The main OTE tourist office (Mon-Fri 9am-4.30pm; tel 010/33 10 692 or 32 71 300) is at Amerikís 2, just up from Stadhíou; it dispenses ferry-timetable sheets (though these should be used as guidelines only), along with maps and pamphlets, and is also a source of information about the Hellenic Festival .

To complement the free OTE map, the street-indexed Falkplan is a good, large-scale map of the city. The Historical Map of Athens produced by the Greek Ministry of Culture is well worth its €3.50 price. It has a good map of central Athens and, on the other side, a clear, large-scale map of Pláka. Both maps number all the sites and museums.

If you are planning a long stay, it's worth getting the Athína-Pireás Proástia A- atlas , co-published by Kapranidhis and Fotis, and available from kiosks and bookshops. It's in Greek only, however, and is quite pricey at €20.20, but it does show absolutely everything, including cinemas and concert venues.