Essential guide to Athens

Lash out

The affluent northern suburb of Kifissia is home to many luxury options. The Pentelikon (66 Diligianni, 6230 6506, www.pentelikon.gr from €205) is staid-but-solid five-star luxury, while the eye-popping Semiramis (48 Charilaou Trikoupi, 628 4400, www.yeshotels.gr, from €180) is anything but. With wild pinks and greens across the board, an utterly psychedelic pool and just about everything in the room electronically controllable, it's bold and rather brilliant. The Grande Bretagne (Plateia Syntagmatos, 333 0000, grandebretagne.gr, from €265) is the city's grand old dame, however, and even the standard rooms feel fit for royalty at the unquestioned top address in town.

SHOP + PLAY

To market

The Central Market off Athinas is aimed mainly at locals rather than visitors but it's still atmospheric. The cute stalls of cheese and dried fruit tend to be overshadowed by the enormous cuts of meat hanging from the roofs of the butchers' pitches. Completely the opposite is the Monastiraki Flea Market. Taking over the largely pedestrianised streets to the west of Plateia Monastirakiou, the chaps on the stalls and shops here will try to flog you everything from motorbike helmets and ceramics to bags and belts. Nearby is the Ancient Agora — the market and meeting place of ancient Greece. It's now ruins but has been preserved to allow the imagination to go back 2500 years.

Go shop

While elsewhere, the country's financial troubles have led to shops being boarded up, in well-to-do Kolonaki there's always someone willing to take on a struggling store's space. The emphasis is on the boutique in this part of town and while major streets such as Solonos and Skoufa tend to hog the attention, it's worth ducking down side streets such as Haritos to find indie designer fashion, odd toy shops and chandelier dealerships. As you head towards Syntagma Square — especially on Stadiou — it gets more high end, with leading international designers and expensive jewellers holding sway. The pedestrianised streets of Plaka — particularly Adrianou and Kydathineon — have the odd gem among the usual tourist tat.

Live music

Gagarin 205 (205 Liosion, 8547 6012, gagarin205.gr) is probably the best place to catch touring acts and there will usually be a Greek indie-rock band playing when no one's in from overseas. For something a little more laid-back, the Half Note Jazz Club (17 Trivonianou, 921 3310, halfnote.gr) is the city's classic jazz haunt and has a reputation for taking the music reverentially. A distinctive local flavour can be found at Stoa Athanaton (19 Sofokleous, 321 4362), where old-timers play rembetika — a Greek take on the blues — to a fiercely loyal crowd every night.

Nightclubs

While you'll still get the familiar style of nightclubs in Athens, more intriguing encounters come at the bouzoukia clubs. These extravagant affairs involve charged-up traditional folk music, scantily clad dancers and flowers being thrown over the stage. Iera Odos (18 Iera Odos, 342 8272) in Gazi is a top bouzoukia spot. In summer, the clubbing scene moves to the Glyfada beach strip. The beautiful people flock to enormous Ibiza-like dance parties in places such as El Pecado Isla (14 Karamanli, 895 9645, elpecado.gr) and Akrotiri Boutique (5 Vassileos Georgiou, 985 9147, akrotirilounge.gr).

SEE + DO

Icons

Every hotel in with an Acropolis view will charge extra for it and it's obvious why. The rocky hill is home to some of antiquity's greatest buildings and, even in ruins, the Parthenon has a majestic hold. The signage is sparse and incredibly dry, however, which is where the Acropolis Museum (15 Dionysiou Areopagitou, 900 0900, theacropolismuseum.gr) comes in. Located at the foot of the Acropolis, the new Bernard Tschumi-designed showcase houses many treasures that were originally on the sacred hill and tells the stories behind them. Equally impressive is the Panathenaic Stadium on Vasileos Konstantinou. Originally built of marble in the 4th century BC, it was refurbished for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

Culture

To learn more about ancient Greece and see more vases, funerary stones and sculptures than you ever thought possible, the National Archaeological Museum (44 Patission, 821 7724, www.namuseum.gr) is a treasure trove. Be warned — it's a dry museum from the old school, but the collection is world class. More up-to-date is Athinais (34 Kastorias, 348 0000, www.athinais.com.gr), a converted silk factory that hosts art exhibitions and theatre productions. Arrive between May and October for the Athens Festival (www.greekfestival.gr), which hosts performances in venues across the city including at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus — a stone amphitheatre on the south slope of the Acropolis.

On foot

Athens can be something of a traffic-clogged nightmare but certain pedestrian strips minimise the pain. Most impressive of the lot is the three-kilometre promenade that cuts through the heart of the city, starting at Dionysiou Areopagitou and passing many of the city's ancient highlights on the way. There's also a route through the Agora and Acropolis that you can happily spend a day on, taking in major sights at close quarters. You'll have to pay €12 for the privilege, however. If you're feeling particularly energetic, you can slog it up Lykavittos Hill to the Chapel of Agios Georgios. The views and the sunsets are superb, although there's a funicular railway for those who fancy the easy-way-up and stroll-down approach.

Follow the leader

A hop-on, hop-off bus is worth taking if only for orientation purposes but the €18 tickets with City Sightseeing (922 0604, city-sightseeing.com) last for a couple of days and help you decide which ruins are worth a peek and which warrant further investigation. The Acropolis is undoubtedly one of the latter and having a guide to explain what everything is and bring the hill to life makes for a much more edifying experience. Athens Walking Tours (884 7269, athenswalkingtours.com) offers half-day walks for €36.

EAT + DRINK

Cafe culture

Kolonaki and Exarhia are the best spots for mooching in cafes. The former is people-watching central, while the latter has a more arty, edgy feel to it. Floral (80 Themistokleous, 380 0070) and Fanous (78 Themistokleous, 3317 9234) on Plateia Exarchion are shining examples. Floral is part-bookshop and photographic gallery, while Fanous is Arabic down to the hookah pipes and extravagant cushions. For a taverna-style meal, try To Kafenio (1 Epiharmou, 322 4515) in Plaka for a traditional treat. The meatballs are sensational and Jamie Oliver has filmed here. Meanwhile, Mamacas (49 Persefonis, 346 4984) in Gazi is a gleaming white, modernistic take on Pops' place.

Snack attack

Thanasis (69 Mitropoleos, 324 4705) is the sort of place that puts paper over the already plastic-coated tables before you eat but it's instantly forgiven the moment you taste the souvlaki. The legendary reputation of this enormous spot is utterly justified; the meat is so tender it slides down the throat like butterscotch. Right opposite is Ice Grill, an absurdly named joint that sells seemingly hundreds of flavours of mighty fine gelati. Lena's Bio (11 Nikis, 324 1360), near Syntagma Square, is a nice, cruisy place to get salads, pastries and sandwiches of the home-made, organic variety.

Top of the town

Varoulko (80 Pireos, 522 8400) changes its menu depending on what's fresh at the fish market every day. The emphasis is very much on seafood at this stylish but not stuck-up joint. The Michelin-starred food and Acropolis views on the terrace make for a great combo. Spondi (5 Pyronnos, 756 4021, spondi.gr) offers a modern take on traditional Greek dishes and on a summer's night the courtyard is heavenly. Save space for the excellent desserts. Cibus (Zappeio Gardens, 336 9364) also gets brownie points for its location in the National Gardens as well as superb food.

By the glass

Booze Cooperativa (57 Kolokotroni, 400 0863, www.boozecooperativa.com) is a self-consciously hip place where two fingers are stuck up at the smoking ban and the iPhone-clutching chess players of the daytime crowd give way to DJs, drinkers and diehards as night falls. Meanwhile, Circus (11 Navarinou, 361 5255, circusbar.gr) is the super-colourful, good-time meeting place of alternative Exarhia and stylish Kolonaki. Gazi is the hotspot though, with a sea of bars radiating from Keramikos station. Nearby is Nixon (61B Agisilaou, 346 2077), an enchanting place of high stools, a film noir feel and jaunty music. It's the kind of place where you can fall for a broken woman blowing smoke in your eye.

Hot tip

Athens' museums can be an ancient-world overkill for those not utterly gripped by the subject but the most exciting spots are where the ancient and modern collide. The Athens Metro system has to be one of the most spectacular in the world — when it was being dug, remains from bygone eras were found and preserved. Hopping around by train, therefore, becomes a trip around a series of mini museums. The Syntagma and Monastiraki stations are arguably the best.

Getting there

Thai Airways (thaiairways.com.au), Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.com), Etihad (etihadairways.com) and Emirates (emirates.com) offer convenient, one-stop routes to Athens from Sydney — with short stopovers in Bangkok, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights are priced at less than $2000, with the best availability between mid-April and mid-June — arguably the best time to visit.

Visas and currency

Australians don't need a visa to enter Greece, unless planning to work or stay for a long time. The currency is the euro and €1 is equal to about $1.40.

Calling Athens

The international dialling code for Greece is +30 and the city code for Athens is 210. To call the numbers listed from overseas add +30 210.

Further information

breathtakingathens.com.

The writer was a guest of YES Hotels.