Fodor's To Europe!
Days 1-2
Athens greeted the millennium with a sleek new subway and plenty of urban redevelopment. But for most visitors, it's ancient Greece that holds the most appeal. In Athens you'll find the greatest temple of Periclean Greece, the Parthenon, and drink in heart-stopping views of the metropolis.
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- Archaeology
- Art and Culture
- History
- Architecture
Experiences
- From many spots in Athens, you see the columns of the Parthenon looming over the city. The Acropolis, womb of Western civilization, has a magnetic beauty despite showing its age.
- The Agora was the commercial hub of ancient Athens, where Plato and Socrates roamed (and where Socrates was sentenced to death). Today visitors can see foundations of some of the original buildings, as well as sculptures.
- The unparalleled Benaki Museum reveals Greece from prehistory to the modern state. Among the collection are Byzantine icons, costumed mannequins, and Lord Byron's pistols.
Festivals
- Every year in early November, the Athens Classic Marathon is run over roughly the same course followed in 490 BC by the courier Pheidippides.
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