Driven by the increased availability of budget air flights, the concept of weekend city breaks has developed into the fastest growth sector in European travel

This led to the June hosting in Helsinki of the inaugural City Break event, launched in conjunction with the European Cities Tourism annual summer conference. It was a huge success - and now Athens has been chosen as next year’s venue for this exciting new event on the travel trade calendar.

City Break 2007, organised by European Cities Tourism and Reed Travel Exhibitions, will take place from June 11-13 at the stunning neo-classical Zappeion Mansion, near the 40-acre National Gardens, and the award-winning Intercontinental Athenaeum hotel.

“Athens, where you can explore the past and discover the new, will provide the perfect host city destination,” says exhibition director Mark Walsh. “Following the rejuvenation of the city’s infrastructure as part of the Olympics in 2004, we have in place all the facilities needed. With its new hotels, restaurants and associated facilities, the city will hopefully match that of the experience received from Helsinki.”

Alex Galinos, Managing Director of Athens Tourism, says: “The modern city of Athens, the premier city-state in ancient times, is delighted to host City Break to promote city break tourism.”

This year’s three-day event attracted more than 500 city break specialist companies from 33 countries, bringing together key European suppliers with international operators. About 200 exhibiting companies showcased products and destinations to groups from both established and emerging markets, such as Japan, China, Russia and India.

It is no surprise that Athens pitched for City Break 2007. The government has been stressing for years that the future of Greek tourism will be determined by the quality of services offered, and it has encouraged investment in this area to help the country shed its mass-market holiday image.

In the run-up to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, many leading hotels underwent modernisation and improvement. The Games also improved the infrastructure, sparking the laying of 76 miles of roads in the capital.

Greek tourism accounts for about 18 percent of GDP - second only to shipping - and now the focus is on better marketing, a longer season and expanding into new areas such as ecotourism, as well as opening golf resorts and promoting sailing holidays.

The long-term aim is to increase the number of visitors to Greece by 35 percent over the next 10 years. At the moment, the count is 14 million tourists a year, including 2.5 million British. There are plenty of low-cost flights and the journey time from London to Athens is only three-and-a-half hours.

A city as old as Athens has as many layers as a baklava, and the post-Olympic capital is now reaping its rewards with scrubbed facades, improved public transport and a vast pedestrian precinct girdling the Acropolis.

Suddenly, the ancient heart of Athens has become serene, surrounded by pavement cafes and echoing to the sound of conversation and birdsong.

It is also being transformed into a year-round festival city. In summer there are the added attractions of the Hellenic Festival, outdoor performances of Greek drama in the ancient Roman Herodes Atticus theatre, and a night time son et lumiere at the Acropolis.

There is also a long-overdue renaissance in Greek cuisine, and diving holidays are set to boom now that a new law has opened up Greece’s previously restricted seas with their 3,000 years of shipwreck treasures.

The Acropolis, which dominates the city and is one of the most stirring sights on the planet, is still the biggest attraction in a city that has ancient monuments everywhere.

Other must-sees?
For superb panoramic views of the city take the funicular to the summit of the pine-clad Lycabettus Hill, a steep-sided limestone rock almost 1,000 ft high. And visit the affluent Kolonaki district on its slopes, which is a hive of pavement cafes and fashionable shops.

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Make sure you visit the National Archaeological Museum, the most important in Greece and the richest in the world for ancient Greek art. And if this doesn’t satisfy your thirst for knowledge, there are 39 other museums, ranging from the Maritime Museum, Philatelic Museum and Train Museum to the War Museum of Greece.

Then there’s the Panathenaikon Stadium, where the first Olympic Games in modern history were held in 1896.

The city is also renowned for its gigantic and amazing flea market around Monastiraki Square.

With the world of commerce in mind, there are six conference centres in the city, the major venues being the Hotel Grande Bretagne, one of Athens’ oldest and most glamorous, the Athens Plaza, the Golden Coast Hotel and the Intercontinental Athenaeum.

The five-star neo-classical Hotel Grande Bretagne (or ‘The GB’ as it is affectionately known), in Syntagma Square, in the heart of the city, is among the leading hotels offering a new level of service and luxury. Connecting antiquity with modern times are its arched arcades and mythological motifs on the banisters.

Adjacent to the GB is the King George II, another historic hotel in the city centre that underwent significant renovation in time for the Olympics. It features boutique qualities, combining lush decoration with a unique style and antiques in most rooms.

Diners are spoiled for choice in Athens. There are about 20 good restaurants serving traditional Greek food, including seven specialising in fish. The city also boasts foreign restaurants ranging from Chinese and Italian to Czech and Cypriot.

Eating out is a serious part of Athenian living, with the emphasis on fresh local produce in specialities such as mousaka (aubergine with minced meat and béchamel sauce) and loukoumadhes (pastry puffs soaked in honey-citrus syrup and dusted in cinnamon).

Favourite fish restaurant with Athenians is Diasimos, on the Freatida waterfront, which is the place for grilled fish, calamari and shrimp.

And if you can’t resist the urge to chill out on a beach, the best spot is Asteria, opposite the shopping area at Glyfada, in the south of Athens.