Athens in two days

💡From June to September, do the ruins first thing

It's all white stone with no shade and midday goes past forty degrees; some days the Acropolis closes because of the heat. Out at eight, eat, sleep, and out again at six.

💡The first Sunday of the month, November to March, everything is free

State archaeological sites charge nothing, the Acropolis included. Also 18 April and 18 May. It doesn't apply in summer, which is exactly when it would help.

💡The combined ticket covers seven sites over five days

It costs barely more than the Acropolis on its own and gets you into the Agora, the Temple of Zeus and four more. Buy it at any of them, and at the small ones there is no queue.

💡If a waiter calls you over from the doorway, keep walking

In Plaka and Monastiraki, the place that sends someone out to catch you has the worst kitchen and a menu with photographs. Eat where nobody is outside calling and the menu is Greek with a handwritten translation.

💡Airport to centre: forty minutes on the metro for ten euros

The blue line runs into town in forty minutes and you have to validate the ticket at the barrier. A taxi costs four times as much and in traffic takes just as long or longer.