Athens Travel Guide

Guidebooks

Photo: Greek National Tourist Organization

It's no wonder that all roads lead to the fascinating and maddening metropolis of Athens. Lift your eyes 200 feet above the city to the Parthenon, its honey-color marble columns rising from a massive limestone base, and you behold architectural perfection that has not been surpassed in 2,500 years. But, today, this shrine of classical form dominates a 21st-century boomtown. To experience Athens—Athína in Greek—fully is to understand the essence of Greece: ancient monuments surviving in a sea of cement, startling beauty amid the squalor, tradition juxtaposed with modernity. Locals depend on humor and flexibility to deal with the chaos; you should do the same. The rewards are immense.

Hotels

Athens Hotels

Greeks pride themselves for their "philoxenia," or hospitability. Even in antiquity, many of them referred to Zeus as Xenios Zeus—the God in charge...read more

Fodor's Choice

Restaurants

Athens Restaurants

Doesn't anybody eat home anymore? When you're on vacation, travelers don't have much choice in the matter, but these days—even in the throes of the...read more

Fodor's Choice

Things To Do

Things To Do in Athens

Although Athens covers a huge area, the major landmarks...read more

Travel Deals in Athens

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Hotels

Athens Experiences

  • Top Reasons to Go to Athens

    The Acropolis: An ancient beacon of bygone glory rising above Athens's smog, this iconic citadel represents everything the Athenians were and... Read more

  • Landing a Seafood Feast, Greek Style

    Enjoying the bounty of the seas that wash against Greek shores can be a fishy business. The waters have been over-fished for decades and much... Read more

  • Greek Fast Food

    Souvlaki is the original Greek fast food: spit-roasted or grilled meat, tomatoes, onions, and garlicky tzatziki wrapped in a pita to go. Greeks... Read more

  • Grand Promenade

    One of the most popular features created in Athens for the 2004 Olympics was the Grand Promenade, a pedestrian walkway created to beautify some... Read more

  • When Greece Worshipped Beauty

    As visitors to the many treasure-filled galleries of the National Archaeological Museum will discover, Greek art did not spring in a blinding... Read more

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