36 Hours in Athens

Once the private grounds of Greece’s long-deposed royal family, the National Gardens is one of the few leafy oases in Athens. Cypress, pine and palm trees shade trails, brooks, bridges, duck ponds, a botanical museum and prides of stray cats. The stately parliament building is next door and faces the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, where tourists try to distract the photogenic young evzones (the elite military guards who wear the skirt-like foustanella).