Athens

There is a moment that stays with every traveller. You are standing on Filopappou Hill as the late afternoon sun catches the columns of the Parthenon, turning them honey-gold. The city sprawls below — white cubes tumbling over hills, the sea glinting at the edges — and for a second, 25 centuries collapse into one breath. Athens does not show you its history from behind glass. It lets you walk through it. You can start your morning at the Ancient Agora, where Socrates argued with anyone who would listen, and by lunch be sitting in a Plaka taverna so old its walls have Roman bricks in them. The city has been alive since the Neolithic — people have lived on this spot for five thousand years — and it wears that continuity lightly. There are no velvet ropes between you and the past here. You just step into it.

Athens has been continuously inhabited through the Neolithic, which makes it one of the longest-occupied urban sites in Europe. According to myth, the city was named after Athena after she won a contest against Poseidon by offering the Athenians the first olive tree — and you can still see olive groves on the city's outskirts today. The classical period, particularly the 5th century BC under Pericles, saw the construction of the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis. This was the Athens of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle — the city where democracy was first practised, theatre was invented, and the foundations of Western philosophy were laid. The Agora was the beating heart of public life: citizens gathered there to debate, trade, and gossip. Later, the Romans left their mark with Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus — one of the largest temples of the ancient world. After centuries of Byzantine, Frankish, and Ottoman rule, Athens was declared the capital of the newly independent Greek state in 1833. Neoclassical buildings went up overnight, and the city began its layered existence as both archaeological site and living, breathing European capital.

Athens has a coastline that surprises most first-time visitors. The Athenian Riviera starts just twenty minutes south of the city centre and runs for about sixty kilometres toward Cape Sounion. Glyfada is the closest proper beach — a long stretch of golden sand with sunbeds, umbrellas, and a string of seaside cafés where Athenians go to see and be seen. Further south, Vouliagmeni is famous for its natural lake, fed by warm mineral springs that stay at 22–24 °C year-round; locals swim here even in December. For something wilder, head to the coves around Varkiza or the long sandy beach at Lagonisi. And at the very tip of the peninsula, Cape Sounion — where the Temple of Poseidon perches on cliffs that drop sheer into the Aegean — offers the single best sunset swim of any day trip from Athens. Pack your bathers. You will use them.

Athenian food is Greek food at its most democratic — you can eat brilliantly for ten euros or a hundred. The city's soul lives in its tavernas, and the best ones are still in the old neighbourhoods. Start with horiatiki — the real Greek salad, which means no lettuce, just ripe tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, Kalamata olives, and a thick slab of feta drizzled with olive oil and oregano. Follow it with souvlaki from a hole-in-the-wall shop in Monastiraki: pork or chicken wrapped in warm pita with tzatziki, tomato, and chips. For a sit-down meal, order moussaka (the Athenian version is lighter than you think) or grilled octopus with a squeeze of lemon and a glass of Assyrtiko — the crisp, mineral white from Santorini that pairs with everything the sea gives you. Finish with a spoonful of Greek yoghurt drizzled with thymaromelo — thyme honey from the mountains of Attica. And yes, you will need a walk afterwards.

Spring (March to May) is when Athens is at its most seductive. The wildflowers bloom across the archaeological sites, the temperature sits in the low twenties, and you can walk the Acropolis without feeling like you are melting. Summer (June to August) is hot — expect high thirties in July — but this is when the city comes alive after dark, with rooftop bars, open-air cinemas, and the Athens Epidaurus Festival running through until August. Autumn (September to November) is the best of them: the sea is still warm, the crowds thin out, and the light turns that famous golden Mediterranean hue that makes every photograph look like a postcard. Winter (December to February) is mild and quiet, with fewer tourists and a raw, atmospheric quality — especially after rain, when the marble on the Acropolis gleams.

Most visitors arrive at Athens International Airport (Eleftherios Venizelos) at Spata, east of the city. Metro Line 3 (the blue line) runs from the airport to Syntagma in about 40 minutes and continues to Piraeus, with airport services every 36 minutes; OASA's 24-hour express buses, X95 to Syntagma and X96 to Piraeus, are the alternative. The suburban railway links the airport with central Athens at Larissis station and onward to Piraeus and Kiato, while the A6 Attiki Odos motorway covers the same run by car. Athens also has two main passenger ports, Piraeus and Rafina.

Wear shoes you can walk in. Athens is a city you explore on foot, and the marble streets of Plaka and the paths up the Acropolis are slippery when polished by millions of feet. Carry a refillable water bottle — there are drinking fountains all over the centre, and the tap water is perfectly fine. Buy your Acropolis tickets online in advance; the queue at peak hours can be an hour long. If you want the Parthenon to yourself(ish), go as soon as it opens at 8 am or in the last hour before closing. The metro is clean, efficient, and often reveals archaeological digs mid-construction — you can see ancient ruins through glass panels right inside the stations. For the best souvenir, skip the shops in Monastiraki and walk up to the neighbourhood of Mets, where small workshops still make leather sandals by hand. And learn to say kalimera (good morning) — Athenians notice, and they smile back.