Athens

Athens, the capital of Greece, is a beautiful city full of culture and history. This was my second visit to Greece; my first visit was in 1997 when I went Island hopping and visited Santorini, Ios and Pathos (I think! can't remember :)).

Athens is a city with different aspects, it is surrounded by three mountains (Ymmytos, Pendeli and Parnitha) and the sea is not far away from te city, it also has the old historic mansions and beautiful architecture. It has many restaurants and traditional taverns, intimate shops and galleries (great art but didn't buy any :( ), old neighbourhoods and roads with beautiful neoclassical buildings.

I visited Syntagma ('Constitution') - the square in front of the Parliament (formerly the King's Palace, built between 1836 and 1840 and it is considered the main square of Athens). Along the street leads to the shopping district with many amazing department stores. This also leads to Monastiraki square, a main tourist area with a flea market where one can find good bargains.

A must visit is the National Archaeological Museum of Athens where you will see the Gold mask of Agamemnon, and also the amazing archeaological site of the Acropolis ('Sacred Rock'), which Athens is built around, hence the spectacular view of Athens from the top! Also worth seeing is the Ancient Agora, the Poseidon Temple and Thisio square lined with neoclasiscal buildings and cafes where one can sit, soak up the sun and enjoy the view........