Lycabettus Hill

Lycabettus rises to 277 metres above the Athens basin, roughly a hundred metres higher than the Acropolis, and from its summit the whole city reads like a map: the Acropolis below and slightly west, the Parthenon lit at night, the grid of streets running to Piraeus and the sea, and on clear days the mountains of the Peloponnese across the Saronic Gulf. A tiny nineteenth-century chapel of Saint George occupies the top, whitewashed and usually open, with a bell that still rings for Easter. The funicular climbs inside a tunnel from Kolonaki in under three minutes, so you see nothing on the way up and everything at the top. Walking takes twenty-five to forty minutes on pine-shaded paths from Kolonaki or Dexameni.

The main sights

• The summit panorama - the whole Athens basin, the Acropolis and the sea beyond.
• Saint George's chapel - the small white church that crowns the rock.
• The funicular tunnel - a rack railway climbing entirely inside the hill.
• The pine paths - shaded switchbacks used by locals for their evening walk.

When to go

An hour before sunset is the classic slot, when the Acropolis lights come on and the city turns amber; go earlier for clear photographs, because the summit fills up at dusk. Summer afternoons on the walking paths are hot and exposed in places.

What to expect

The summit terrace is small and gets crowded at sunset, the cafe prices reflect the view rather than the coffee, and the walk up is steeper than it looks from below. Anyone with limited mobility should take the funicular, which runs about every half hour.

Nearby

Kolonaki's shops and museums lie at the foot of the hill; the National Garden and the centre are a short walk south.

Key facts