Koukaki and Makrygianni

Makrygianni, closer to the museum

This is the strip between Dionysiou Areopagitou and Syngrou, directly behind and below the Acropolis Museum. That museum opened on 20 June 2009, designed by Bernard Tschumi with Michalis Photiadis, and it anchors the block: it stands over an excavated ancient neighbourhood you can see through the glass floor at the entrance, included in the €20 (€10 reduced) ticket. Because Makrygianni sits closest to both big tickets, the Acropolis site and the museum, it carries more hotels than the streets south of it, and it charges more for the same convenience.

The walk to the Acropolis entrance runs about eight minutes, which is the shortest you will get in this district. If your priority is minimising that walk rather than the bill, this is the half to book in.

Koukaki, further south

Koukaki starts beyond Syngrou-Fix station and takes its name from Georgios Koukakis, whose iron bed factory opened there at the turn of the twentieth century and pulled a working-class neighbourhood in around it. That residential character has mostly survived the district's rise. It became fashionable about a decade ago, yet the lower blocks, the balconies and the lemon trees stayed, and people still live here year round.

A Saturday street market reinforces that. Practically, it trades a little distance for money: ten to fifteen minutes to the Acropolis gate rather than eight, and noticeably cheaper eating and sleeping than Makrygianni. Book here if you want quiet nights and ordinary tavernas, and do not mind a short walk at the start and end of each sightseeing day.

The metro at Syngrou-Fix shortens returns.

Dionysiou Areopagitou

This wide pedestrian avenue runs along the top of the district under the Acropolis south slope. It was pedestrianised in 2003 under the Unification of the Archaeological Sites of Athens programme, the scheme Melina Mercouri pushed as culture minister and which was finished before the 2004 Games. That programme is why you can walk it without a road crossing.

It is flat and shaded by trees, and it links the Acropolis Museum, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the site's south entrance and the path up Philopappos, whose marble-and-stone paths were laid by the architect Dimitris Pikionis in 1954-57 from material salvaged from demolished Athenian houses. Watch for cyclists who use the avenue as a through route, especially near the museum end. It is the single most useful piece of pavement for anyone sightseeing here.

Because the avenue sits right against the south slope, it is where a walk through the district connects most naturally with the wider best tours in Athens, which is worth browsing before you set out.

What the streets have

Eating here means neighbourhood tavernas, a few mezedopoleia, bakeries, and the coffee places residents use in the morning rather than establishments built for visitors. The prices are the city's ordinary ones, which works out at roughly half what a terrace with a view of the rock charges for the same plates. The difference is entirely the view, and you can walk up to a view for nothing, so the sensible pattern is to eat at street level and climb afterwards.

Portion sizes and menus match what locals order, so look for tables filled after the lunch hour rather than empty ones filled by passing footfall. In Koukaki the Saturday street market supplies the tavernas and the households around them, which keeps quality up and costs down. Carry cash, since some smaller bakeries and market stalls still prefer it.

What it does not have

This district has very little after about eleven at night, and almost nothing in the way of bars. That is the direct cost of the quiet that makes it worth staying in, and it is a real one for anyone who wants a proper late evening. Koukaki in particular has stayed residential rather than turning nightlife district, which is unusual for an area this close to the Acropolis and exactly why its residents stayed.

The practical answer is movement, not complaint: a ten-minute walk or two metro stops puts you in Psyri, which was the rough quarter of 19th-century Athens, the ground of the knife-carrying koutsavakides, and now does the drinking and late eating for half the centre. Plan the last metro times if you are returning late, since the walk back is dark and quiet.

The Saturday market

A laiki, the weekly street market, sets up in Koukaki on Saturday mornings with fruit, vegetables, fish and cheese. It is a working market for residents, not a visitor attraction, and that is precisely its value: it is the best hour to see the district as it actually is, with households doing their week's shopping among the stalls. Come early, because trade and stock tail off towards midday and sellers begin packing.

Bring cash in small notes, since change for large ones is not always welcome. Bags are useful, as the fish and cheese stalls in particular are practical rather than packaged. You will not be the only visitor, but you will be a minority, and the surrounding tavernas and bakeries buy and cook from the same produce.

The market sits on the street, so wear shoes you do not mind the occasional splash on.