Places you can’t afford to miss while on a trip to Athens, ‘The City of the Violet Crown’

One of the most awe-inspiring towns in southeastern Europe, Athens is a beautiful city that is in graceful position on the Greek mainland, basking under the Mediterranean sun. It is a place where past and present exist in poetical unity where marble ruins are in contact with energetic cafes, and age-old myths speak through overcrowded avenues. Athens is a museum city and a vibrant metropolis in one as it is also known as The City of the Violet Crown due to the gorgeous purple color that the skies of this city have during the sunrise and sunset.

The city is the pride of place as the capital of Greece; it welcomes the traveler to the rich world of centuries of art, philosophy, and culture. It is a place where all the rocks speak and speak of deities and divines, of thinkers and fighters, of the birth of democracy and the creative dawn of man. However, Athens cannot be defined by its past only; there is a sound of modernity, street art, bars, and rooftops overlooking the Acropolis, all these elements create the image of modern Greek life.

This city is a beautiful mosaic that perfectly absorbs its splendid history and its progressive ideology. All the historical temples, vivid districts are full of remnants of the past and the tincture of the present. You may be a history buff, an art lover, a foodie or just somebody who is seeking the marvelous experience in the city, Athens has something that will remain in your mind even after you are out of its sunlit streets.

And thus, here is the list of the places to visit that you cannot and will not be able to do without, touring the incredible city, as every new place to visit narrates its own part of the ancient wonder of the city of Athens.

1. Acropolis

The Acropolis is the jewel of Greek architecture and the epitome of the eternal spirit of Athens. Located on the top of a mountainous hill this ancient citadel is illuminated by the golden stones of the Mediterranean sun and it towers above the city. In the midst of it is the Parthenon, a masterpiece of classical harmony and design, and which was dedicated to the goddess Athena.

This is because as you cross the ruins, all the columns, carvings and shadows appear to tell stories about ancient Greece. The Propylaea, the monumental gate, introduces the visitor with magnificence, and the Erechtheion, in the exquisite forms of its Caryatid columns, with the subtle art of the classical epoch. Look down the city, which is infinite in extent below, a panorama which is very hypnotic, which links ancient greatness with the contemporary metropolis. Going to the Acropolis does not mean sightseeing, it is a walk into the book of history.

2. Acropolis Museum

Within two minutes of walking down the hill, there is the Acropolis Museum, a smooth glass-and-marble building that is an excellent fusion of the ancient and contemporary. The museum was built to match its ancient counterpart and it contains thousands of invaluable items that were discovered in the Acropolis and other nearby locations.

The galleries are large, and the rays of the sun illuminate inside, sculptures, pottery, friezes that used to decorate the temples above. You are able to be surprised by the Parthenon Marbles, see the variety of jewelry and equipment, and follow the development of Greek art and everyday life over centuries.

The most special thing about this museum is also the fact that you can intellectually and emotionally relate with the ancient world. You can stand on its transparent floors and even look at the ruins of an ancient neighborhood in Athens which have been preserved under your feet, and this is an amazing view of what the life of people who once walked in the same path was like thousands of years ago.

3. Plaka

Plaka, the oldest yet the most scenic part of Athens, is called the Neighborhood of the Gods, and it is located at the northeastern foot of the Acropolis. Strolling across Plaka, one gets the impression of walking into a fairytale – the pavements of the streets are full of cobblestone, houses in pastel tones with bougainvillea hanging over their windows, the air filled with the aroma of grilled souvlaki and freshly baked baklava.

This is a quaint place which is a mixture of ancient beauty and bustling street life. Small stores are selling artisan jewelry and old-fashioned ceramics, musicians play Greek music on the streets, and small taverns beckon you to have moussaka and a glass of cool retsina wine.

Anafiotika, a little pocket of whitewashed houses, is not to be missed and it looks like a Cycladic island village in the very centre of Athens. It is a silent, sunny retreat, where the cats are sleeping upon stone steps, and the city noise is as the wind hushes to a silent murmur.

4. Ancient Agora

The Acropolis has the Ancient Agora, the former social and political center of the ancient city of Athens, located right on its northwestern side. This is where democracy came into being, where Socrates and Plato argued, and where Athenians sat at a meeting and discussed the ideas that gave the western civilization its path.

When you are walking at the archaeological site you will come across great structures like the Stoa of Attalos which has now been restored to be a museum hosting ancient tools, pottery, and sculptures. Another example of the excellently preserved temples in Greece is the Temple of Hephaestus which sits majestically among olive trees overlooking the Agora as a guardian of the ages.

Developing these grounds, one can simply dream about the ideas that used to be circulated by the philosophers and citizens in these streets, making the world of democracy, art, and philosophy what it is in the present-day world.

In this museum, the majority of artifacts are those that have undergone archaeological excavations and have been recovered.The National Archaeological Museum of Athens is a treasure chest of history. It contains one of the richest depositories of ancient Greek art and artifacts spanning thousands of years of civilization.

5. National Archaeological Museum

The sheer extent of history and what is in store on your entrance is a golden Mask of Agamemnon, bronze Zeus of Artemis ion, fine sculptures, mosaics, pottery that follow the development of Greece since the prehistoric period up to the late antiquity period.

Every exhibit is carefully designed to describe the history of human creativity and strength. It is not just a museum but it is a time travel where you get to see how art, mythology and the brain formed a unity to shape the Greek identity and shape the world beyond.

6. Mount Lycabettus

The mountain, Lycabettus, situated on the very center of the city, suddenly elevates itself to present one of the most magnificent places of observation in the entire city of Athens. When you decide to take a stroll up and down its scenic trails or to avail the convenience of the cable car, the view that awaits you at the top is without a doubt, breathtaking.

It is a panoramic view of the whole city, with its whitewashed structures falling down the hill, the Acropolis shining in the distance, and the Aegean blue Sea blinking on the horizon. The skies change at sunset to shades of violet, gold, and rose, – and it is the sight of this which has given Athens that epitome of poetry with which the condition of Greece has endowed it, – the City of the Violet Crown.

On top, there is the calm Chapel of St. George which gives it a calm touch, and on the side is the cafe, which is the best place to enjoy Greek coffee and enjoy watching the city bask in the golden sunshine.

7. Temple of Olympian Zeus

Having been a monumental pillar to the power of the gods, the Temple of Olympian Zeus represents the former greatest temple of all of Greece. Even though very few giant columns have been left, their massive nature causes awe and reverence even nowadays.

The temple was completed in a 600-year period and was finally done during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. When you are here looking up into the great Corinthian columns, you can almost hear the echo of ceremonies that used to be paid to Zeus–the lord of Mount Olympus.

The ambiance of the site is humbling and inspiring, and makes visitors remember how impressive the ancient Greek civilization was in terms of ambition and craftsmanship.

Final Thoughts

Athens is not simply a city, it is an experience, an illusion of ancient splendor, culture and contemporary liveliness. All monuments, museums and markets have stories that link the oldest democracy in the world to the current successful cosmopolitan center.

You can be gazing upon the holy ruins of the Acropolis, getting lost in the labyrinth of the streets of Plaka, or enjoying the sunset on the top of Mount Lycabettus and no other city will make you feel as much in your heart as Athens will do.

Take your curiosity and your camera, as in Athens history does not stand in the museums–it breathes in every stone and every tune and every sky that is of a violet hue, and is home to thee.