The elongated Panathenaic Stadium, built for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, acts as grand gateway to the otherwise purely Athenian neighborhood of Pangrati. This area of typical small squares, busy main roads and residential streets will give you a clear sense of what living in this metropolis is like. A walk up quiet Markou Mousourou Street on the west side of the stadium will bring you past the First National Cemetery to Mets, home to many expats. Turn right to reach the charming Platia Varnava. East of the stadium, commercial Eratosthenous Street leads to rather nondescript Platia Plastira, from where Effranoros Street continues uphill to Platia Profiti Ilia, crowned by a huge church. Among the standard four- to six-story apartment blocks that typify Athens, Pangrati also boasts some genuinely authentic tavernas and the odd trendy bar.