Neighbourhood · Greece

Athens

Spend a night or two in Athens at the start or end of the trip, or skip it and fly straight to an island. It’s worth a night even if the trip is about the islands: the Acropolis at golden hour justifies the detour.

Best for first-timers · culture-first trips · anyone flying in and out of Athens

Wrong for anyone whose trip is purely beach and water.

From Where to Stay in Greece 2026: An Island-by-Island Base Guide.

Where to stay in Athens

All of Greece

  • Citorah PickHotel · Athens

    Coco-Mat Athens BC

    Citorah says A five-star on Falirou Street, with Acropolis-view and museum-view rooms.

  • Citorah PickHotel · Athens

    AthensWas

    Citorah says A five-star with 21 rooms and suites and a rooftop restaurant, on the pedestrian Dionysiou Areopagitou street below the Acropolis.

  • Citorah PickHotel · Athens

    Hotel Grande Bretagne

    Citorah says A five-star on Syntagma Square. Its GB Roof Garden restaurant, on the 8th floor, overlooks the Acropolis, Lycabettus Hill and Syntagma Square.

  • Citorah PickHotel · Athens

    The Dolli at Acropolis

    Citorah says Grecotel’s boutique hotel at Mitropoleos 49, with 46 bedrooms, pieds-à-terre and apartments. Its rooftop restaurant has Acropolis views.

  • Citorah PickHotel · Athens

    Perianth Hotel

    Citorah says A five-star designed by the Greek firm K-Studio, on Agia Irini Square, 450 metres from Monastiraki metro station.

Where to eat in Athens

All of Greece

  • Citorah PickMarket · Athens

    Varvakios Agora

    Citorah says The central market, the Varvakios Agora, fills the block between Athinas, Sofokleous, Evripidou and Aiolou streets, with the fish market at its centre.

  • Citorah PickRestaurant · Athens

    Karayiannis

    Citorah says This is Athens points to Karayiannis, inside, for a midday ouzo and meze

  • Citorah PickRestaurant · Athens

    Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani

    Citorah says A delicatessen that “doubles as an ouzeri”, in This is Athens’s words, with Greek charcuterie, pastourma and cheeses to eat at its tables or take home.

  • Citorah PickRestaurant · Athens

    Diporto

    Citorah says One of the oldest koutoukia, the basement tavernas of Athens, in business since 1887, This is Athens says.

  • Citorah PickRestaurant · Athens

    Nikitas

    Citorah says A family taverna cooking since 1967, with a daily menu of cooked dishes and grills; This is Athens calls it one of the few spots in Psyrri that remains unchanged.

  • Citorah PickCafé · Athens

    Little Kook

    Citorah says A themed café that serves cocktails, open from 9am to midnight.

  • Citorah PickCafé · Athens

    Da Capo

    Citorah says A classic coffee shop, known for people-watching over coffee.

Bars and nights out in Athens

All of Greece

  • Citorah PickBar · Athens

    Line

    Citorah says Line, in Kato Petralona (Agathodemonos 37), is No. 5 on The World’s 50 Best Bars 2026 and won that year’s Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award. It comes from Vasilis Kyritsis and Nikos Bakoulis, co-founders of The Clumsies, in a former art gallery. They ferment, redistil and bottle in house.

  • Citorah PickClub · Athens

    Bios

    Citorah says A multi-level arts space with a basement club and a rooftop, with club nights on its October 2026 programme.

  • Citorah PickClub · Athens

    Lohan Nightclub

    Citorah says The big commercial club, open on Friday and Saturday nights (its About page adds Sunday).

  • Citorah PickBar · Athens

    The Bar in Front of the Bar

    Citorah says No. 19 on The World’s 50 Best Bars 2026, and that year’s Highest Climber. Zero-waste cocktails, served out on the pavement in Monastiraki.

  • Citorah PickBar · Athens

    Barro Negro

    Citorah says No. 40 on the 2026 list. A tequila and agave bar on Ioannou Paparrigopoulou, a few minutes’ walk east of Monastiraki, opened in 2019.

  • Citorah PickBar · Athens

    Baba Au Rum

    Citorah says It’s No. 55 on the 2026 extended list (it was No. 27 in 2025), and a top-four nominee for Best International High Volume Bar at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.

  • Citorah PickBar · Athens

    The Clumsies

    Citorah says An all-day bar, open from the morning, with The Room, a private space for up to ten with a fireplace, a billiard table and records.

  • Citorah PickRooftop bar · Athens

    A for Athens

    Citorah says A rooftop bar right next to Monastiraki metro station, looking out to the Acropolis.

  • Citorah PickRooftop bar · Athens

    GB Roof Garden

    Citorah says On the eighth floor of the Hotel Grande Bretagne, on Syntagma Square, a short walk from Kolonaki. Parliament is across the square below, and the Acropolis and the Parthenon are in view about 1 km away.

Things to do in Athens

All of Greece

  • Citorah PickSight · Athens

    Acropolis

    Citorah says The Acropolis at 08:00, when it opens, before the heat builds.

    The catch Large luggage isn’t allowed.

  • Citorah PickMuseum · Athens

    Acropolis Museum

    Citorah says Then the Acropolis Museum, about 300 metres south-east of the Parthenon, where the Dionysiou Areopagitou walkway starts.

  • Citorah PickSight · Athens

    Ancient Agora

    Citorah says The Ancient Agora, four minutes’ walk from Monastiraki Square. It opens at 08:00 every day, and its €20 ticket covers the site and its museum in the Stoa of Attalos, which opens at 10:00 on Tuesdays.

Other neighbourhoods

All neighbourhoods

  • Neighbourhood · 22 places

    Mykonos

    Mykonos is the party island, built around its beach clubs: Scorpios on Paraga beach, Nammos on Psarou, Principote at Panormos and Branco on Platys Gialos.

    Best for groups whose trip is the scene: beach clubs, long lunches, late nights.

  • Neighbourhood · 30 places

    Santorini

    Santorini is two or three nights of caldera views, not a week of beach holiday. Its villages sit on the rim of the caldera, and its beaches are volcanic, with black and red sand.

    Best for couples · photographers · a two- or three-night stop on a longer trip

  • Neighbourhood · 6 places

    Crete

    Crete is the largest Greek island, and the one most travellers should consider for a real island holiday.

    Best for week-long trips · families · anyone who wants one base and a hire car

  • Neighbourhood · 14 places

    Paros and Naxos

    Paros lies at the centre of the Cyclades, says GNTO, and Naxos is the largest and most fertile island in the group. Both have the white-and-blue Cycladic look, long sandy beaches, and less hype than Mykonos and Santorini.

    Best for travellers who want the Cycladic look with less hype · couples · families on a multi-island trip

  • Neighbourhood · 7 places

    Rhodes and Corfu

    Rhodes (in the Dodecanese) and Corfu (in the Ionian) feel very different from the Cyclades. Rhodes has its Medieval Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the village of Lindos with its acropolis.

    Best for families · anyone who wants an old town and a resort on the same island

  • Neighbourhood · 3 places

    Hydra, Spetses and Aegina

    The Saronic islands make an easy weekend from Athens, and a good extra-night option if you’d otherwise lose a day flying to a more distant island.

    Best for an extra night or two from Athens · anyone who’d rather not lose a day flying

Plan the trip

Some of these are affiliate links: if you book through them, Citorah may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the guides recommend. How Citorah is paid