Enjoy an Greek language course in Greece
at our language school in the city of Athens.

Athens is the capital of Greece and the country’s largest city with over 4 million residents. Athens is a city dominated by its hugely influential past with its recorded history spanning 3,400 years. Long considered “the cradle of Western civilization” and “the birthplace of democracy”, Athens is home to some of the oldest and most impressive ruins and monuments such as the Acropolis. Today, however, Athens is undergoing changes and developments which prepare it for a new and exciting phase in its history by hosting the 2004 Summer Olympics and various development projects that are helping modernize the city without losing its historical character.


While the first evidence of inhabitation of Athens is found in the Cave of Schist dating back about 7000 years, the heyday of Athens was during the Classical period in the 5th century BC. It was here, thanks to its central location, excellent port and wealth it became the most prominent city state alongside Sparta. While Sparta had a much more powerful army it was Athens that became the most important city in the Greek isles and has contributed some of the major foundational works in philosophy, drama and science for Western civilization. Athens was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1453 and after the Greek War of Independence in 1834 it was restored as the capital of Greece and underwent modernization. In 1896 Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games, an honour which it repeated in 2004 after another effort to modernize the city with major improvements to the Metro, Airport and pedestrian routes that visit the cities most famous sites.


The most well known ruins is the Acropolis was the fortified town of Athens and contains the most prominent ancient buildings still in existence: the Parthenon, the Erectheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. Located on a hill the Acropolis rises over Athens and has become the iconic symbol of the city and even all of Greece. The Ancient Agora (an agora was an open assembly place) is located to the northwest of the Acropolis and is now holds a beautiful view of the Acropolis and is a lovely place to walk. Other major ancient sites are the Kerameikos, what was once the cemetery of Athens, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which are now only ruins but which are suggestive of its former majesty. A more recent places of historical interest is Syntagma Square with the Greek Parliament building and is also the central hub of Athens in general. Panathinaiko Stadium held the 1896 Olympics and is an impressive white marble stadium. For the best view of the city you should scale Lycabettus Hill which is 200m high and affords incredible views of the Acropolis, the modern city and the sea.


Athens offers much more than mere sightseeing with some incredibly important museums like the National Archeological Museum, the New Acropolis Museum or, for art, there is the National Gallery and the Benaki and Cycladic Art Musems. In the center of the city is the gorgeous National Garden of Athens and nearby is the Parnitha National Park along with many surrounding hills to hike. If you visit for the Easter Weekend you will see the beautiful candlelit procession down Lycavittos hill. To learn Greek there could be no more inspiring place than Athens!


What we like about Greek in Athens:

  • Athens is a city with a remarkable history and many carefully preserved sites.
  • Our school is one of the most reputable and offers a diversity of activites.
  • Today’s Athenians are friendly but will be particularly welcoming to visitors learning Greek.