As a traveller, I seek out flea markets & shopping streets with local designers, picturesque walking areas, neighborhoods where locals hang out and generally anything unique to the place I’m visiting. Below is my selection of the top things to see and do in downtown Athens, which I call Be Merry Downtown: must-visit neighborhoods like Plaka or interesting neighborhoods like Exarchia, the Varvakios Market, the Monastiraki flea market, Protogenous vintage shopping street, the best downtown open-air movie theaters and much more. I do not include information about museums (but in brief, you should definitely see the Acropolis & National History museums and, if you have time, any or all of the three Benaki museums).