The historic Plaka district might be one of Athens’ most popular tourist destinations, but there’s another part of the area that vsitors rarely see, one where the city’s ancient heart beats a little louder.

Under the shadow of the Acropolis, this is the place that saw the birth of classical Greek and Western civilization and also the turbulent arrival of Christianity. There are traces here of the ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans, found in the ruins, churches, local houses, and – most importantly – in the food.