DK Travel : Athens

Athens is simultaneously known as the Classical, marble-pillared cradle of Western civilization and as a modern urban sprawl of concrete and traffic. Between the extremes lies a kaleidoscopic city, where the influences of East and West entwine in the markets, cafés and tavernas, built upon ancient ruins and rubbing shoulders with gold-leafed Byzantine churches.

Rockwave (Jun)

This three-day festival is Greece’s hottest music ticket of the year. The line-up includes huge Greek and international pop, rock and alternative acts.
Rodon-Live Rock

This converted cinema is an institution in Athens’ thriving rock scene. Iggy Pop, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Metallica and many in between have graced the stage.
Rodon-Live Rock

A converted cinema that hosts the best hard rock and heavy metal bands (see Rodon-Live Rock).
Roman Agora

This marketplace area was lined with stalls selling sacred objects, where visitors could buy last-minute offerings to the Oracle.
Roman Athens

Roman rule began in 146 BC and lasted five centuries. Athenians initially maintained good relations with their rulers, but in 86 BC a potential move towards Athenian independence was brutally crushed by the Romans. Emperor Hadrian (AD 76–138) remained a great admirer of Greek culture, however, and together with Greek scholar Herodes Atticus he set up various building schemes, including the great theatre (see Herodes Atticus Theatre).
Roman Forum and Tower of the Winds

One of the most interestingly layered sites. Buildings and remains include the ingenious Tower of the Winds from 50 BC, the first-century AD Roman forum, and a mosque built by the Ottomans. (see Roman Forum & Tower of the Winds)
Roman Forum and Tower of the Winds

The Romans abandoned the ancient Agora and created this orderly new commercial centre. Its showpiece was the magnificent Tower of the Winds, which housed an ingenious water clock. (see Roman Forum & Tower of the Winds)
Roman Forum and Tower of the Winds

Julius Caesar and Augustus were founders of this Roman marketplace, which replaced the original Greek Agora, and their names are inscribed on the grand Gate of Athena Archegetis. But its most striking feature, the Tower of the Winds, was built in 50 BC, 100 years earlier. There is no other building like it in the ancient world: eight-sided, each side sculpted with a personification of the winds and their names inscribed: Boreas, Kaikias, Apeliotes, Euros, Notos, Lips, Zephyros and Skiron. (see Roman Forum, Roman Forum and Tower of the Winds)
Sacred Way

This road retraces the route Apollo first followed to Delphi and ends at the temple dedicated to him. The view, of Mount Parnassos looming above and the plunging gorge below, is suitably humbling.
Salamina

Wooded Salamina has a rich history – playwright Euripides was born here, and in 480 BC, the Greeks famously beat Xerxes here. Its proximity to the industry around Piraeus makes it less popular today.