Pedion tou Areos

This is the largest and most popular of Athens' many museums, and is usually very crowded. Its vast collection includes treasures unearthed from Mycenae by Heinrich Schliemann; a staggering array of sculpture including the earliest known Greek figurines dating from around 2,000 BCE; frescoes from the volcanic island of Santorini; and remains of Antikythera mechanism, the oldest known mechanical computer. Plan to make several visits to absorb it all.

A low but imposing building erected between 1882 and 1890 by architect Ernst Ziller in the eclectic style of that age, commissioned by King George I.

A 200m hill bordering the Kolonaki district. You can reach the top by walking (the path starts 15 minutes from Evangelismos metro stop, and will take 30 minutes to walk up the winding, but paved and not steep, path) or by a funicular railway (€10 single/€13 return trip). From halfway up looking towards the sea there are astonishing views of the Parthenon with the blue of the sea glimpsed between its columns. And from the top you can see the whole city, the port of Piraeus and, on a clear day, the island of Aegina and the Peloponnese. Have a drink at the cafe there, and visit the chapel of St George.

Now the base of a summertime outdoor cinema, you can view the remains of the reservoir that was the terminus of an aqueduct that transported water for Roman-era Athenians from Parnitha to the base of Mount Lycabettus. You can only peer through windows and are not able to descend into the reservoir.