Athens, Greece — Activities
Athens Culture
Athens probably has the most long-standing and impressive cultural heritage of any city in Europe. However, this pedigree is not confined to past greatness - a continued enthusiasm for the arts is expressed annually at the Athens Festival. In 1985, Athens became the first European City of Culture. Many tavernas, particularly in the Pláka, put on music and dance shows for tourists at night. However, more authentic Greek music in Athens is rembétika (a kind of Greek blues, developed by refugees from Asia Minor in the 1920s).
During the summer, tickets for all performances included within the Athens Festival and the Epidaurus Festival are sold at the Hellenic Festival Box Office, Panepistimiou 39 (tel: 210 327 2000; www.greekfestival.gr). Tickets to other cultural events are available direct from the venue box offices.
The Ministry of Culture's website (www.culture.gr) has full listings for forthcoming cultural events throughout Greece (predominantly in Athens).
Music
Mégaron Mousikis Athenon
Mégaron Mousikis Athenon (Athens Concert Hall) is a modern venue which hosts all the city's top ballet, opera and classical music events, as well as conferences and exhibitions. It's also the home of the Athens State Orchestra, the city's major orchestra, who hold many of their performances here.
Leofóros Vassilissis Sofías
Tel: 210 728 2333.
Website: www.megaron.gr
Olympia Theater
The Greek National Opera is based at the Olympia Theater, which also hosts operas and musical events performed by touring companies and musicians, as well as dance performances from the National Ballet Company.
Akadimias 59-61
Tel: 210 361 2461.
Website: www.nationalopera.gr
Theater
Lykavittós
The outdoor Lykavittós theater hosts a range of plays and concerts throughout the summer.
Lykavittós Hill
Tel: 210 722 7209.
National Theater of Greece
The National Theater of Greece encompasses five theater groups.
Agiou Konstantinou 24-26 and Panepistimiou 48
Tel: 210 528 8100.
Website: www.n-t.gr
Odion Iródou Attikou (Odeon of Herod Atticus)
The tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripedes, and the comedies of Aristophanes represent the high points of ancient Greek theater and heralded the birth of Western drama. The original performances were held in the Theater of Dionysos, on the southern slopes of the Acropolis. Nearby, the Odion Iródou Attikou (Odeon of Herod Atticus) is a Roman theater from the second century AD, also known as the Herodeion. The auditorium is usually only open on summer evenings for the Athens Festival, when it provides an impressive setting for performances of music and classical drama.
Dionysiou Areopagitou, Acropolis
Tel: 210 323 2771.
Dance
Dora Stratou Dance Theater
The Dora Stratou Dance Theater was founded in 1953 by a dancer and devotee of Greek folk culture. Each evening May to September, the troupe, dressed in traditional costume, puts on a show of exuberant Greek song and dance at an open-air theater on Filopáppou (Philopapps Hill), opposite the Acropolis.
Scholiou 8
Tel: 210 324 4395.
Website: www.grdance.org
Athens Tours
Walking tours
Athens is well suited to walking, as most of the sights are centrally located. The ‘Unification of Archaeological Sites' now links the city's ancient sites by a 4km (2.5-mile) traffic-free promenade: Dionissiou Areopagitou leads from the Acropolis metro station along the south side of the Acropolis to join Apostolou Pavlou which leads to Thissio metro station. From here Adrianou runs east to Monastiraki, while Ermou runs west to Keramikos. For private guided tours, visitors are advised to contact the Association of Graduate Tourist Guides of Athens, which provides guides for individual and group tours and supplies licensed guides to the travel agencies.
Tel: 210 322 0090.
Website: www.tourist-guides.gr
Bus tours
Τhe Athens Sightseeing Bus, line 400, begins and ends its 90-minute tour of the city's top sights from outside the National Archaeological Museum. Tickets are purchased on board. In addition, numerous companies and travel agencies offer tailor-made tours for groups, whether walking or bus or a combination. For example, Fantasy Travel offers a condensed half-day ‘Athens Sightseeing Tour', which is a bus tour with various sightseeing stops, including the Parliament building on Syntagma Square, Hadrian's Arch, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Acropolis.
Tel: 210 331 0530.
Website: www.fantasy.gr
