The Future of Healthcare Meetings 2026

Athens


Athens, the birthplace of democracy, arts, science and philosophy of western civilisation, is one of the world’s oldest cities. Its recorded history spans around 3.400 years and it has been inhabited since the 11th millennium B.C. Today, under the shadow of Parthenon, the contemporary urban scenery of the sprawling city reflects its exciting history, its multi- cultural modern personality as well as the infrastructure and facilities.

In Athens you get the best of both worlds: a modern city with old-world charm and the natural beauty of Greece just beyond. Once the center of ancient civilization, Athens has so much history to discover—from ruins to still-intact treasures.

Athens City Festival - Athinas Street Car-Free

For the third consecutive year, the City of Athens, as part of World Car Free Day (September 22) and European Mobility Week, is sending a message for a city that is less dependent on cars, offers more sustainable mobility options and provides more public space for everyone.

This message is being put into practice in the heart of Athens. From 8 p.m. on Saturday, September 19, until 8 p.m. on Sunday, September 20, Athinas Street will close to vehicles and open up to the city’s residents and visitors.

This year once again, the Athens City Festival, through “Develop Athens”, is organizing “Athinas Street Car-Free”, transforming one of the capital’s most central and iconic streets for 24 hours into an open space for people to meet, exercise, create and enjoy themselves, with activities for all ages.

The event takes place two days before World Car Free Day, on September 22, putting its message into practice: to rethink the way we move around the city and how public space can become more accessible, safer and friendlier for everyone.

For more details, please visit here.

Top Attractions in Athens

Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis is an ancient citadel, the birthplace of democracy, and a UNESCO site, considered a symbol of classical Greek civilization.

Parthenon

The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena.

Panathenaic Stadium

The Panathenaic stadium is an ancient stadium that was first used in 330 BC for the celebration of the Great Panathenaia, which were held to honor Athena.

Roman Forum of Athens Roman Agora is where the heart of the ancient city used to beat in Roman times. It was built in the 1st c. BC with gifts from Julius Caesar and Augustus to house Athens' commercial activities.

Plaka

The Plaka is ⁩⁦Athens' oldest neighborhood⁩⁦, like a village with restaurants, shops, and cafes, near the Acropolis, and is considered the nicest in central Athens.⁩

Local Tips

Changing of the guards

The Changing of the Guard in Athens takes place every hour by the military unit whose members stand proudly in perfect stillness in front of the Parliament. Every Sunday morning at 11:00, people gather in Syntagma Square to watch the official changing of the guards, the military unit whose members stand proudly in perfect stillness in front of the Hellenic Parliament.

Mount Lycabettus (Lykavitos)

If you’re feeling fit you could walk the 277m up hill, but the rest of us take the funicular from the upscale neighborhood of Kolonaki. From the summit, greater Athens resembles a tsunami of white dominoes washed in from the Aegean; the Parthenon looks like a tiny white toy.

Anafiotika

Anafiotika is a beautiful part of Athens nestled between the foot of the Acropolis and the district of Plaka. It is a don't-miss gem in the center of Athens, which shows the overlapping and interacting histories of the city right in the very cobblestones of the streets.

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