Plaka

Plaka sits at the foot of the Acropolis — the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood in Europe. It’s a maze of pedestrian-only streets where neoclassical houses lean over tavernas, and bougainvillea spills over whitewashed walls. By day, you’ll find the Roman Agora, the Tower of the Winds, and centuries-old Byzantine churches tucked between souvenir shops. By night, the tavernas spill into the streets and locals and visitors share long, slow dinners.

The very heart of Plaka is Anafiotika — a tiny cluster of Cycladic-style whitewashed houses built in the 1860s by stonemasons from the island of Anafi. Walk five minutes uphill from Plaka’s main shopping street and you feel like you’ve teleported to a Greek island.

Plaka is the most photographed neighborhood in Athens, and for good reason. But it’s also a real neighborhood with real residents, ouzeries that have been pouring drinks for 80 years, and family-run shops you’ll want to come back to.