Your hotel room may have a copy of the monthly magazines Athens Today or Now in Athens, both of which have a shopping section. You’re in luck shopping in Athens, because much of what tourists want can be found in the central city, bounded by Omonia, Syntagma, and Monastiraki squares. You’ll also find most of the shops frequented by Athenians, including a number of large department stores and malls.

Monastiraki has a flea market, which is especially lively on Sunday. Although there’s a vast amount of tacky stuff, you can uncover real finds, including retro clothes and old copper. Many Athenians furnishing homes head here to pick up old treasures.

The Plaka has cornered the market on souvenir shops, with T-shirts, reproductions of antiquities, fishermen’s sweaters, and jewelry; enough souvenirs to encircle the globe.

In the Plaka-Monastiraki area, shops worth seeking amid the endlessly repetitive souvenir shops include Stavros Melissinos, “the Poet-Sandalmaker of Athens”; the Center of Hellenic Traditio which sell arts and crafts. Koukos, has a great collection of antique ceramics, jewelry and all sorts of goodies. For more personalized gifts visit www.kokicreations.gr, an extremely successful online store that has taken Greece by storm. Even Oprah is a fan.

Pedestrianized Ermou Street is the prime shopping district in the city, with more stores than you will ever have the time to visit, but if you want to do all your shopping in one take.