Key Attractions

Text : Akrópoli (Acropolis)
The Acropolis (upper city) dominates both the city's skyline and any tourist's itinerary. The name refers to the rocky outcrop that formed the site of the original settlement in Athens. Foundations for a temple dedicated to Athena were laid in 490BC, however, work did not begin in earnest until the Golden Age of Pericles (461-429BC). The Acropolis site includes the Acropolis Museum and four sacred buildings, all from the fifth century BC. The steep ascent to the summit leads to the Propylaea, a monumental gateway in the Ionic and Doric styles, which serves as the entrance to the site. The Temple of Athena Nike is to the left of the Propylaea ? the original was destroyed by Turkish forces in the 17th century but has been beautifully restored. The Parthenon is the largest building on the Acropolis and an icon of Western civilisation. Built entirely from marble, the Parthenon was intended as a sanctuary for Athena and housed a statue (no longer in existence) of the goddess. Despite the tourists, the perfect harmony of the structure is still awe-inspiring. The Erechtheion temple is a dual shrine to Athena and Poseidon-Erechtheus and was built on the site of the mythical battle between the two deities. The south side features a series of six support columns designed as maidens or caryatids. Due to severe environmental damage, the caryatids have been replaced by models.

Acropolis Hill, centre of Athens
Tel: 210 321 0219.
Website: www.culture.gr
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1900 (summer); daily 0830-1500 (winter).
Admission charge.

Mouseío Akrópolis (Acropolis Museum)
Many of the treasures from the Acropolis can be found in the Acropolis Museum, in the southeast corner of the complex. Nine rooms house objects from the four buildings, including five original caryatids. Building work is underway on the New Acropolis Museum, which will be located at the foot of the Acropolis Hill. An all-glass structure designed by Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi, the museum will be a new home for statues and artefacts from the Acropolis and hopefully persuade the British Museum in London to return the controversial Parthenon Marbles, seized by Lord Elgin in 1799. However, the new museum looks unlikely to be completed until 2007.

Acropolis Hill, centre of Athens
Tel: 210 323 6665 (museum).
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1900 (summer); Tue-Sun 0830-1500, Mon 1100-1700 (winter).
Admission charge.

Théatro Dionysou (Theatre of Dionysus)
On the southern slopes of the Acropolis Hill, the Théatro Dionysou was home to the original performances of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripedes and the comedies of Aristophanes. This stone auditorium, from the fourth century BC, held 17,000 spectators and the ruins remain one of the most atmospheric of Athens' ancient sites.

D Areopagitou, Plaka
Tel: 210 322 4625.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1900 (summer); daily 0830-1500 (winter).
Admission charge.

Agorá (Market)
Although the site is now a jumble of monuments and ruins from different periods, in Athens' heyday the Agorá was the focus of city life, serving not only as a place of trade but also as the city's political, administrative and cultural heart. Law courts, temples and public offices were all based in this area, where ordinary Athenians, stall holders and merchants mingled with officials, politicians and philosophers. The site is dominated by the Hephaisteion (Temple of Haephaistos), from the fifth century BC, one of the best-preserved ancient temples in Greece.

The fascinating Museo tis Agoras (Museum of Agorá) contains an eccentric array of everyday artefacts found in the area. It is housed in the Stoa Attalou (Stoa of Attalos). This two-storey structure from the second century BC was restored by the American School of Archaeology and is thought to have been an early shopping arcade containing 42 separate shops.

Adrianou 24, Monastiráki
Tel: 210 331 0963.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1900 (summer); daily 0800-1500 (winter).
Admission charge.

Ethnikó Archaiologikó Mouseio (National Archaeological Museum)
Following extensive renovation, this world-famous museum reopened in summer 2004. Housed in a late 19th-century building, it is undoubtedly the best museum in Greece with one of the finest collections of ancient and classical Greek artefacts. Fascinating pieces include the Mycenaen Collection featuring hordes of finely crafted gold work dating from between the 16th and 11th centuries BC, and the Bronze Collection, including an imposing larger-than-life bronze statue of Poseidon from 460BC. Refreshments are available in the museum café overlooking the internal sculpture garden.

Patission 44, Omonia
Tel: 210 821 7717.
Website: www.culture.gr
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1900 (summer); Mon 1030-1700, Tues-Sun 0830-1500 (winter).
Admission charge.

Vizantino Mouseio (Byzantine Museum)
Housed in the grounds of a delightful neo-classical villa, this museum reopened in summer 2004 after total renovation. The new open-plan exhibition space lies below the central courtyard, with exhibits presented in chronological order, tracing the development of the Byzantine Empire. Besides boasting one of the richest collections of icons in the world, the museum exhibits mosaics, frescoes, sculptural works and jewellery from the area that is now Greece, as well as from other regions of the former Byzantine Empire.

Vassilissis Sofias 22, Kolonáki
Tel: 210 723 2178.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0830-1500.
Admission charge.

Mouseío Ellinikis Laikis Technis (Museum of Greek Folk Art)
Lying on the edge of Pláka, this museum displays a vast and colourful collection of folk art that dates from 1650 onwards. Works are divided into specific sections devoted to costumes, embroidery, weaving, gold and silver jewellery, woodwork, weaponry, Greek shadow theatre and hand-painted ceramics. The highlights are the traditional costumes, set off against suggestive reconstructions of houses relating to their specific regions. Another highlight is the Theofilis Room, the reconstruction of a house on the island of Lesvos, which was frescoed by Theofilis Hadjimichael (1868-1934).

Kidathineon 17, Pláka
Tel: 210 321 3018.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1400.
Admission charge.

Mouseío Ellinikón Mousikon Orgánon (Museum of Greek Musical Instruments)
Housed in a renovated 19th-century mansion in the heart of Pláka, the Mouseío Ellinikón Mousikon Orgánon displays a collection accumulated by the musicologist, Fivos Anoyanakis. This museum is great fun ? each display case is accompanied by a headset, so that visitors can listen to the sound of the instruments. Films in the entrance feature their construction and performance. Information is provided in English.

Diogenous 1-3, Pláka
Tel: 210 362 9513.
Opening hours: Tues and Thurs-Sun 1000-1400, Wed 1200-1800.
Free admission.

Mouseío Kykladikís kai Archaías Ellinikís Téchnis (Museum of Cycladic and Ancient Greek Art)
The museum houses the private collection of Nikolas P Goulandris. Beautiful exhibits from the Cycladic civilisation (3000-2000BC) form the focus of the collection but other artefacts cover the pre-Minoan Bronze Age and the post-Mycenaen age up to 700BC, and a new collection of Ancient Cypriot Art was added in 2004. The museum shop offers an excellent selection of quality reproduction pieces, while the light and airy atrium café is a good place for coffee or a light lunch.

Neofítou Dhouká 4, Kolonáki
Tel: 210 722 8321.
Website: www.cycladic.gr
Opening hours: Mon and Wed-Fri 1000-1600, Sat 1000-1500.
Admission charge.

Panathinaiko Stádio (Panathenaic Stadium)
The elegant three-sided stone stadium was built in 1896, for the first of the modern-day Olympic Games. The design by Ernst Ziller was based on the plan of a fourth-century-BC stadium that originally stood on the site. During the 2004 Olympic Games, this stadium hosted the fencing contests and the marathon ended here. It should not be confused with the modern Olympic Stadium in the north of the city that formed the centre stage of the 2004 Olympics.

Leoforos Ardhittou
Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk. Free admission.

Olympieion (Temple of Olympian Zeus)
Lying close to the National Gardens and Pláka, this was one of largest temples in the ancient world, being dedicated to the god of all gods, Zeus. Building work began in 515BC, but was only completed some 700 years later in AD131 under the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Today, 16 of the original 104 marble columns, which are 17m (56ft) high, survive. On the edge of the site stands the triumphal arch named Hadrian's Arch.

Leoforos Vas. Olgas and Amalias
Tel: 210 922 6330.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1900 (summer); daily 0800-1500 (winter).
Admission charge.

Mouseio Benaki (Benaki Museum)
The museum houses the private collection of Antonios Benakis (1873-1954), the son of a wealthy Greek from Alexandria, Egypt. Displayed in a neo-classical mansion, the collection traces the development of Greek art, from the Stone Age up to the 20th century, with jewellery, ceramics, painting, sculpture, furniture and costumes laid out in chronological order. There is a roof top terrace café and a museum shop selling reproductions of the exhibits on display.

Vassilissis Sofias & Koumbari 1, Kolonaki
Tel: 210 367 1000.
Website: www.benaki.gr
Opening hours: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat 0900-1700; Thu 0900-2400; Sun 0900-1500.
Admission charge (free Thu). 

    

      

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