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Syntagma
Square
It is located in the heart of Athens, a busy and
colorful spot in the capital's life. The name Syntagma
means Constitution. The Square has a long history.
It seems every major event in Greece has either
been mourned or celebrated here. Also, is considered
as the central mark for measuring distances to and
from Athens.
At the top of Syntagma is the Parliament
Building, formerly the King's Palace, built
between 1836 and 1840 by King Otto. The classical
style of architecture, known as neo-classical which
originated in Greece and is the dominant style of
all the old public buildings, houses and mansions
of Athens, was actually re-imported into Greece
in the late eighteen hundreds from Europe and then
modified (improved) by Greek architects.
In front of the Parliament building one can visit
the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.
The tomb of the unknown soldier is guarded by Evzones,
the elite soldiers who also guard the Palace and
are chosen for their height and strength. They are
like the guards at Buckingham Palace with the big
furry hats and are treated the same way by tourists
who come to take their pictures and see if they
blink.
The guards are traditionally dressed in "fustanella"
and "tsarouhia" (a man's pleated skirt
and characteristic shoes respectively dating from
the 19th century) and their solemn ritual has been
associated with the place for decades.
 To
the left of the square is the Grande Bretagne a
hotel as historically significant as it is elegant
and a great place to go in for a coffee in the beautiful
lobby or the bar. It is considered the best place
to stay in Athens and has been since it was built
in 1862 to accommodate Heads of State, for which
purpose it is still used. It is one of the most
well known hotels in the world.
The Central Station of Athens Metro ( Attiko Metro
) is also located in Syntagma square.
 During
its construction many archaeological finds surfaced,
including various constructions and objects of terracotta,
marble, ivory and glass, such as public baths, metal
workshops, cemeteries and numerous handicrafts from
the period between the 17th century B.C. and the
8th century A.D. Those finds tell us a lot about
the life in ancient Athens and are now part of the
station's impressive decoration.
Around the square there is a proliferation of hang-outs,
cafes, restaurants and fast-food spots, where everyone
can enjoy a pleasant leisure time.
Also, Syntagma square, is the starting point of
one of the most famous commercial streets of Athens,
called Ermou, a pedestrian street always full of
crowds. Here is Athen's main shopping district which
leads down to the flea market of Monastiraki.
Finally, the newsstands on the square are fully
updated on so much the Greek as the foreign daily
and periodical Press.
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Plaka
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Plaka is the most popular and picturesque area
of Athens, expanded to the North and East of the
Acropolis.
 A colorful area, with the atmosphere of an island's
village in its old and narrow streets and alleys,
it is ideal for pleasant walks at any time of
day.
The district of Plaka is a gloriously exotic labyrinth
of alleys, winding streets and stairs lined with
C19th neo-cla ssical houses and mansions, with
beautifully decorated tiled roofs depicting the
head of Medusa, goddesses or foliage.
This is the old working-class district of Athens
but is now one of the most rewarding areas of
the city for exploring. The district has been
carefully and sensitively renovated and is now
one of the most expensive areas to live.
Plaka district is almost completely walking zone
and contains the famous flea market around Monastiraki
Square, ancient sites and small museums of traditional
and popular culture.
 Most buildings of Plaka are old aristocratic residencies.
During the 19th century the area attracted many
affluent Athenian families, which left behind
marvelous neoclassical mansions. Today, most of
them are restored accommodating museums, restaurants
or shops.
 The area is ideal for an outdoor lunch or dinner,
offering a plethora of traditional taverns and
restaurants which will surely satisfy all those
eager for the fine Mediterranean tastes of the
Greek cuisine.
Furthermore, visitors of Plaka can enjoy special
nights of authentic local entertainment thanks
to live Greek folk or popular music groups performing
at many of the restaurants.
A variety of souvenir, clothing and jewelry shops
are also there to complement the busy and cheerful
setting.
Plaka, also, is loaded with archaeological sites
both large and small.
 The famous Tower of the Winds is
a part of the ancient Roman Agora.
It was believed by later generations to be a place
of great magic and to be the grave of Phillip
of Macedon but it was actually a meteorological
station from the first century built by the Syrian
Astronomer Andronikos.
The octagonal marble Tower of Winds, built in
the 1st century BC was several monuments in one:
it served as a sundial, weather vane, water clock
and compass. Each side of the monument represents
a compass point and has a relief of a figure floating
through the air, depicting the wind associated
with that point. The weather vane, which disappeared
long ago, was a bronze Triton that revolved upon
the top of the tower.
The Roman Agora, though little more than a heap
of rubble to the average eye, does hold an interesting
nugget or two. Its entrance is through the well-preserved
Gate of Athena Archegetis, flanked by four Doric
columns. To the right of the entrance are foundations
of a 1st-century public latrine, and in the southeast
area are the foundations of a propylon and a row
of shops.
The Mosque on the grounds of the Roman Agora was
called the Mosque of Mehmet the Conqueror, built
around 1458 for the visit to Athens by Sultan
Mehmet a fan of the ancient Greek philosophers.
Later the Mosque was known as the Wheat Bazaar
Mosque because it was next to the yearly wheat
market. It was briefly a Catholic church during
the five months that the Venetians occupied the
city.
Finally, if you climb up through the Plaka to
the Anafiotika district on the
slopes of the Acropolis, you'll find yourself
in a charming neighborhood with many small 19th-century
homes. This district can be compared to an Aegean
island village, as most of the homes were built
by stonemasons from the Cycladic island of Anafi,
who came to Athens to work on the buildings of
the new capital of independent Greece. This area
owes its existence to the wishes of Otto the first
King of the Greeks. Upon coming to this country
Otto decided to built himself a palace. Wanting
his palace to be solidly built, he enquired as
to who were the best builders in the country.
He was no sooner informed that the people of Anafi,
a small island in the Cyclades, were famous for
their building skill, than he invited the best
of them to the capital, to start work on the palace.
The builders had to have somewhere to live while
works lasted. Knowing that it would be years before
they set eyes on their beloved Anafi again, and
being quite homesick, they decided to recreate
it, at the foot of the Acropolis. So, they built
small white houses in the exact style they used
in their home village. And there they remain.
Anafiotika, meaning the Anafians neighborhood
and is a unique and very charming neighborhood
at the highest point of Plaka.
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Monastiraki
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 One of the most vivid and busy areas in downtown
Athens, and as an extension of Plaka, it is ideal
for walking or shopping during the day and the
night.
Monastiraki is an old part of Athens which nestles
under the ancient Acropolis, and leads from The
Plaka area directly beneath the ancient site.
Spread around the square with the same name, Monastiraki
is one of the city's most colorful areas, attracting
many local and foreign visitors.
Amidst its alleys and picturesque narrow streets
full of little shops and street vendors, one can
find anything from vintage records to clothing
in an atmosphere reminding of an oriental bazaar.
 The Monastiraki flea market is the place to be on
Sunday when the street market extends all the
way from lower Ermou street to the Keramikos cemetery
and the area is alive with cheerful crowds and
numerous activities.
But generally any day of the week has its bustle
and interest due to the variety of goods sold
here.
Much of the flea market is not really a flea market.
It is a collection of small shops of which most
of them are tourist shops with the same stuff
you will find in Plaka area. These are open normal
shop hours and you can go there anytime.
If you are looking for inexpensive reading material,
there are several used book stores in this area
selling mostly paperback books. 
There are also old coin, stamp and print shops,
mini-army-surplus stores e.t.c
Anything from army uniforms to Mickey Mouse clocks
to mock Roman helmets and old money, can be found
in these narrow alleyways and streets, souvenirs
galore, some of them very good bargains, set among
jewelers, and furniture stores with pine cabinets
stacked high among semi-antiques.
Ceramics, terracotta, old chess sets and new ones
made of silver, marble and brass, old copper pans
and bronze hearth sets, jostle with chandeliers
and phonographs, anything from souvenirs, to junk,
to antiques.
Overlooking Monastiraki square and across the
street from the  metro station is the restored Turkish Mosque, now
the traditional ceramics museum.
Right next door are the ruins of the Roman Emperor
Hadrian's Library and the Roman agora. This is
the place where many of the street venders are
and if you go further up you will find the ancient
Agora with the Stoa of Attalos museum. In that
area there are several cafes, ouzeries, restaurants
and lots of people selling stuff right on the
street, and plenty of interesting people.
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Akropolis
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| The rock of Acropolis and
the ruins of the Parthenon rising majestically
above it is one of the most important icons of
western civilization, attracting millions of tourists
from all corners of the globe every year.
more
about Athens Acropolis...
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The Theater of Herod
Atticus
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 Below the Acropolis is the theater of Herod Atticus
built by the Romans in 161 AD and still used today
for classical concerts, ballet and performances
of high cultural value. Further on is the Theater
of Dionysious the first stone theater and home to
Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes.
It was rebuilt around 342 BC by Lykourgos and then
enlarged by the Romans to be used for gladiator
fights.
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The Kerameikos Cemetery
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 The Keramikos was the city's cemetery from the 12th
century BC to Roman times. It was discovered in
1861 during the construction of Pireos street (the
street that leads to Piraeus). Remains still stand
of the city wall, which was built by Themistocles
in 479 BC and rebuilt by Konon in 394 BC. The wall
is broken by the foundations of the Sacred Gate,
through which pilgrims from Eleusis entered the
city during the annual Eleusian procession, and
the Dipylon Gate, which was the city's main entrance.
Between the two gates is the Pompeion, where the
preparations were made for the Panathenaic procession
which was in honor of Athena. The building was completely
destroyed in 88BC and a 3 aisled building called
the Building of the Warehouses was erected in it's
place in the 2nd century AD. The church of Agia
Triada is in the background. The Eridanos river
which once passed through the Sacred gate still
flows beneath the site. It was covered by the Romans.
One of the most beautiful and least visited of the
archaeological sites in downtown Athens is Kerameikos,
the ancient cemetery of Athens. The area was on
the northwest fringe of the ancient city and and
is now the outer edge of the areas visited by most
travelers. But if you follow Ermou street down from
the Monastiraki train station you will easily find
it on your right.
There is a small museum with some really nice pottery,
sculptures and right next to it is a collection
of pillars which I assume were grave markers.
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The National Gardens
of Zappion
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|  Behind the tomb of the unknown soldier on Amalias
street, at the top of constitution square are
the National Gardens. A tropical paradise right
in the middle of the center of Athens. The delightfully
shady National Gardens, featuring subtropical
trees and ornamental ponds with waterfowl, are
a nice refuge from the heat of the summer months.
They were formerly of royal status and were designed
by Queen Amalia. The botanical museum houses interesting
drawings, paintings and photographs.
There is also a small zoo featuring wolves, antelopes,
monkeys, peacocks, hawks, buzzards, a lion, parakeets,
canaries and goats. You can walk along the paths
admiring the exotic fauna and the ducks.
There is even a small cafe near the Irodou Atikou
street called "O Kipos - the garden" where you
can get a nice frappe coffee or ouzo with mezedes,
and enjoy the afternoon while you feed your leftovers
to the ducks who come to your table begging for
food. There is also a playground for children.If
you walk out to Irodou Atikou Street on your left
is the camp for the evzones, who guard the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier and what was once the Palace
across the street.
If you walk downhill you will pass Zappion on
the right where in the summer you can see puppet
theater and other forms of entertainment at the
large outdoor cafe. This area is a popular place
for Athenians to stroll and sit when the weather
is nice.
The dust and the poverty is gone and unless you
are there in July or August, the heat may be missing
as well. But the cafe at Zappion is a wonderful
place to be any evening or day. Further ahead
is the Olympic stadium built in 1896 out of marble
for the first modern Olympic Games. If you walk
to your right, past the Zappion building you will
come back to the Plaka.
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The Lycabetus Hill and
Kolonaki
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Kolonaki square situated just five minutes walking
time from Syntagma. One of the most famous and enjoyable
places to enjoy a coffee, watch people and eat in
the small restaurants that line the street and remind
many people of Paris. The neighborhood is full of
cafes and expensive shops, fancy restaurants and
fancy people. Shopping in this area is like shopping
in the finest areas of New York London or Paris.
In the middle of Kolonaki and in the heart of Athens
with its 227 m. of height, the hill of Lycabettus
offers a unique sight of Attica's peninsula with
Athens, Piraeus and the Saronic gulf.
For a refreshing view of this sprawling city, a
walk up the hill of Lycabettus can be invigorating
in many ways. It is steep on the side, so much so,
a funicular railway was built to assist the inveterate
climbers. On the other, it is gently sloping, with
some rocky outcrops.
 From the summit you see westwards another smaller
hill, the Strefi and the National Archeological
Museum and further away, the Areos Park.
Southwest you see the Acropolis with Thissio and
Philopappou Hill in the background Faliron Bay and
further still Piraeus and suburbs.
Southeast overlooks the Zappeion in a sea of vivid
green which is the National Gardens and the Panathinean
white marble stadium (where the first modern Olympics
were held in 1896). Further west the suburbs of
Pagrati and Kessariani, with University city and
in the distance before the imposing violet-hued
Mt Hymettus range.
 Atop the hill, a restaurant and pastry shop both
with excellent panoramic views over the city are
very popular with people who come for an ice cream
or coffee or a good meal. Further downhill leading
towards the south, is an ouzerie and snack bar which
are usually more popular around sunset, the panoramic
view being part of the attraction.
On the top of Lycabettus you can find also the St
George's church, a traditional 19th century building.
At Easter time this is a very popular place for
Athenians to celebrate the Resurrection.
Also, during the summer some of the most important
cultural events of Athens take place in the open-air
theatre under the stars of Attica's sky.
Lycabettus has always been a favorite getaway spot
for busy Athenians and will probably attract nature
lovers and idle strollers for many centuries to
come.
If you are tired of crowded beaches filled with
tourists or those cosmopolitan island bars, then
maybe it's time to look into another way to spend
your holidays.
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Psiri
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Another popular central spot of Athens is the Psiri
district.
Its colorful and laid-back atmosphere relegates
to Athens the way it looked back in the early '60s.
The area is perfect for a stroll, but also offers
a multitude of outdoor-dining places, street-cafes,
clubs and bistros.
 It is also where some of the most exquisite artistic
events take place, especially music performances,
as well as lots of other happenings.
The streets are filled with tables and chairs and
what were parking lots during the day become dramatically
lighted dining areas for restaurants that look they
have been built into a ruined city. Starting at
around 6 p.m. Psiri undergoes the transformation
from working class light industrial, to a Mecca
of cafes, bars, restaurants and ouzeries in a setting
that reminds you of a scaled down version of New
York's Soho district. Each restaurant has its own
motif, from traditional Greek taverna to 60's style
cafes that may remind you of a luncheonette. Most
are decorated with old photos of Athens and some
with relics of our modern society.
For those who find Plaka too touristy at night,
Psiri is a great alternative.
Whatever your idea of day-fun or nightlife is, Psiri
is definitely the place to find numerous entertainment
options, some of them among the city's best.
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Lake Vouliagmeni
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| Lake Vouliagmeni is a mineral spa that
is reported to have many healing properties for
such ailments as eczema and dermatological diseases,
neuralgia, headaches, disfiguring arthritis, sciatica
and other problems.
The lake is about 50 centimeters above sea level
and so it is constantly overflowing and being
replenished by the hot springs beneath it.The
composition of the lake is brackish and full of
such minerals as potassium, natrium, lithium,
ammonium, iodine. These minerals are known for
giving relief to bone and muscle problems as well
as those listed above.
 The lake is recognized as a wonder of nature because
of its unique appearance and the surroundings.
Scientific research and studies have discovered
that millions of years ago, where the lake is
now, there was once a large cave with a large
number of hot springs. Eventually the high temperature
and moisture of these springs caused the roof
to collapse.
The lake is surrounded by beach chairs and umbrellas
and there is a bar-restaurant too. The lake is
excellent for swimming for therapy as well as
for pleasure and there is equipment for helping
those who find it difficult or impossible to get
into the water on their own. During the summer
Lake Vouliagmeni offers hot spring baths, hydrotherapy
and physiotherapy.
The Lake is across the street from the very popular
Vouliagmeni beach, one of the best in the vicinity
of Athens.
There are many hotels in the area and also plenty
of cafes, bars, tavernas and restaurants nearby.
From Athens the lake is about a half hour drive.
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