Athens

Athens is simultaneously known as the Classical, marble-pillared cradle of Western civilization and as a modern urban sprawl of concrete and traffic.

Between the extremes lies a kaleidoscopic city, where the influences of East and West entwine in the markets, cafés and tavernas, built upon ancient ruins and rubbing shoulders with gold-leafed Byzantine churches.

Top 10 Must-See Sights

1. Acropolis
The crown jewel of Greece, if not all of Europe. Its temples are the most influential buildings in Western architecture.

2. The Agora
Socrates, Aristotle and St Paul all held forth in the marketplace below the Acropolis. This was the heart of the ancient city.

3. National Archaeological Museum
The greatest collection of finds from some of the world’s greatest cultures is housed here. Exhibits include the gold treasure of Mycenae and the first sculptures to depict the complexity of the human form.

4. Museum of Cycladic Art
The world’s largest collection of Cycladic art showcases a matriarchal island culture whose 5,000-year-old icons still inspire artists of the modern world.

5. Roman Forum & Tower of the Winds
The Romans abandoned the ancient Agora and created this orderly new commercial centre. Its showpiece was the magnificent Tower of the Winds, which housed an ingenious water clock.

6. Benaki Museum
A first-rate collection of Greek art from Neolithic to present times. It is housed in a beautifully renovated Neo-Classical mansion, with an intriguing history and famed rooftop view.

7. Kerameikos
Classical Athens’ cemetery gives a fascinating cross-section of life, and death, at the city’s edge, with elaborate tombs, temples, sacred roads – and an ancient brothel.

8. Byzantine Museum
The rich, complex history of the Byzantine Empire is told through the greatest of its works, from the intricacy of precious metalwork to the solemnity of the many icons.

9. Filopappos Hill
A green-gladed respite in the city centre, with a wonderful view and a mix of monuments that encompass ancient, Byzantine and modern Greek culture.

10. Temple of Olympian Zeus
Ancient Greece’s most colossal temple stands beside the monumental arch that divided Athens between Greek hero Theseus and formidable Roman emperor Hadrian.

Discover more to see and do in Athens at www.traveldk.com/athens.

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