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Photo: Apaleutos25, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A Peaceful and beautiful park in the centre of Athens, easily the coolest place to hide from the summer sun. Wander around, check out the quirky art that seems to sprout up every now and again, look on in disbelief at the "zoo", sit on one of the benches, enjoy the luxuriant flowers and vegetation, marvel at the turtle and duck ponds, have a frappe in the cafe, and spot one of the resident tortoises exploring... it's a fun place to hang out.
The National Garden, formerly known as the Royal Garden until 1974, is a public park of 15.5 hectares in the center of the Greek capital, Athens. It is located between the districts of Kolonaki and Pangrati, directly behind the Greek Parliament building and continues to the South to the area where the Zappeion is located, across from the Panathenaiko or Kalimarmaro Olympic Stadium of the 1896 Olympic Games. The Garden also encloses some ancient ruins, column drums and Corinthian capitals of columns, mosaics, and other features. On the Southeast side are the busts of Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first governor of Greece, and of the Philhellene Jean-Gabriel Eynard. On the South side are the busts of the celebrated Greek poets Dionysios Solomos, author of the Greek National Anthem, and Aristotelis Valaoritis.
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This building is on the eastern side of the square. It was the former royal palace before Greece became a republic. At its base, facing the square, is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Catch the changing of the guards in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of Parliament every hour on the hour. The guards are a fascinating sight; they wear distinctive uniforms with pleated kilts and leather clogs with pom-poms. The uniforms and the guards' unusual marching style are a tribute to the light infantry insurgents (evzones) who bravely fought the Greek War of Independence. Make sure you don't get too close or stand on the wrong side of them if you want to take a picture. If that occurs, they will knock their gun and, as they are not allowed to speak, another guard in regular military uniform will kindly ask you to change position. A more elaborate version of the ceremony takes place at 11:00 every Sunday, when it is accompanied by a marching military band.
Check out the Parliament building and the newly restored Grande Bretagne Hotel.
Visit the beautiful Neoclassical main building which houses collections of Greek art, from ancient times through the Byzantine period and the modern state. Open late and for free on Thursday evenings. The museum shop is a good place to buy souvenirs. There is a small selection at high prices but the quality is excellent.
Holds the second largest collection of Cypriot antiquities in the world outside Cyprus, after the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Some of the most popular exhibits include the Cycladic figurines, the idols from Early Bronze Age Cyclades, whose style greatly influenced modernist work in the 20th century, and Cypriot pottery and Ancient Greek artifacts, especially the ‘Scenes of Daily Life in Ancient Greece’ display, which is popular with families. They also sell great souvenirs, and lunch is available at the elegant Aethrion Café. If you are lucky, there may be a quirky temporary exhibition too (with no extra entry fee), as they hold archaeological, modern and contemporary art exhibitions.
An excellent museum of its type. Too often neglected by visitors to Athens, even though it is in the heavily touristed Plaka neighbourhood. Displays include artefacts, tools, primitive painting, folk pottery and interior decor. It is particularly strong on costume and embroidery.