Plaka At Twilight: Another Side of Athens’s Culinary Heart

There’s something different about Athens as day turns into night. As the sun begins to set behind the Acropolis, the city exhales. Locals fill the streets, the clink of glasses echoes from crowded courtyards, and the scent of grilled meats and summer herbs floats through the warm night air. This is when Athens truly shines, when its spirit spills out of kitchens and kafeneia, and the pace of the day gives way to the pleasure of the table. And there is perhaps no better neighborhood to fall in love with Athens at twilight than the historic Plaka neighborhood. 
Wandering through this historic neighborhood at day’s end is like stepping into another world. The setting sun reflects off island-white houses tucked into the hillside of the Acropolis, there are bougainvillea-draped staircases lit by lanterns, and impromptu live music carried on the breeze. It's a slice of the Aegean in the heart of the capital. As we make our way through the area on this afternoon-into-evening tour, we’ll spend the twilight hours exactly as the locals would. That means indulging in the dishes an Athenian would order when they linger at the table: sharp cheeses, flaky pies, bold wines, and dishes passed down through generations. It means visiting historic bakeries, pioneering wine bars, classic cafes serving exquisite home cooking and more. 
We’ll begin our tour in bustling Syntagma Square, a market area since Roman times, where we’ll get our first taste of Athens coming alive as the workday comes to an end. Following the slopes of the Acropolis, we will visit the scenic neighborhood of Anafiotika – a jumble of whitewashed homes built in the 19th century by refugees from the Greek islands – taking in the stunning view of the city. After working our way through the Plaka’s charming side streets, we’ll stop by a beloved dairy shop for a taste of their thick yogurt drizzled with honey. We’ll then pop into one of Athens’s best bakeries to sample their superb pastries and then visit a deli specializing in artisanal products from across Greece for an olive oil tasting. As evening falls, we’ll join the locals at a neighborhood wine bar – one which has been instrumental in sparking interest in Greece’s lesser-known grape varieties and winemaking regions – for a tasting featuring bottles from small Greek producers. On a quiet pedestrian street, we’ll also sit down at a small restaurant housed inside a 400-year-old building for a meal starring expertly made Greek regional classics, including grilled Mastello cheese from Chios, stuffed grape leaves and a Cretan tomato and bread salad. 
We’ll finish our tour on a sweet note, at a gelateria that has helped spark a local craze for gelato made with Greek ingredients. Here we’ll try scoops creatively flavored with everything from mastiha, an aromatic resin from Chios, to figs from Kalamata and sweet wine from Samos. Our tour may be over, but, as you will notice all around you, for Athenians the night is just getting started.