Athens is the capital of Greece and one of the most famous cities in the world. Modern Athens is a large and cosmopolitan city; Ancient Athens was a powerful city-state and renowned centre of learning. It was named after its goddess from ancient Greek mythology, Athena.

The metropolitan area of Athens is home to some 3.9 million people. Currently the city (metropolitan area) is growing northwards and eastwards across Attica (Greater Athens). Athens is the dominant centre of economic, cultural, and political life in Greece today.

Ancient Athens has often been called the cradle of Western civilization due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 4th and 5th centuries BC. This heritage has left it with a number of ancient buildings, monuments and artworks, the most famous being the Parthenon on the Acropolis, widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Classical Greek art and architecture. Many of these cultural landmarks were renovated for the 2004 Olympic Games.

The city's classic museums like the National Archaeological Museum at Patission Street (which holds the world's greatest collection of Greek art), the Benaki Museum in Piraeus Street (including its new Islamic Art branch) , the Byzantine Museum, or the Museum of Cycladic Art in the Kolonaki district (strongly recommended for its collection of elegant white metamodern figures, more than 3,000 years old) , were all renovated ahead of the 2004 Olympics. A new Acropolis Museum is being built  in the central Makriyanni district according to a design by acclaimed Swiss-French architect Bernard Tschumi. Not to be missed is also the very impressive Athens Planetarium , considered to be among the world's best.

Athens has been a popular tourist destination even since antiquity. Visitors from all over the globe have always been eager to visit its famous ancient monuments. Over the past decade, the infrastructure and social amenities of Athens have been radically improved as a result of the city's successful bid to stage the 2004 Olympic Games. The Greek state, aided by the E.U., has poured money into infrastructure projects such as the new, state of the art "Eleftherios Venizelos" International Airport, the massive expansion of the Metro system, and the new Attiki Odos ring-road. As a result, the numbers of international visitors are only expected to rise even further in the coming years. Currently, Athens is the 6th most visited capital in Europe.

Entire parts of the downtown area have been redeveloped under a master plan called "Unification of Archaeological Sites of Athens". In one of the most important projects of the scheme, the famous Dionysiou Aeropagitou street has been pedestrianized thus forming a fascinating 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 outside the Temple of Hephaestus in Theseum. This remarkable route provides the visitors breathtaking views of the Parthenon and the Agora (the meeting point of ancient Athenians), away from the bustle and hustle of the city centre. Near Syntagma Square (described above) stands the highly impressive Kallimarmaro Stadium, the place where the first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896. It is a replica of the ancient Athens Stadium. It holds a special interest, not only for romantic reasons but also because it is the only major stadium (60,000 spectators) made entirely of white marble from Penteli, the same as the one used for the construction of the Parthenon.