The 19th-century neighbourhood wrapped around the north and east foot of the rock — marble lanes, neoclassical houses, a tucked-behind tiny Cycladic village from another era of the city.
Plaka is the oldest continuously-inhabited quarter of Athens — built on the slopes of the Acropolis from the 11th century onwards, and almost entirely rebuilt as 19th-century neoclassical houses after independence. Above and behind it, hidden up a stairway, sits Anafiotika.
Plaka proper is the neighbourhood between the Acropolis, Monastiraki and Syntagma — narrow lanes paved in marble flag, ochre-and-rose neoclassical houses, an unbroken run of jewellers, leather-makers, bookshops, ice-cream and tavernas. The main streets (Adrianou, Kydathineon) are tourist-heavy; turn one street uphill and the lanes empty. Anafiotika is the secret — a tiny Cycladic-style village of sixty whitewashed houses built in the 1840s by builders from Anafi who had been brought to construct King Otto’s palace and missed home. Climb the Stratonos steps from Plaka, ten minutes; the lanes are too narrow for cars, the houses are still residential, and the Acropolis suddenly rises directly above you. Standard things to do: a long evening walk; a glass of wine at Klepsidra in Anafiotika; a meal at Tzitzikas kai Mermigas (good meze) or Diogenes (touristy but reliable); an ice cream at Antica Gelateria; a bookshop hour at Aiora or Lemoni.
A Plaka-anchored Athens day.
Stratonos steps up, the whitewashed lanes, a coffee at Klepsidra. Forty minutes.
The small Roman market and the 1st-century-BC octagonal Tower of the Winds (Athens' first weather station). Forty-five minutes.
An hour with the English-literature shop on Mavromichali, an espresso at Little Tree below it, a paperback for the trip home.
A long meze lunch on a Plaka terrace; book ahead. Ninety minutes.
Stavros Melissinos for sandals; a small jeweller for Hydra-stone earrings; a ceramicist near Mitropoleos. Three workshops, two hours.
Slow walk up Adrianou and down Kydathineon; the marble flag turns gold; the cafés fill from 19:30.
Booked window table; head-on Acropolis view, classic Greek menu, two-and-a-half-hour dinner. The day ends here.
On foot, within five minutes.
Three hundred metres above — the rock that gave the neighbourhood its altitude. Detail on the Acropolis page.
Five minutes' walk west — the flea market square and the Ancient Agora behind. Detail on the Monastiraki page.
Eight minutes' walk north — the parliament, the Evzones, the old royal garden behind. Detail on the Syntagma page.
Eight minutes' walk south — Tschumi's glass-floored museum. Detail on the Acropolis Museum page.
Two minutes north — the small Roman-era market with the octagonal Tower of the Winds, and Hadrian's monumental library next to it. Same combined ticket as the Acropolis.
Tell us a little about the trip you want — pace, who's coming, how you'd like to spend your mornings. We'll build the days.
