For tourists, the highlights in this central part of Athens are the Hellenic Parliament, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guards ceremony, Syntagma Square and the National Garden.
These are all completely free activities.
They are also clustered close together so you can easily plan to see them all at the same time.
We started by walked through the National Garden, wandering along the shady, meandering paths and checking out the statues and water features.
This brought us right up to the Hellenic Parliament. Built in 1843, it was originally a royal palace for the first king of Greece, Otto I and his wife, Queen Amalia. It is a grand and imposing building which overlooks Syntagma Square.
We timed our visit with the Changing of the Guards ceremony (see separate review). It’s easy to do because it takes place every hour of every day. This is a real spectacle and worth including in your itinerary.
Syntagma Square is directly opposite the Parliament and although there are no standout sights here, it’s a nice open space with a couple of fountains and statues, and a small, shady garden area.
It’s also a public transport hub. The central metro station is located here and it’s a drop-off/pick-up point for the airport buses.
The square is within walking distance of most major sights. From here, we walked down Ermou Street, the main shopping area in Athens, which links the Syntagma and Monastiraki Squares. It was an easy, nice walk between the two squares.