Fill your glass! Your tour begins at a well-established but still trending wine bar where, along with the Greek wines you’ll be sampling, you’ll also get to taste local cheeses and cold cuts – naturally, these will be chosen to match the wines, but they’ll also give you a good idea of the wide spectrum of Greek meats and cheeses. This place is a true oenophile’s paradise, with more than 50 different wines by the glass and an elegant atmosphere to match the wine menu. In visiting this wine bar, you’ll also be discovering the main downtown area of Athens, where many the city’s most important events in the 19th and 20th centuries took place.

The next stop is at a kafenio, an informal eating place where you’ll be sampling from small dishes of food that accompany the drinks you’ll be trying. In Greece, most people don’t drink wine or spirits without ordering a few items to nibble on, and some of the dishes that come with ouzo, wine, tsipouro or tsikoudia are true works of art in their own right. The kafenio that we’ll be visiting is in Plaka, the oldest part of modern Athens, and your guide will be able to tell you what this neighborhood was like at different times in the past and how it has changed recently.

For the third part of your group walking tour, you’ll be in Psiri, a renovated area of the city where you can find both old and new businesses operating side by side in what’s become one of the most popular parts of town. Your taverna here is one of the older businesses in the neighborhood, well- known for its classic dishes. As is the custom in Greece, you’ll be sharing food, getting a chance to try some of everything that they bring to the table. By the time they clear the plates away, you’ll have had a chance to sample a variety of traditional favorites in a fitting end to a day devoted to the enjoyment of eating. Your group will leave the table wiser in the culinary ways of the country, happy in the adventure they’ve enjoyed, and full of both good food and good memories.