Athens rewards those who take time with it. The Acropolis is the inevitable starting point — climb it at opening time, before the tour groups, and the setting is genuinely moving. Below it, the Plaka and Monastiraki neighbourhoods offer good wandering, the Ancient Agora, and the Roman remains. The National Archaeological Museum, north of the centre, is one of the great museums of the world and is often underestimated by visitors in a rush to get to the islands.