Athens has always exuded a unique charm, its lively character winning over tens of thousands of visitors every year. Street markets, vine-covered tavernas, souvenir stalls and ancient monuments all form a conglomerate with buildings old and new in this city, which one out of four Greeks call home.

For tourists the greatest advantage is that most attractions are accessible on foot in the central area around the landmark Acropolis.

Walking is the best way to soak up the Athenian atmosphere because the traffic can reach nightmare proportions. Athens was named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, who according to mythology won the city as prize after a duel against Poseidon. The city can chart its history back thousands of years and is regarded as the cradle of western civilisation; the place where democracy was invented and philosophy, art and architecture were refined.

There's unbeatable historical sightseeing, either in Athens's own ruins and museums or in the surrounding countryside, where sites such as Thermopylae and Marathon are just a day trip away.

Locality:

Athens, the Greek capital, sits in east central Greece, bounded by the mountains of Hymettus in the east, Pendeli and Parnithia to the north, the hills of Aigaleo to the west, and the Saronic Gulf to the south. It's home to five million people, around half the country's population.