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 Wildlife & the Great Outdoors in Athens
 For such an unnatural setting as Athens, there is lots of open space and wildlife in the area around the Acropolis and most of it is free and full of ancient ruins. Next to Kouklis Ouzerie on Tripodon Street there is an entrance to a small park. Walk through it and you are on the slope of the Acropolis looking up at the massive walls.
If you walk up through the grove of trees there is an opening in the fence. If you walk to your left you will find yourself in the ancient theater of Dionysious.
On a moonlit night take a bottle of wine or a couple beers and relive it's ancient past. You can wander around the ruins and chances are nobody will care. Don't worry about the barking dogs. They are generally friendly and starved for attention.
As I mentioned before there is the big rock below the entrance to the Acropolis, just as good a view in the day as it was at night. Below that is the Agora and only part of it requires an entrance fee.
If you walk from the entrance to the Acropolis down the hill in the other direction and across the street you can climb the hill of Philipapou and spend hours wandering around the forests. To walk from there all the way to the Kings Gardens you need cross only three main streets, by cutting through the Plaka, walking up Kydatheneon street and crossing Fileninon and Amalias. The next time someone tells you that Athens is nothing but a concrete jungle you can give them a good argument.
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