Landmarks
Large parts of the city centre have been redeveloped under a masterplan called Unification of Archeological Sites of Athens, which has also gathered funding from the EU to help enhance the project.[33][23] Most strikingly, the landmark Dionysiou Aeropagitou street has been pedestrianised, forming a scenic route. The route starts from the Temple of Olympian Zeus at Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, continues under the southern slopes of the Acropolis near Plaka, and finishes just beyond the Temple of Hephaestus in Thiseio. The route in its entirety provides visitors with views of the Parthenon and the Agora (the meeting point of ancient Athenians), away from the busy city centre.
View of the Temple of Olympian Zeus (upper right) and the Arch of Hadrian (lower left) from the Acropolis of Athens.
* Syntagma Square (Constitution Square) is situated in central Athens and near the site of the former Royal Palace, now the Greek Parliament and other 19th century public buildings. The National Garden behind parliament, stretching to the Zappeion, is a verdant oasis for the city-centre. Syntagma is the largest square in the capital and also home to a number of luxury hotels, including the historic Grande Bretagne, Athens' first. Constitution Square is a tourist starting-point for the city, at the centre of an area where most of its famous ancient monuments are to be found, all within a radius of 2 km.
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* Southeast of Syntagma Square stands the Kallimarmaro Stadium, the space where the first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896. It is a graceful replica of the ancient Athenian stadium, and the only major stadium (in its capacity of 60,000) to be made entirely of white marble from Mount Penteli, the same material used for the construction of the Parthenon.
* Athens is built around a number of hills. Lycabettus, one of the tallest hills of the city proper, and according to ancient legend, actually a boulder thrown down from the sky by Athena. Located in the city centre, near Alexandras Avenue and Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, it offers vistas of sprawling Athens below. At its peak stands St. George's church; Philopappos hill is another famous landmark, located just to the southwest of Acropolis. |
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* The city's classical museums include the National Archaeological Museum of Athens at Patission Street (housing the world's greatest collection of Greek art), the Benaki Museum in Pireos Street (including its new Islamic Art branch), the Byzantine Museum and the Museum of Cycladic Art (Stathatos Mansion) in the central Kolonaki district, recommended for its collection of elegant white metamodern figures dating back 3000 years. Most museums were renovated ahead of the 2004 Olympics. A New Acropolis Museum, is scheduled to open in mid 2008in the Makriyanni district, designed by Swiss-French architect Bernard Tschumi. The Athens Planetarium,located in Andrea Syngrou Avenue, is considered among the world's best.
* The old campus of the University of Athens , located in the middle section of Panepistimiou Street , is one of the finest buildings in the city. This, combined with the adjacent National Library and the Athens Academy close by, form an imposing "Athens Trilogy" built in the mid-19th century. However, most of the university's workings have been moved to a much larger, modern campus located in the eastern suburb of Zográfou. The second most significant academic institution in the city is the Athens Polytechnic School (Ethniko Metsovio Politechnio), to be found in Patission Street . More than 20 students were killed inside the university in November 17, 1973 during the Athens Polytechnic Uprising, against the military junta that ruled the nation from April 21, 1967 until July 23, 1974 .
