Athens Guided Walking Tour: The Acropolis and Plaka Food Tastings

Athens, Greece

Enjoy a 4-hour Acropolis monuments and food tasting tour with your licensed tour guide. Meet in a central location to start your tour of the landmarks of the Greek capital. After your leisurely made tour of Parthenon, Erechtheum, Propylaeum Gates, and temple of Nike you visit the historic neighborhood of Athens, Plaka, with its picturesque streets and beautiful neoclassical balconies. Finish your tour by visiting the culinary back streets of the city enjoying some of the most famous delicacies of the country such as pies, salamis, deserts and local coffee.

Meet at Athens metro station at 8am to begin your tour. Explore the history of Athens on a 4-hour walking tour with a licensed tour guide. Start at the city's most monumental site, the iconic Acropolis. Admire the astonishing collection of sculptures that describe more than 2,500 years of history, from the glorious first theater of humanity at the Theater of Dionysus, to the healing Temple of Asclepius, and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

See the Temple of Athena Nike (Temple of Wingless Victory), the gateway of the Propylaeum, the Porch of the Caryatids at the Erechtheum, and the crowning glory of the Parthenon.

Your guide will explain the roles the various monuments played at the center of classical civilization in the western hemisphere. Walk at leisurely paced stroll through the streets of Plaka, the old town of Athens. In this sprawling, historical neighborhood you’ll follow along a maze of cobbled streets lined with examples of Neoclassical architecture, Byzantine churches, and busy shops.

Continue with your guide on the northernmost streets of Plaka to an area known as Anafiotika, an idyllic cluster of whitewashed houses that are reminiscent of buildings in the Greek islands. In the 19th century workers from the Cyclades, homesick for their native island life, built the houses and painted them bright white to remind themselves of Anafi.

Later, explore the food markets of Athens and taste some of the delicious treats they offer. Visit local stores selling the "green treasures" of Greece, such as olive oil, wines, mushrooms, herbs and traditionally made pastas and salamis.

Start with a traditional Greek breakfast of koulóuria (sesame bread rings) in a century-old café, and then make your way to a tiny pastry shop to sample loukoumades (Greek donuts) and custard-filled filo squares.

Enjoy local pies and cheeses at authentic Greek bakeries and cheese stores.

Next, wander through the meat and fish market, the living monument markets of the city. Try some home-grown and roasted coffee, and visit specialty shops to purchase fresh fruit, olives, cheese, ham and other deli produce.

Your tour will end at Monastiraki Square around noon.