Philopappos Hill, Pnyx & Hill of the Nymphs

If Lycabettus gives you the widest panorama of Athens, Philopappos gives you the most intimate view of the Acropolis. This green, rocky ridge of hills lies just south-west of the Acropolis, separated from it by a shallow valley, and from its paths the Parthenon appears almost at eye level, close enough to read its columns, framed by pines and olive trees. The hill takes its name from the marble monument on its summit, the tomb of Gaius Julius Antiochus Philopappos, an exiled prince of Commagene who became a Roman consul and benefactor of Athens in the second century AD; the ancients called it the Hill of the Muses. The ridge also holds some of the most important places in the history of democracy. On the Pnyx, a broad terrace cut into the rock, the citizens' assembly of Athens met to debate and vote, and orators including Pericles and Demosthenes addressed the people from its stone speaker's platform. The neighbouring Hill of the Nymphs is crowned by the nineteenth-century National Observatory. Lower down, a set of rock-cut chambers is traditionally known as the Prison of Socrates, though the identification is legend rather than fact. The paths up from the Acropolis side were laid out in the 1950s by the architect Dimitris Pikionis, who also restored the little Byzantine church of Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris at the foot of the hill; his stone walkways, woven from fragments and pebbles, are now considered a landmark of modern landscape design. The whole area is a free, open archaeological park and a favourite place for Athenians to walk dogs, run and watch the sunset.

How to walk it: start at the pedestrian junction of Dionysiou Areopagitou and Apostolou Pavlou, opposite the Acropolis entrance road, and follow the Pikionis paths past Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris. The main path climbs gently through pines to the Philopappos Monument at the summit in about twenty to thirty minutes. From there, the views take in the Acropolis, the city to Lycabettus and the mountains, and to the south-west the Saronic Gulf and Piraeus. Return by a different path to the Pnyx and the Hill of the Nymphs, descending into Thissio, where cafes line the pedestrian street facing the Acropolis. Wear good shoes: the paths are partly paved and partly rough rock, slippery in places.

When to go: sunset is magical, when the Parthenon glows and the sun sinks over the sea, and it is far less crowded than the summit of Lycabettus or the Areopagus rock below the Acropolis. Mornings are cool and quiet, ideal for a run or a walk before an Acropolis slot. In summer, avoid the middle of the day; there is shade under the pines but the rocky sections are exposed. As with any park after dark, it is best to come down with the last light rather than wander unlit paths late at night.

What is nearby: the hill links naturally to the rest of ancient Athens. Below it, the pedestrian Dionysiou Areopagitou promenade runs around the Acropolis to the Acropolis Museum; Thissio and the Ancient Agora lie to the north; and to the south-west, the residential neighbourhoods of Koukaki and Petralona offer some of the best-value tavernas and cafes in central Athens. A sunset walk on Philopappos followed by dinner in Koukaki or Petralona is a perfect, budget-friendly Athens evening.