So here you are, three days before New Years, having traveled a great distance to visit Greece, and you’re searching the Internet because you’ve just learned that everything will be closed on New Year’s Day? Yes, the rumors are true, the gates to the archeological sites will be closed, and since it is an official holiday, so will lots of other places like museums, supermarkets, and stores. But that isn’t an excuse to drink yourself silly on December 31 and spend the next day in bed. You’ve traveled a great distance to visit Athens, no sense in spending NYD recovering from an ouzo induced hangover. Instead, lace up your best walking shoes and head out to enjoy the city by foot. After all, there are only a handful of days during the year, plus the entire month of August, when the city empties out, the traffic dwindles to a point where you no longer have to fight with motorcycles and cars for your space on the sidewalk, and exploring the downtown residential areas, business and historical centers in peace is a real pleasure.

So, although the official doors may be locked, there are still plenty of sites to see around Athens:

Syntagma Square, still twinkling with the shimmering holiday lights, the oversized Christmas Tree, and of course, the Carousel. Grab yourself a coffee from somewhere adjacent to the square and stroll through the Square up towards the Parliament Building. Across Vas. Amalias Avenue you’ll find the site of the changing of the guard.

The Evzones don’t get the day off, so you’ll still be able to view the changing of the guard here in from of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Since you probably have nowhere special to be on time for, you can always follow them around lovely Vasilias Sophias street, to Herodou Attikou Street, which is around to the back side of the National Gardens, as they return to their barracks in the edge of the Gardens. Continue onward and on your right you’ll have a chance to see both the President’s and the Prime Minister’s residences. While they are the two grandest buildings on the “side” street, they are also the only ones with guards out front, it should be easy to spot them. I am always amazing when I walk home down this lovely street, with the gardens on one side and the Palace on the other – until the late 1800s this area was actually outside of the city limits of Athens. In fact, everything behind it, toward the Athens Hilton, was farmland and undeveloped except for a private Manor (on the site of today’s Byzantine Museum, and a monastery). It was, back then, considered to be “the country”. The Palace itself was built as the “new” Royal Palace (the “old” Royal Palace is today’s Parliament building) by King George I in honor of the marriage of his son, Crown Prince Konstantine, to Princess Sophia in the late 1890s. It was designed by German architect Ernst Ziller and is typical of his neo-classical designs in combining elements of Greek, Roman, and Renaissance architecture and while I doubt that President Karolos Papoulias will invite you in for a New Year’s day Open House, you can have a bit of a virtual tour here: http://www.presidency.gr/en/ksenaghsh.htm.

Across the street is the The Maximos Mansion, the official residence of the Prime Minister, Konstantinos Karamanlis. This mansion was built in 1924 as the home of Dimitrios Maximos, a prominent Greek economist and former Prime Minister (1947). It was designed by Anastasios Chelmis and is a typical one story Neo-classical urban palace with large, airy reception rooms and sitting areas, making it perfect for its first use by the Greek government for hosting official visitors. It did not become the official residence of the Prime Minister until 1982.

As you continue onward down Herodou Attikou Street, you’ll end up at Vasilios Konstantinos Street, facing Kallimarmaro, the old Olympic Stadium. The stadium has many names, but “Kallimarmaro”, which means “beautifully marbled” is my favorite as it is the only major stadium in the world built entirely of white marble (from nearby Mount Penteli). Cross the street to get a closer view of the stadium, and don’t feel like you are missing something because you can’t get inside for a lap or two. Even during normal business hours, the Stadium is gated and locked – visitors can only admire it from outside, but if you turn around and look back towards the National Gardens and Zappeio, you will find a wonderful photo of it full of life during the first modern Olympics in 1896. Incidentally these games were opened on April 6, 1896 and an estimated 80,000 spectators filled the Marble Stadium for opening ceremonies. Once you’ve taken your obligatory photo, walk back towards the large black and white billboard with that 1896 photo and make your way through the National Gardens, or towards the Zappeio building. There is a path from the corner of Vas. Konstantinos and Herodou Attikou Street, the left most path takes you to the Zappeio building, the right path takes you to the National Gardens.

If you have made your way to Zappeio, there’s a chance for a little break at the café / restaurant next to this beautiful building, which also dates back to the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. It was used to host the fencing events, and has since been used by the government when Greece held the presidency of the European Union. It is often used for exhibitions and if it is open it is worth a visit to see the magnificent rotunda. (It also houses the best bathrooms between the Olympic Stadium and Syntagma Square!)

After your visit to the Zappeio, you can follow the path toward the National Gardens, which for the holidays have been transformed into an Enchanted Forest. You can also take the paved walk toward the fountain in front of the Zappeio toward the Temple of Olympian Zeus. While it may seem most dramatic stand close to this temple which was finally completed in 124-125 AD, you can get a nice view of it from the road that passes between it and the Zappeio garden area, as well as from the Hadrian’s Arch side if you continue walking toward Vas. Amalias.

Once you’ve reached Vas. Amalias, you can cross the street and take the pedestrian path that leads to the Makrigianni neighborhood, past the lovely neo-classicals which may not stand much longer if the New Acropolis Museum builders have their way. From here the path will wind you around the back side of the Acropolis, follow the signs that say Herodious Atticus Theater or Dora Stratou Dance. This path will also pass one of the paths up to Philopappou Hill. If you plan you walk to land you here just before sunset, you can take the path to the Philopappou monument and capture some lovely photos of the Acropolis and the theater. It is a walk many visitors miss, and provides are really breathtaking view. Be sure to bring a flashlight along since it will be dark when the sunsets and you’ll want something to help navigate the steps, which though they are not steep, are inconsistent in size and diameter, making walking them in the dark a bit tricky.

Coming back down to the street level, continue to your left into Thissio. Here you can choose from a number of places for dinner, or cross Ermou into Psirri where cafes and restaurants abound. Those Athenians who have finally crawled out of bed will begin to fill the streets of Psirri, and you’ll find plenty of options for both food and drink in this continually gentrifying area.