In the past, Athens represented a "necessary" pilgrimage for all scholars. Today this cosmopolitan centre welcomes millions of visitors annually, who flock its streets, restaurants, shops and beaches, in an attempt to take part in its history, admire its countless monuments, experience its vitality and enjoy its traditional hospitality. A mere wander around the city takes one across Byzantine churches, ultra modern buildings, green parks, museums and archaeological sites.

To the lovers of ancient times, Athens in well-known for its array of museums hosting a mass of Ancient Greek and Byzantine treasures, as well as for some of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. Such sites are the Ancient Agora on Thession Square, the Roman Market at Eolou Street, the Temple of the Olympian Zeus at Vassilissis Olgas & Amalias Avenues, the Kallimarmaron Stadium at Stadiou Square where the first Olympic Games took place, and of course, the Acropolis and the stately Parthenon.

Athens is situated in the Attica basin, between the mountains of Ymittos in the east, Penteli and Parnitha in the north, the low hills of Aegaleo in the west, and the Saronic coastline in the southwest. It has been inhabited since the Neolithic period and reached its peak in the 5th century BC, during the so-called "golden century", under the "enlightened leadership of Pericles''. Athens is the