• Open around the clock with free access, so an early-morning or sunset walk works on any day
• Cobbled Pikionis paths and stone steps lead up the hill, so sturdy shoes beat sandals
• Two more hills next door: the Pnyx and the Hill of the Nymphs join on, making a longer walk across the Western Acropolis Hills

Philopappos Hill, the ancient Hill of the Muses, rises southwest of the Acropolis under pines, olives and cypresses. Stone paths and resting terraces laid by architect Dimitris Pikionis in the 1950s climb to the Philopappos Monument, the 2nd-century mausoleum of a Roman consul.

On the way, kids can look into the rock-cut caves known as the "Prison of Socrates" and stop at the small church of Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris.