Day One
8:00 Rise early at Athens Backpackers (backpackers.gr) and load up on the free breakfast. Maybe wander out onto your dorm’s balcony to take in the sights and sounds of Athens bubbling into life. You can book a bed in a mixed dorm for €17pn (£14.50) or it’s €75pn (£65) to stay in the luxury of a self-contained apartment.
9:00 You won’t have to travel far for your first sight, as your hostel is next to The Acropolis (theacropolismuseum.gr). It’s one of the wonders of the Ancient World and, although the Parthenon is the main attraction, your ticket will also allow you access to the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, Theatre of Dionysus and the Ancient Agora.
12:30 Having built up an appetite, head to Athens’ lively central market, Varvakios Agora (athensguide.com/agora), where you’ll find an eye-popping amount of fresh produce. It’s a great place to stop for lunch and the meat market is full of simple, delicious food. You can go for some local fare – try a patsa, which is basically boiled tripe. Take the time to explore, inhaling the intoxicating smells of the market’s incredible delis and spice stores.
15:00 After lunch, head south for a tour of the historic Port of Piraeus (piraeus-greece.org) on Athens’ waterfront. If you’re keen, you can jump on a ferry and head out into the Aegean Sea. (If you want to go all the way to one of the Greek islands, you’ll need to set aside a bit more time to properly explore.) But it’s still worth going for a more brief excursion along the coast, just so you can gaze back at the city, with its ancient landmarks and scenic mountains.
19:00 Once back on dry land, head to the National Gardens (athensguide.com/gardens) in the centre of Athens – it’s a beautiful spot made all the more impressive at dusk. This lush, tropical paradise is packed with an overwhelming number of ducks.
20:00 Just up the road, Athens’ oldest restaurant, Ideal (46, Panepistimiou Str), is one of the most popular dining spots among visitors to the Greek capital. It’s been operating for 80 years and its interior is classically Athenian, while the service is exceptionally friendly. The food is traditional Greek fare – you can’t go wrong with the halloumi, seafood or moussaka – complemented by a balanced selection of local wines.
22:00 It’s over on the other side of the city but Venue (venue-club.com) is regularly voted one of the world’s best nightclubs. There are three levels and a huge central DJ area, so mingle with the locals and dance the night away. Finish the evening with one of Athens’ famous souvlakis (grilled meat and veg on a skewer).
Day Two
8:00 Shake off your hangover with a bracing stroll up Mount Lycabettus (athensguide.com/lykavittos), which, to be fair, is more a limestone hill than a proper mountain. Still, it’s 908ft above sea level, ensuring it is clearly visible from the middle of Athens, making it one of the city’s best-known landmarks. If you’re feeling too fragile, you can catch a cable car to the top. For the record, Lycabettus means “where the wolves go”.
11:00 Not much remains of Temple of Olympian Zeus (athensguide.com), but you can tell by the 15 columns still standing that the original architects were thinking big when construction began in the 6th century BC. It had more funding difficulties than an Olympic village, though, taking 638 years to complete.
13:30 Set up in one of Athens’ most beautiful old buildings, Petrino (petrinorestaurant.gr/english) is one of the city’s most stylish restaurants. You can dine inside beneath extravagant mosaics or outside next to the pool.
15:00 Check out the colourful odds and ends on sale at the Monastiraki Flea Market (athensguide.com) – on weekends, it’s a scene of complete chaos, with the square being taken over by street performers. You can go shopping, or just chill out at a cafe and watch the mayhem from a safe distance.
17:00 Stroll through the Plaka (theplaka.com), which is Athens’ oldest neighbourhood, now brimming with kitsch shops, trendy restaurants and artisans of exquisite skill. Check out the distillery on Kydatheneon or watch a film at the outdoor Cine Paris in the shadows of the Acropolis.
19:00 Situated in Adrianou Street, the Plaka’s most famous stretch, cafe-restaurant Carte Postale has the best view in town, making it the perfect spot for a light dinner and some cocktails as the sun goes down.
21:00 Athens is full of old-style tavernas and one of the best in the Plaka is Perivoli Tou Ouranou (Lysikratous 19 Plaka), which offers food, drink and live music. The tunes will often be part of the Rembetiko tradition, a kind of urban Greek folk music.
