The Hill of the Nymphs and the Observatory
The quiet third hill above Thiseio — an 1840s observatory, a rock-cut church, the Acropolis side-on. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Thiseio station and the promenade
Start at *Thiseio* and the pedestrian promenade of Apostolou Pavlou, the Acropolis to your left. Take it as far as the foot of the hill; this car-free walkway is one of the best things the city has done for itself, and it sets the whole walk up.

2. Agia Marina
The domed church on the hill's flank, big and modern over a far older rock-cut chapel where women once came to pray for easy childbirth. Step into the little cave shrine if it's open; this is the oldest layer of the hill, under all the marble.

3. The rock-cut lanes
Climb the stepped lanes above the church, where small houses sit straight on the bare limestone and the paths are worn into the rock. Slow, quiet, residential. Take whichever way looks best; they all climb toward the observatory in the end.

4. National Observatory of Athens
The *Asteroskopeio* on the summit, Greece's oldest research institution, built in 1842 by the architect Theophil Hansen in cool Doric marble. Walk the grounds; evening tours and star-gazing nights run in season — check before you climb if that's why you've come.

5. The summit terrace and the Acropolis view
From the open ground by the observatory the Acropolis stands side-on across the valley, the whole basin of Athens spread below. Come at dusk; this is the *oh-my-god* of the walk and almost nobody is up here to share it.

6. Down through Ano Petralona
Drop off the back of the hill into Ano Petralona, a low old quarter of small squares and *tavernes* (the everyday eating-houses). Have a plate and a drink before the level walk back to *Thiseio*, or just enjoy the descent in the cooling evening.

The Hill of the Nymphs and the Observatory