Athens and the Greek Islands Holiday Travel Guide.

Syntagma Square is the home of much of the government of Athens. The neo-classical building dominating the square is the Greek Parliament which was once the Royal Palace. It is here that you will find the famous changing of the guard. There are several of Athens's best hotels located here. The King George Palace has a rooftop restaurant with superb views of the Acropolis.

The Thissio neighbourhood of Athens, under the Acropolis, is named after the nearby temple in the Agora. It is very popular with Athenians and tourists alike with it's many outdoor restaurants and bars.

Nationals Garden and Zappeio Park. The National Garden is a lovely place to stroll, away from the traffic of central Athens. You'll come across peacocks, a children’s playground and a small zoo. If you turn right on entering the garden, you'll discover Zappeio Park, the centrepiece of which is Zappeion Hall. This building was originally built for the first modern Olympic Games. Now it's an exhibition hall. The National Garden is open sunrise to dusk.

The Athens Metro is one of the most beautiful in the world.  When they were digging they had many delays due to them finding archaeological ruins. The metro plan was partly an archaeological dig as well as construction site. The result is a superb new metro  which  includes exhibits and finds from their digs, it is both museum and metro station.

Nightlife in Athens. The nightlife in modern Athens is vibrant. Athenians like a good party and do so most nights. Nightlife generally takes off after midnight for the bars and clubs and an hour or two earlier for tavernas and restaurants of which there are many to choose from.

The New Acropolis Museum. The new museum, ten times larger than the original museum that was on the Acropolis, is now the superb new home for Athens most famous antiquities.

Visit New Acropolis museum site.

Athens is a paradise for shoppers, you will find everything from tacky souvenirs, excellent reproductions of ancient Greek statues, Greek art and authentic antiques and jewellery. Try the shops in the Plaka distict and the flea market in Monastiraki.

Athens Walks.

Athens Walk 2: Walk up Lycabettus Hill, or take the funicular. From her is the most magnificent view of the Acropolis and city of Athens. Visit the church of Saint George atop of the hill. When you descend take the metro to visit the National Archaeological Museum. There is much to see in the museum so give yourself an hour or two.

Athens Moonlight walk:  Every August 55 of the ancient sites throughout all of Greece are open on the night of the August full moon. A romantic moonlight stroll below the floodlit Acropolis is a must.

Take the metro to Piraeus for a stroll around the port of Athens, a good day out. There are plenty of restaurants, bars, shops and nightclubs around the harbour. There are also churches and a maritime museum.

Ancient Athens.

The history of Athens is rich and varied. The occupation of Athens began around 3000 BC. It was not until the period between 1400 BC - 1200 BC that the remains we now see were built. Athens began on the Acropolis and gradually grew. Athens was one of the most powerful cities in Greece, both militarily and politically and was also first city to develop a democracy.

The Theatre of Dionysos was the first theatre to be built on the slopes of the Acropolis  around 342BC-326BC. The theatre that you see today though was built in the Roman period and was used for gladiator and other blood sports. The theatre could hold up to 17,000.

Temple of Olympian Zeus: Construction of the temple began in the 6th century BC at the site of the ruins of an earlier temple built by Peisistratus. The Temple stood unfinished throughout the Golden Century of Athens and was only completed by Hadrian, known as the Philhellene, in 132AD. The Temple was huge by ancient standards, rivalling other colossal famous Temples such as the Heraion in Samos, and featured a large gold and ivory statue of Zeus in its cella.

The Agora was the heart of the public life of Athens - its religious, political and commercial centre, where Athenian Democracy was born and flourished. The Agora provided a forum for social and cultural activity for the people of ancient Athens, commercial exchange, religious festivals, open-air theatrical performances and athletic contests.

The Tower of Winds is found within the Roman Agora of Athens. It is an octagonal  tower some 12 metres high and has a diameter of 8 metres and was built by the astronomer Andronikos. The tower was a water clock in the interior, sundial on the exterior and weather vane on the top. The eight sides represent the eight winds, carved on the outside.

The Temple of Hephaestus, dedicated to the God of the forge, lies on the western edge of the Agora of Athens and was set among foundries and metalworking shops of ancient Athens. The Temple was one of the first of Pericles rebuilding of Athens programme. It is the best preserved of all the Doric Temples in Greece and still has it’s roof intact.

The Western Hills site covers 680,000 sq.m. to the west of the Acropolis. It was an important and densely inhabited section of Athens. The Pnyx is where the Assembly of the Demos, the principal institution of Athenian Democracy, was held. Philopappus Hill is crowned by the monument of the same name as well as a modern Observatory.

Greek Myths Gods and Goddesses. The ancient Greeks created their own splendid, but human-like world of Gods, justifying the various abstract significance's like Love, Birth or Death.

Visit Greek Gods and Goddesses page.