Athens a place where history and myth have blurry boundaries and where, despite the “wear and tear of modern life” (vast and chaotic metropolis, with serious problems of traffic, pollution, and, unfortunately, economic crisis), one cannot help but set foot at least once in a lifetime. Athens is the city of Theseus and Pericles, of Socrates and Plato offering places of unique strength, which after millennia still manage to transmit a special energy, a vertigo.
The Acropolis of Athens
For a weekend visit to Athens, it is best to start immediately from the Acropolis, the heart of the classical era, which means high city, perched on a rocky outcrop 156 meters above sea level.
The Acropolis is reached from Beulé Gate, beyond which rise the monumental Propylaea, damaged in the 17th century by the Venetians and later restored. Once you reach the monumental area, all that remains is to be captivated by the beauty and majesty of the Parthenon, the temple symbol of the Acropolis (447-438 BC), with the perfect harmony of its lines, spaces, and volumes; the play of those 46 Doric columns that the sun wraps in a warm light; the eloquence of the scenes carved on the pediments, the work of the great Phidias and his school.
To the north of the Parthenon stands the Erechtheion, with the famous Caryatids, six statues depicting young women, supporting the southern portico. A must-see stop is the new headquarters of the Acropolis Museum, inaugurated in 2009, which houses all the artifacts from the area (including the original statues of the Caryatids), with very interesting visit routes.
Plaka, the most naive neighborhood of Athens
At the foot of the upper city, lies one of the most naive neighborhoods of Athens, almost entirely pedestrianized: Plaka, a maze of alleys, small streets, passages, narrow buildings, which tells of the time when the Athenians were subjugated by the Turks. One of the liveliest and most welcoming corners of the city, a pleasant babel of bars, taverns, souvenir shops, and various goods. Odos Adrianou is its main artery, a sort of watershed between the ancient and the modern city.
