AROUND ATHENS - Top 10 Athens - page 113

10. FILOPAPPOS HILL
Next to the parched Acropolis rock, pine-and-cypress-clad Filopappos Hill offers a
cool, green place to stroll. The peak, marked by the tomb and monument of Roman
senator and philhellene Gaius Julius Antiochus Filopappos, offers sweeping views
from the Acropolis to the sea. In summer, the Dora Stratou Dance Troupe puts on
nightly performances of Greek folk dances in a theatre nestled among the pines.
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Lord Byron
Among Plaka's many famous residents was Romantic poet and philhellene Lord
Byron (1788-1824), who lived in a Capuchin monastery that stood on Plateia
Lysikratous, while writing Childe Harold . He left to fight on the Greek side in
the War of Independence. Athens remembers him in a street off the square
named after him: Vyronas, in Greek.
A Morning in Plaka
Early Morning
Hike up to the Acropolis first thing to beat the heat and the worst of the
crowds. Then spend an hour or so admiring the temples.
Come down from the Acropolis and turn left onto the Dionisiou Areopagitou
walkway . Your Acropolis ticket gives you free entry into the Theatre of
Dionysus , where many of the great Classical dramas were first staged.
Head back out to the walkway and turn right on Makrigianni to visit the New
Acropolis Museum . Next, head to Plateia Lysikratous, named after the unusual
monument to the winner of a 335 BC choral competition.
Stop for a frappé in one of the leafy cafés overlooking Lysikratous - Diogenes
has great views.