath the stands holds the torches and posters from every modern Games since, which children tend to enjoy more than expected.

The Changing of the Guard: The Evzones, in their traditional kilted dress, change on the hour outside Parliament on Syntagma Square; the full ceremony with the marching band runs on Sunday mornings and is worth timing your morning around.