16 Things To Do In Athens, Greece’s Underrated Capital

Too often reduced down to just the Parthenon temple, rising elegantly from the Acropolis, contemporary Athens manages to successfully combine an intriguing meze platter of sights. For those who delve beyond its rightly heralded ancient wonders in and around the Acropolis, this city of just 650,000 souls reveals a multitude of sights where modernity is equally celebrated. Independent galleries of twentieth century art have popped up across the city, while its coffee houses and bakeries teem with Gen Zedders ready to embrace the next big thing in the city which brought us democracy and the water mill.

Struggling for things to do in Athens? You shouldn’t be. Here’s what not to miss in the capital labelled ‘the City of Sunlit Splendor’.

1. Admire the Acropolis

Dominating both the skyline and thoughts about the city for many, the Acropolis is arguably unmatched in its significance for Athens, Greece, and by extension, much of the western world. In its shadow Plato taught Aristotle, who in turn schooled Alexander the Great. It was here that democracy was first formalized, and architecture turned into an art form. Chief among its treasures is the Parthenon temple, often considered the best piece of Doric architecture in the world. Dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom after whom the city was named, it still has the power to wow even today. To its south you’ll also find the informative Acropolis Museum, spanning from the bronze age to Byzantine era with over 4,250 objects including the original female statues (caryatids) which adored the Acropolis’ Erechtheion before they were moved to prevent irreversible damage to the surface of their marble.

2. Visit the National Museum of Contemporary Art

Housing works of both Greek and international contemporary art largely from the first years of the new millennium, this impressive gallery space is often known by its initials EMST. Founded in the year 2000 but only finding a permanent home in 2020, today EMST resides within the renovated FIX Brewery building, an icon of the 1950s. Displaying a growing permanent collection alongside internationally acclaimed temporary exhibitions, the space has highlighted the position of Athens as a location for the gathering of ideas from across the globe.

3. Head to Syntagma Square

Syntagma – or Constitution – Square is perhaps the most important area of real estate in Athens after the Acropolis. Echoing to the sound of bubbling central fountains, the square is a popular place to meet for coffee, while at its highest elevation stands the Old Royal Palace. Dating from the 1800s and once the official residence of the now-lost King of Greece, it today houses the national parliament. Close by stands the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, honoring those who died fighting for Greek independence, and where the Presidential Guard known as the Evzones carry out a dramatic changing of the guard ceremony every Sunday at 11am. A reduced version takes place hourly throughout the week.

4. Walk the National Gardens

Sitting behind the parliament building, Athens’ National Gardens were once the private playground of the country’s kings. Open to the public, today anyone is able to enjoy the 38-acre site, which includes an array of shady paths, ponds, palms planted by the country’s first queen consort in 1840, and even a statue of the English Poet Lord Byron – a strong advocate of Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. Close to 520 different species of plant are found within its walls, brought in from across the globe and now totaling some 7,000 trees and 40,000 other plants. Alongside the palms planted by Queen Amelia, date palms from the Canary Islands, centennial holm oaks, and various cypress trees all date to the garden’s original planting.

5. Shop at Monastiraki Flea Market

Although Monastiraki isn’t a flea market in the traditional sense (you won’t find many secondhand items here) it’s still a great place to shop. There are plenty of bargains to be had if you’re prepared to shop around and build up a rapport with store owners. When it comes to what’s on offer, you’ll find everything from traditionally-crafted Greek religious icons to postcards and souvenirs. Keep an extra special eye out for the stalls selling handmade jewelry in either silver or gold – much of the metalwork is phenomenal. You’ll also find plenty of T-shirts, Greek delight (the local version of Turkish delight), and worry beads among the books and sunglasses.

6. Stroll Along Dionysiou Areopagitou Street

Athens may be infamous for its traffic, but Dionysiou Areopagitou Street is a very different experience, having been fully pedestrianized. It gets its name from the city’s patron saint, and lies on the southern side of the Acropolis. It really comes into its own in the early evening, when its half-mile length is bathed in beautiful natural light. Bedecked with impressive art nouveau mansions, there are also many public sights, including the remains of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Roman era Arch of Hadrian, and the Odeon (theater) of Herodes Atticus. Street performers add another layer to its complex tapestry, while Dionysiou Areopagitou is also a great place to sample Greek cuisine.

7. Enjoy Traditional Greek Cuisine

Combining the Mediterranean’s use of fish, the Middle East’s flair for flavors, and the Balkans’ incredible array of local produce, Greek cuisine has something to suit all tongues. If you’re in a hurry, look out for the bakeries and stalls selling spanakopita (spinach pie). For a more fulsome experience, there are restaurants across Athens serving up the likes of kibbeh (meatballs), souvlaki (grilled meats or fish) and peinirli (so called ‘pizza boats’). For those with a sweet tooth, you won’t have to go too far before finding freshly-baked baklava drizzled in honey and scattered with pistachios. Rizogalo (rice pudding) is another favorite. Coffee shops are also common, often having little in the way of advertising beyond a cluster of outside tables filled with chatting locals.

8. Sign Up for a Street Art Tour

Athens’ street art scene has exploded in recent years, and tours of its best works of graffiti offer a glimpse into the minds of its young artists as well as offering up a way of getting under the skin of many of Athens’ best-known neighborhoods. Frequently political or satirical in nature, but always extraordinarily photogenic, a street art tour will have you learning more of what makes modern Athens tick, and take you away from the usual tourist attractions and their summer crowds.

9. Fulfill Your Olympic Dreams

Taking a staring role in the very first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and again in the year 2004, Panathenaic Stadium has been impressive athletes and armchair sportspeople for more than two millennia. Often described as the only stadium in the world built entirely from marble, its elongated shape has withstood an incredible array of events, having been excavated in 1869. Today the stadium is used as an arena for concerts by everyone from Stevie Wonder to Bob Dylan. But it also welcomes tourists keen to explore its banked stone seating – and runners too. The stadium is open each day from 7:30-9:00am for joggers. If that’s got you keen to learn more, the Athens Olympic Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday.

10. Relax in Ellinikon Experience Park

Once lost behind the concrete runway of Athens’ old airport, Ellinikon Experience Park is part of one of Europe’s largest regeneration projects. Overseen by some of the world’s most respected architects, the 70,000 square yard urban park will be expanded to include sustainable housing and an area of six million square yards. Attractions include a forest playground for children, a water maze comprising hundreds of individual jets of water, a Zen Garden designed to relax visitors in body and mind with water features and native Mediterranean planting, and an outdoor fitness area for those who might have overdone it on the baklava.

11. Take in the Museum of Cycladic Art

The term Cycladic defines the Cyclades Islands located south and east of Athens, and the Museum of Cycladic Art is the foremost exhibition space of its type in the world, displaying the most extensive collection of art from the Cyclades found anywhere. Once the private artworks of the immensely wealthy Goulandris family, the museum centers around the production of art in the third millennium before Christ – 5,000 years ago. This period is important because it set the foundation of almost all western art which was to follow, from Athens’ own Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, to the works of modern greats such as Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore. The museum’s must-see exhibits include the Treasure from Keros, a statue roughly 1.4 meters in height.

12. Explore Piraeus

The port of Ancient Athens, Piraeus lies just a few miles south of the Greek capital by road, and is perhaps best known as the gateway to Crete and the islands of the Aegean by sea. However, Piraeus itself has plenty to entertain the inquisitive visitor. Needless to say, life still continues around the town’s port, known in ancient times as Kantharos. Nearby Freatida hosts ancient walls built by the Athenians to protect their all-important access to the sea, while the Municipal Theater is one of the grandest neoclassical structures in all of Greece. For things to do, consider visiting the Maritime Museum, covering life on the seas over 3,000 years of civilization, or the Archaeological Museum, adding to the story of the similarly-named space in central Athens.

13. Experience Sunset at the Temple of Poseidon

As any proud Athenian will tell you, Poseidon, god of the sea, lost the battle of patronage over the city to Athene. But the Olympian did get one of the finest temples in ancient Greece as a substitute. Situated on Cape Sounion with fittingly excellent views over the sea from its vantagepoint, the temple was once important enough to be considered part of the ‘sacred triangle’ of antiquity with the Parthenon and Temple of Aphaia (on nearby Aegina Island). The most observant visitors might notice the name of Lord Byron carved into the rocks, which he did during a visit in the nineteenth century. While that activity is now seriously frowned upon, there’s absolutely nothing to stop you admiring the incredible sunsets which color the sky most evenings.

14. Delight in Under the Radar Plaka

Close to the sights around the Acropolis, and yet maintaining a unique village-like atmosphere, the neighborhood of Plaka reminds many who visit of the Greek Islands – making it a great alternative if you won’t have the chance to set sail yourself. Even if you do, you’ll still find a day in Plaka worthwhile, thanks to its attractive traffic-free streets, instead filled with stunning flower stalls, souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants (try the much-loved Platanos Taverna). There are also a good number of sights, of which the best-known is probably the ancient Tower of the Winds, forming part of the Roman-era agora (marketplace). Come evening, Plaka is home to Cine Paris, a rooftop outdoor cinema which has been screening movies since the 1920s.

15. Take in a Concert at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Built during Athens’ Roman era, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus was used for around one hundred years before it was ransacked and left abandoned. It would take another 1,300 years before someone would consider renovating it, which they did in the 1950s. Since then, it has hosted performances by the great and the good, from opera star Maria Callas to rock band Coldplay. The Odeon (which is simply smaller than an ancient theater of amphitheater) is also open to those with a keen eye for the ancient world. Concert season generally runs from June until October, given the theater’s open-air nature.

16. Delve into Greek History at the Benaki Museum

The formidable task of detailing Greek history has been given to the Benaki Museum, housed within a fine neoclassical mansion close to Kolonaki Square and the National Gardens. Its lower floor covers ancient civilizations, with time moving closer to the present the higher up the building you climb. Most pertinent perhaps are the exhibits detailing the Greek Revolution against the Ottoman Empire, alongside those detailing the birth of the modern Greek state – created in 1830. In all the museum has 100,000 artefacts, making it an unmissable part of any visit to the Greek capital.

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