About Athens
As iconic cities go, Athens is hard to beat. Conventional wisdom has it that that Greece’s capital is not only the cradle of civilization, but also the birthplace of democracy. The impact of the city’s famous ancient philosophers, from Socrates to Aristotle, still reverberates throughout Western culture. So much of what we take for granted in our modern lives, from libraries to parliamentary government, can be attributed to the influence of this amazing city and its people.

In its current iteration, Athens is growing in importance as a member of the European Union and as a hub of industry and finance. While the ancient monuments can’t fail to impress, the modern city — which counts more than 3 1/2 million inhabitants — has areas so overcrowded that it seems they were constructed without regard to zoning or aesthetics. The traffic is legendary and, until the strict pollution laws of the 1990s, the smog rivaled that of Los Angeles.

Visitors who take the time to scratch the surface, however, can find older sections of the city that have retained their charm and where one can enjoy the sights from outdoor cafes and along tiny cobblestone streets lined with picturesque shops. And, for culture vultures, the city is host to the Athens Festival each summer, where events are staged in the ancient Odeon of Herod Atticus beneath the Acropolis. The theater seats are admittedly hard, but they provide a physical connection with a long-ago past that is very much a part of the 21st century here.

Athens received a much-needed $6.8 billion facelift before the summer Olympic Games in 2004, reprising its role as first host of the modern games in the late 19th century. Improvements include a new transit system that features efficient highways, tunnels and rail transportation that link the city to the airport and the cruise port.

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• Hit the slopes at Mount Parnassus, a ski area about three hours from Athens where the prices are in the bargain basement compared with the rest of Europe.

• Get up close and personal with marine life by scuba diving with the Aegean Dive Center in Glyfada. It offers daylong outings.

• Saddle up for a ride. The Hellenic Equestrian Federation offers operators that can supply horses, guides and trail information.

• Compete in the Athens Marathon, which runs from the town of Marathon to Athens the first Sunday of November.

• Ride a donkey up to Fira during a day trip to Santorini or negotiate all 800 or so steps on foot. Tip: Watch where you’re stepping, as you’ll be walking in the wake of donkeys; also, consider taking the cable car back down.

• Try hang gliding, a sport so popular in Greece that it’s now part of the Hellenic Air Sports Federation.

• Skip the guided tour and take the ferry — or rent a yacht — to visit neighboring islands at your own pace.

• Take a hike, literally. Greece boasts a recently refurbished network of hiking paths throughout the country that range from 300 to 2,100 miles long, but for marked paths near Athens, consider the Mount Parnitha National Park, about 20 miles north of the city. One of its trails takes you to a rock-climbing site, too.

• Brave the Big Apple or Crazy Mouse rides at Allou Fun Park, where you’ll get some of the best views in town from the top of the roller coaster.

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• Ride the Athens metro, which — thanks to countless antiquities discovered during its construction — is also part museum.

• Stop in for a nightcap at the ultra posh Alexander’s Bar at Athens’ Grande Bretagne hotel, tapped as Best Hotel Bar in the World in 2004 by Forbes.com.

• Drop some euros in the Plaka, a charming warren of narrow streets and tavernas where visitors can shop, listen to street musicians and enjoy the neoclassical architecture.

• It’s OK to touch the exhibits at the recently reopened Tactile Museum in Athens, designed for blind visitors and meant to showcase the history of the Olympic Games.

• Practice your backhand at public, private and hotel tennis courts, with information available through the Hellenic Tennis Federation.

•Learn to love ouzo, the classic licorice-flavored alcoholic drink that tops the menu at Athens cafes and bars.

• Time your arrival to coincide with the summer long Athens Festival, where cultural events include everything from ballet to opera. The Herod Atticus Theatre beneath the Acropolis is the official venue.

• Go sightseeing on Athens’ hop-on/hop-off Bus 400, which takes in the ancient ruins, such as the Acropolis, as well as the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods.

• Trace the roots of the Jewish population in Athens, from early history through the Holocaust at the newly expanded Jewish Museum on Nikis Street.

• Take advantage of the new pedestrian zones in Athens — once clogged with bottleneck traffic — to join a guided bike tour of the city using the services of Pame Volta. Or, join a bike tour of the Marathon National Park.

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• Visit one or more of Athens’ museums — there are more than 130 in all — including the must-see National Archaeological Museum.

• Sunbathe or swim at one of Athens’ many beaches. Some are free and offer just sand and sea while others, especially the inviting beaches of southern Attica, feature restaurants and amenities for an admission fee. Or, beat the heat at the Oropos Water Park, which offers a beach, water slides and a variety of swimming pools.

• Tee off at the 18-hole Robert Trent Jones-designed Glyfada golf course on Chrysostomou Smyrnis Street.

• Line up to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, watched over by the Evzone guards in their traditional Greek kilts.

• Mingle with high society in Kolonaki, a district where upscale cafes and pricey boutiques, such as Versace and Lagerfeld, line the streets.

• Catch a movie at the outdoor Cine Paris theater, situated within view of the Acropolis, which is lighted at night.

• Head over to the Attiko Zoo, where you’ll see everything from jaguars to wallabies, or feed the ducks at the National Gardens; the latter also features a playground and turtle pond.

• Feast your eyes on the pottery, fabrics and precious metal at the Museum of Greek Folk Art, which also includes a mosque and Ottoman baths.

• Linger over dinner either at a local taverna or one of the tony new restaurants that have cropped up since the Olympic Games, but don’t expect to see dinner on your table before 9 p.m. at the earliest.

• Pick up an English language novel at the huge Eleftheroudakis bookstore, or troll the Monastiraki flea market for knockoffs and vintages duds to real-McCoy antiques.

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For more information, consult the Athens Tourism & Economic Development Agency at www.athenstourism.gr and the Greek National Tourism Organization at www.greektourism.com

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