36 Hours Athens Jump to: Recommendations Itinerary Google Map By Iliana Magra Photographs by Camille McOuat June 11, 2026 Like a clock keeping time, the face of Athens is marked by the past, the minutes ticking by in ancient Greek ruins, remnants of Roman architecture and an assortment of gilded, Byzantine-era churches. But the city, so vigorously loved and lived-in — and which today braces against the strain of overtourism — is no open-air museum.