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The hottest drinking and socializing spot in town. Packed from mid-afternoon onwards at the weekends, when the beautiful people drop in.

Summer or winter, rain or shine, this small pedestrianized section of street lined with tiny bars is always a hive of festivity and conviviality.

Ultra-cool lounge bar and restaurant. The all-white summer garden is set in a peaceful park; across the road the indoor area has designer furniture and abstract art.

Savas grows his own avocados, and serves them with everything from roe to mangoes at this green-fruit-focused mezedopleion.

Creative taverna classics – chicken with honey, raisins and coriander – served in a beautiful courtyard. Most of the produce is organic.

Greek alternative music kids and hipsters flock here to dance to the likes of Scotland’s Belle & Sebastian and Australia’s prince of darkness, Nick Cave.

Coffee, cocktails and ice creams in a split-level bar with underwater murals and a glass spiral staircase – plus a splendid roof terrace.

The humble origins of this natural-based, environmentally and animal-friendly cosmetics brand that is taking Europe and the United States by storm lie in this small homeopathic pharmacy. The full collection of haircare, suncare, face and body lotions is available here at very reasonable prices. Delight the senses with refreshing citrus body water spray, the sweetly spicy coriander shower gel or the orange blossom facial cleanser. Being a chemist, this shop is closed on Saturdays (as well as Monday and Wednesday afternoons, like many other shops).

Kallidromiou is the heart of Exarcheia, especially on Saturdays, when the whole neighbourhood turns out for the open-air laiki (farmer’s market). Soak up the sights of the street and buy some fresh fruit before heading to nearby Strefi Hill (see Strefi Hill) for a healthy climb and bite to eat.

Small, seedy Plateia Avissynias comes alive on Sunday mornings when Athens’ biggest and most colourful flea market fills the space and spills out to the streets around it. Here’s where you’ll find everything you didn’t know you needed: pink cut-glass Turkish liqueur sets, 100-year-old phones that still work, beautiful antique carved-wood desks, and piles of fantastic kitsch and junk. Bring your haggling skills.

This is one of the best deals in town. For only a little more than most budget hotels, you get a stylish restaurant and lobby, and bright, comfortable rooms with room service, satellite TV, business amenities, and, if you ask, Acropolis views. Though not located in a tourist neighbourhood, it’s within an easy walk of most sights.

Very exclusive seaside resort that’s popular with the Greek jet set. The complex encompasses three hotels, private beaches, leisure facilities and sea-water pools. Shuttle buses and limousines provide access to central Athens.

A new addition, and one with a clear focus on style. The metal-toned, minimalist lobby leads up to rooms that are designer-sleek, sharp and fully fitted out with luxury amenities. Staff seem genuinely eager to make your stay a pleasure.

A mere stone’s throw from the Acropolis, this hotel is popular with well-heeled Greeks, keen on the profusion of gilt, mirrors and potted palms. Drinks and buffets are served on the roof garden in summer, and there’s a preserved section of the ancient Themistoklean Wall in the basement.

A vast seaside hotel, the spacious rooms adorned with oak furniture and marble bathrooms. The complex gives onto a private beach, and there are also out- and indoor pools. A shuttle bus serves Plateia Syntagma.

The rooms in this 19th-century mansion are simple but elegant; however, the real draw is the combination of a courtyard garden overflowing with fragrant flowers, the sumptuous breakfasts and the warm hospitality of the Italian owners.

With its marble lobby, oriental carpets and glittering chandeliers, this grandiose establishment exudes timeless luxury. The opulence continues through 327 rooms and suites, a rooftop restaurant and pool, and the fitness centre.

This grandiose hotel and former retreat of the rich and famous reopened in 2004 after a 14-year closure. The 104 rooms and suites, all with marble bathrooms, are individually furnished with select antiques.

An all-glass boutique designer hotel with 30 rooms, studios and suites set in a garden with trees and a pool. The modern, minimalist furnishing is complemented by earthy colours (cream, coffee, grey and beige) and atmospheric lighting. Facilities include the Ananea Health and Spa.

Orange, pink and limegreen predominate in this funky 52-room hotel designed by Karim Rashid. There’s a heated outdoor pool and a fitness and beauty centre. An everchanging selection of contemporary art is displayed in the lobby.

Having undergone massive refurbishment in 2003, Athens Hilton is typically smart, functional and modern. Ample facilities include six restaurants, two bars (one on the rooftop), a swimming pool and health centre, plus extensive conference amenities.

A 5-minute walk from Vouliagmeni beach, this gem of a hotel comprises 110 rooms and 11 suites, decorated in warm hues, with 19th-century antiques and marble bathrooms. The lounge bar is where guests relax in the evenings on poolside sofas.

One of the best spas in Greece, the Thermae Sylla offers treatments in Evia’s restorative mineral-laden spring waters, along with a wide array of beauty and relaxation treatments. The beautiful external architecture has been preserved, but rooms and treatment areas are fully modern.

The whole area around the central meat market teems with old, family-run shops selling traditional foodstuffs. Bahar is one of the best-known for herbs.

Seven storeys of English and Greek books plus a branch of Kolonaki’s Food Company, where weary browsers can rest their legs and enjoy a slice of carrot cake.

With its polished concrete walls and floor, water garden and coloured lighting, 48 has become one of the trendiest restaurants in town.

Clinging to the side of the Acropolis is Athens’ loveliest and quirkiest hidden neighbourhood. It was built in the 19th century by tradesmen from the Cycladic island of Anafi, brought to Athens after the War of Independence to build King Otto’s palace. They missed home so much that they decided to re-create a pocket of it here, all island-style, dome-topped blue-and-white houses, covered with banks of bougainvillea, in a maze of tiny passageways. Many descendents of the original Anafi workers still live here.

A favourite of Greece’s shipping magnates; golden-beached Andros is lovely, exclusive, and expensive. The Goulandris Museum of Modern Art holds world-class exhibits every summer.

This tiny islet off Aegina is even more of an escape from it all. Quiet beaches, clear beautiful water, a handful of small hotels and fish tavernas, and not much else.

An easy and rewarding day trip, only half an hour from Athens, with pleasant beaches, famously tasty pistachios, the Temple of Aphaia, and Agios Nektarios, one of the largest churches in the Balkans.