Visiting the classical of all classical World Heritage Sites – The Acropolis of Athens - could not have been a better for me. Having got up early on a bright and sunny Saturday morning in July, I was rewarded with an almost empty town - still in its morning slumber yet to wake up to a new busy day. From my hotel near the Omonia square I walked pass the fish market, where the smell of fresh fish told that new day of commerce was just about to begin, down to the Monastraki square where only one or two of the many souvenir shops had yet opened their doors.

Before walking up the Acropolis hill I sat myself down on one of the many outdoor cafes in Plaka and ordered a cold cappuccino, a quite a popular drink all around Greece I later found out. But I guess anything that is COLD in a country where it’s usually +35 half of the year is highly appreciated.

Walking up the hill did not prove to be as exhausting as many of my friends had told me. The recommendation to be early proved to be hundred percent correct though. Even if I arrived at the entrance at quarter passed eight in the morning on a Saturday, it was still quite a number of tourists already in place. To avoid them as much as possible I quickly walked up the last bit to the magnificent entrance of the Acropolis - the Propylaia - and soon found myself looking at the magnificent Parthenon, the largest Doric temple ever built in Greece, completed in 438 BC. Together with the small Erechtheion temple where the four Caryatids (the four women statues) are holding up the temple is an absolute classic place and a visit that every man and women ought to do once in their life.

The Parthenon is currently undergoing some extensive repair and refurbishing and considering that it’s actually not time and age who has eroded the temple, but rather a large explosion back in the 17th century, it’s quite OK in my opinion. But other attempts, trying to enhance or re-construct ancient temples, is quite a nuisance and should in my opinion be forbidden and just turns historic sites into Disneylands. But on the hot issue of whether Parthenon’s famous frieze should be returned by the British Museum to Athens, the answer is quite obvious when you stand in front of this enormous and beautiful temple - there is no museum in the world that could do justice to the original site, specially not the Acropolis of Athens.

After having walked round the temple hill for an hour I descended back down to the Plaka district and continued my walk to the ancient Agora, the cemetery Keramikos, the Roman theatre of Herodes Atticus and the Theatre of Dionysos, all located at the foot of the Acropolis hill and part of the Acropolis World Heritage Site. Having finalised my walk I found that it was just about 2 in the afternoon and with not a cloud in the sky it was just getting hotter and hotter….high time to reward myself with a Greek lunch and maybe a siesta…