Rarely does a monument rule its city as the Acropolis rules Athens: glimpsed high from every lane — while beneath lives a crowded Mediterranean capital that startles those expecting a big museum and finding a boiling city. The rock (early or near-close; noon is a grill) and its glass-floored modern museum; old Plaka, Monastiraki's market, Socrates' Agora; Syntagma's kilted guard change and Lycabettus sunset panorama; Cape Sounion's temple-over-sea hour away. The combined ticket (Acropolis + 6 sites, 5 days) saves and opens; at ~3.5h Athens is Europe's nearest to us — a long weekend stands alone.
