Plaka is the warren of streets that meanders to the north and east at the foot of the Acropolis. It is the prime visitor area of the city, and you will be surrounded by picture postcards, souvenir shops, and restaurants trying to attract your custom. Many of the buildings are old and beautiful. The streets are mainly pedestrianized, there are some good eating places, and the atmosphere is lively, day and night.

Many well-to-do families of Athens built grand neoclassic mansions, several of which have been turned into museums or stores and can therefore be enjoyed both inside and out.

An essential stop on a stroll round the area is the Museum of Popular Instruments, housed in a mansion that was built in 1842. Its courtyard is used in summer for outdoor concerts. Inside on three floors are some of the 1,200 or so musical instruments amassed over the years by the Greek musicologist Fivos Anoyanakis.

Another mansion, dating from 1884, houses the Kanellopoulos Museum. Inside is a collection of ceramics, statues, jewellery, and general art and craft work built up by Athenian collectors Paul and Alexandra Kanellopoulos. Items include exquisite jewellery, and erotic vases, and the museum makes a good stopping-off point on the way up to or down form the Acropolis.