If you are travelling to Greece for the first time, make a one day stop in Athens to visit Acropolis. The Acropolis of Athens and its monuments are universal symbols of the classical spirit and civilization and form the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed by Greek Antiquity to the world.

“Acropolis” refers to a citadel in a high place, like this ancient monument overlooking the city of Athens. In Athens you’ll find one of the world’s most famous temples, the Parthenon, built in 447 B.C.E. to honor the goddess Athena. Other structures were added later, but they’ve suffered damage and neglect over the centuries.

In the second half of the fifth century B.C., Athens, following the victory against the Persians and the establishment of democracy, took a leading position amongst the other city-states of the ancient world. In the age that followed, as thought and art flourished, an exceptional group of artists put into effect the ambitious plans of Athenian statesman Pericles and, under the inspired guidance of the sculptor Pheidias, transformed the rocky hill into a unique monument of thought and the arts. The most important monuments were built during that time: the Parthenon, by Ictinus in 447 B.C.E. to honor the goddess Athena, the Erechtheon, the Propylaea, the monumental entrance to the Acropolis, designed by Mnesicles and the small temple Athena Nike.

Don’t miss: The Acropolis Museum. Look underneath your feet as you walk over the glass floors; you’ll see ruins of homes found while the museum was being built.

Another Don’t miss: The Panathenaic Stadium, built in 140 A.D., and used for Olympic games since 1870. The stadium holds a collection of Olympic torches and posters from 1896 to the present.