Most people have a love-hate relationship to Greece's capital. On one hand it is a city with a wide variety of things to see and do. From here you can also get to most places in Greece: by air, train, boat or bus. On the other hand it is a huge, busy place with about half of Greece's  population living there (close to 5 million). There are places you do not want to be alone at night, and Athens has a big problem with traffic jams and pollution, especially the smog.
Athens is a fascinating place, though. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and walking through its ancient Agora or on the Acropolis, cit does make you feel you are walking on, if not sacred, very important ground. The Athenians are now living better after the Olympic games many things have been improoved.
This means that a lot of buildings have been renovated, and big projects have been carried out. The infrastructure of the city has been modernized with new highways (Attiki odos) that circulating Athens from Aspropirgos to the new Airport at Spata and goes until the western suburbs of Athens. The port of Piraeus has been modernized as well with parkings around the port and new docks for the Greek ferries and Cruise ships.

At the foot of the Acropolis nestles one of the oldest neighborhoods of Athens, Plaka. This tiny neighborhood of narrow cobbled streets, is crammed with ancient monuments, churches, mosques and elegant 19th century mansions .In Monastiraki area you wil find bustling markets and shops, where you can buy new and second hand goods ranging from clothes, jewellery and furniture to books, CDs, records and musical instruments. Amongst all of this you will find a multitude o ftraditional Greek taverns, cafes and museums. Here you can satisfy all your wants, be it cultural, gastronomical or shopping. Athens .The National Garden is an oasis in the midle of the city next to the Greek Parliament.The areas of Psisri, Plaka, Thission and Kolonaki are the most recomended for night life with numerous of bars, cafeterias, night clubs, international restaurants and live music halls

The ones that travel to Athens in the summer season and want to take a brake at the sea we recommend the beaches at the coastal resorts of Athens. In the southern suburbs of Athens, along the Saronic Gulf (from the Paleo Faliro area to Vouliagmeni and further to Varkiza, Lagonisi to Cape Sounion), and other areas of Attica, are dozens of organized and other beaches, with clean waters and easy access. Several Attica beaches have been awarded "Blue Flags of Europe", granted every year to beaches meeting strict criteria regarding clean waters, good organization and security and the protection of the coastal environment. For the ones that want to go around by car ,in the Athens area are many reliable car rental companies, most of them located at Syngrou Avenue.
Most of those resorts are less then an hour from the new Athens airport and the city center..From the port of Piraeus the largest of Greece and Zea the islands of Aegina ,Poros ,Hydra and Spetses can be reached within 1 up to 3 hours with hydrofoils and ferries. The best time to visit Athens and Greece in general is Spring when the temperature is mild and the blue sky of Attica is really blue ,if it happens to be at the Easter (the major religious holiday of Greece) ,then you will be more relaxed because the half of the Athenians are on holidays.