Plaka is the oldest continuously inhabited quarter of Athens — a dense tangle of narrow lanes, neoclassical houses, and outdoor tavernas spreading across the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis. It is over-touristy in parts, particularly along the main shopping streets, but undeniably atmospheric. The lanes away from the obvious restaurant strips repay exploration.
The small neighbourhood of Anafiotika, built into the Acropolis rock face by 19th-century workers from the island of Anafi, feels distinctly more island than city — whitewashed houses on stepped lanes, cats sleeping in doorways, geraniums in pots. It is minutes from the tourist crowds but feels a world away.
Several small museums are clustered here: the Museum of Greek Folk Art, the Jewish Museum of Greece, and the Kanellopoulos Museum in a neoclassical mansion. The Tower of the Winds — a remarkably well-preserved octagonal marble tower built around 50 BC as a water clock and weather vane — stands at the edge of Plaka near the Roman Agora entrance.