Athens is the largest and capital city of Greece, located in the Attica periphery, and one of the oldest cities in the world, with a recorded history of at least 3,000 years. The Athens metropolitan area is the centre of economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece. The city is also rapidly becoming a leading business centre in the European Union. Athens is widely referred to as the cradle of Western Civilization and the birthplace of democracy largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent. Athens is built around a number of hills. Lycabettus, one of the tallest hills of the city proper, and according to ancient legend, actually a boulder thrown down from the sky by Athena. Located in the city centre, near Alexandras Avenue and Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, it offers vistas of sprawling Athens below. At its peak stands St. George's church; Philopappos hill is another famous landmark, located just to the southwest of Acropolis.

Airlines to fly into Athens: Delta, Lufthansa, United Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Swiss International, Finnair, British Airways, Olympic Airways, Malev, Iberia, LOT, Czech Airlines, Turkish Airlines.