Not to miss

Acropolis

The Acropolis is the most important ancient site in the Western world. Crowned by the Parthenon, it stands sentinel over Athens, visible from almost everywhere within the city. Its monuments of Pentelic marble gleam white in the midday sun and gradually take on a honey hue as the sun sinks, while at night they hover above the city brilliantly illuminated. The sudden glimpse of this magnificent sight cannot fail to lift your spirits.

Pericles set about transforming the Acropolis into a city of temples after being informed by the Delphic oracle in 510 BC that it should become a province of the gods. Unsurpassed in grace and harmony, the Parthenon is the largest Doric temple ever completed in Greece, the only one built completely (apart from its wooden roof) of Pentelic marble.

The Parthenon had a dual purpose - to house the giant statue of Athena commissioned by Pericles and to serve as the treasury for the tribute money that had been moved from Delos. It was built on the site of four earlier temples, all dedicated to the worship of Athena.

Beside the Parthenon is the Erechtheion, immediately recognisable for its much-photographed Caryatids, the six maidens who take the place of columns. The Acropolis Museum houses a collection of sculptures and reliefs from the site.

Ancient Agora

The Agora (market) was Athens' meeting place in ancient times, the focal point of administrative, commercial, political and social life. All roads led to this bustling and crowded place, where Socrates once expounded his philosophy and, later, where St Paul disputed daily in an attempt to win converts to Christianity.

The site was first developed in the 6th century BC. It was devastated by the Persians in 480 BC, but a new agora was built in its place almost immediately. It was flourishing by Pericles' time and continued to do so until AD 267, when it was destroyed by the Herulians, a Gothic tribe from Scandinavia.

A good place to begin an exploration of the site is in the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos, originally built between 159 and 138BC; its expensive shops were a popular stamping ground for moneyed Athenians. It houses the Agora Museum, where there's a model of the Agora upstairs along with a collection of finds from the site. The Temple of Hephaestus, on the western edge of the Agora, dates from 449BC and is the best-preserved Doric temple in Greece.

To the northeast of the temple are the foundations of the Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios, one of the places where Socrates spoke to the masses.

Near the southern entrance of the market is the Church of the Holy Apostles, which was built in the early 11th century to commemorate St Paul and his teachings. Have a look at the Byzantine frescoes inside.

Museum of Cycladic & Ancient Greek Art

This exceptional private museum houses the biggest private collection of Cycladic art in the world. The original building was custom-built for the collection, and the finds are beautifully displayed and well labelled. Although the exhibits cover all periods from Cycladic to Roman times, the emphasis is on the Cycladic era from 3000 BC to 2000 BC.

The 230 exhibits include the marble figurines with folded arms that inspired many 20th-century artists with their simplicity and purity of form. The Cycladic collection, on the 1st floor, includes life-size marble statues, tiny figurines and pottery from the civilisation that flourished in the Aegean during the Bronze Age.

The museum was extended and now spreads across the 19th-century mansion next door and an adjacent wing used for temporary exhibitions.