Location: Athens
Top Things to do in Athens
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Top 10 Traveler Resources in Athens, Attica
Once known for smog, traffic and tacky architecture, Athens is a city reformed thanks to fortunes brought by the 2004 Summer Olympics. Spotless parks and streets, an ultra-modern subway, new freeways, an accessible airport and all signs in perfect English make the city easily negotiable. Meriting more than a stopover en route to the islands, sophisticated Athens sites include many pillars of Western history, from the Acropolis to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, as well as treasures in the National Archaeological Museum.
Restaurants in Athens
1. Library of Archdiocese of Athens
2. Epikera Bookshop
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
Big variety of old, or, out of print books, due to epikera bookshop's existence the last 30 years. Visitors can enjoy a relaxing time reading or just getting informed about the greek literature.
3. Parnassos Literary Society
4. War Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 480 reviews
In 1964, the Hellenic State decided to found the War Museum, wishing to honor all those who fought for our country and its freedom. The design of the museum was undertaken by a team of distinguished scientists, headed by Professor Thoukidides Valentis of the National Technical university of Athens (N.T.U.A). On July 18, 1975, the President of the Hellenic Republic H.E. Constantine Tsatsos and the Minister of National Defense Evangelos Averof-Tositsas inaugurated the Museum. Its various activities include the publication of books, the establishment and maintenance of monuments and memorials and the aid to services and agencies all over Greece. The Museum’s exhibition areas are distributed over four levels (floors) and present images of Greek history from antiquity to the present.
Reviewed By permia
We thought the adjacent Tree Of Peace Sculpture an apt countermeasure to all that’s recorded and documented in the museum. With a sweep from stone age to modern it is a fabulously comprehensive account of warfare and battle down the ages. A number of stone weapons are shown and while rudimentary they undoubtedly yielded a heavy blow. Triremes, ancient warships, that were instrumental in guarding and defending the Athenian empire are well worth seeing. The Greek struggle for independence from the Ottomans features voluminously. Horrors endures are powerfully conveyed in paintings such as Hunger in Athens by Nicholas Egon. Sculptural representations from this war include the heroic Markos Botsaris, amongst others. Liberation Celebrations from WW II occupying forces are depicted in evocative black and white photos. A Statue of Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz shows the Greek-Polish athlete who fought in the Greek resistance and was executed by the Germans.
5. Athinais
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 16 reviews
6. National Library of Greece
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 124 reviews
Reviewed By permia
It looked marvellous on the clear azure sky day of our visit. Ascending the sweeping stairway we admired its marble and soaring columns. Housing the library for well over a century, the limitations on space and its infrastructure led to planning for a new library. This opened in 2018 as part of the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Institution towards the south of the city. Currently Greek newspaper and magazine archives are kept in this landmark construct. Plans for its future use are apparently under discussion.
7. Zappeion Conference & Exhibition Center
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 254 reviews
Reviewed By joannacM6671BL - Bucharest, Romania
After the National Gardens also take the time to vist this place.Very peaceful , great example of Greek Architecture.
8. Onassis Stegi
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 32 reviews
The space where contemporary culture meets aesthetics and science – Onassis Stegi lies at the heart of the Foundation's cultural engagement
9. Metroon
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 20 reviews
This building played an important role in the political and cultural life of ancient Athens, where it served as both a temple and the state archives.
Reviewed By permia
Housed the Old Bouleuterion that originally hosted the City Council, it is still an evocative sight. Metroon was a Temple that was devoted to a Mother Goddess, examples of such being Cybele, Demeter or Rhea. The Old Bouleuterion was built around the start of the 5th century BCE to accommodate the City Council numbering 500 members. Later that century a new Bouleuterion arrived and its original home became the State Archives. A couple of centuries later the Metroon replaced it. So an interesting history of how buildings came to be replaced, with differing functions.
10. Athens Tourist Information Centre
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