Plan to spend at least an hour walking around the narrow cobblestone streets, and have lunch at one of the many tree-shaded tavernas in the central square. Even if you don't like shopping, you'll have a great time strolling and people-watching. It's always crowded, but that's part of the charm.

You'll see that the Plaka and Monastiraki are full of leather shops, but Stavros Melissinos’s long-lasting, handmade leather sandals are by far the best. The smiling Mad Professor figure, who began making shoes in 1954, has expanded the original few styles to around 32 classically inspired designs.

If you're not into wearing sandals, stop by just to see Stavros at work.

This is the bargain hunters paradise. Prepare to bargain with the merchants, if you don't have shame. Not only are there stores of every kind, there are gypsies during the day who sell all kinds of wares -- we bought tablecloths (I wish I had picked up some more).

There are mass-production jewelery stores and a few good jewelery stores -- this is where you will find very good 18K gold work. One such store is the Byzantio Jewelry store. One item you will see most Athenian men carrying are worry beads. I must admit I had never seen these before, but bought plenty of cheap sets to bring home. Another cool item readily available are "evil eyes" -- these ward off the evil spirits and are usually in your pocket or placed in your home. We also brought home many evil eyes. Natural sponges are seen in most stores as well as olive oil soap (a reasonable, ok, cheap souvenir). The kids got temporary henna tattoos for 5 euros each -- the nice thing was we could relax with a cold beverage while the kids were getting tattooed. There are lots of outdoor cafés and a great ouzery (report to come). The roasting of lambs for Greek Easter was a treat to see at just about every restaurant (see photo). The small churches are beautiful with well-done frescoes.

The Plaka is a tourist area, and like tourist areas anywhere in the world there is more than enough souvenir shops. T-shirts, calendars, postcards and dolls are available at almost every second store. This is Athens though and there are also any number of stores offering cheap reproduction of greek art, statues and pottery. Between the tourist shops though there are a few gems offering more substanbtial fair, including a number of original galleries, shops selling Flokati rugs and craft and antique stores. It is possible to wander and browse at your own pace too, without being accosted by tourist touts.

In the evenings, starting at around 7.00pm, the Plaka starts to come alive as a restaurant area, with the taverna's and cafe's all offering al-fresco dining. There can be few better ways to spend a summer evening than people watching from a table in the plaka. Greek wine is cheap and most of the tavernas offer an extensive and inexpensive array of dishes. You would have to be pretty hungry to not get change from 15 euro per person (including wine). It is similar food wherever you eat though so feel free to choose for location.

Children are adored too, so parents needn't feel self conscious.