The bicycles provided are all restored vintage models, and include road bikes, city bikes, cruisers and mixte-frame bicycles. They’re all in top shape, with vintage gears and modern brakes. You’ll need to have a bit of experience with city riding, as you’ll be traveling on a few high-traffic streets and breaking a sweat now and then in your helmet.

The tours are available for English-speaking groups of up to seven people, and take place every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. They start and end at the 48×17 shop, located at 2 Veikou near the Acropolis Museum.

Tour options include wine tastings and street-food explorations, but perhaps the best starting point is the Classic Tour. The three-and-a-half to four-hour tour starts at 09:30 at Omonia Square. The first stop, for a breakfast treat, includes freshly fried loukoumades (a local version of the fried donut hole) with thyme honey, from one of the city’s old dairy shops. From there, the group moves on to grab what’s a more realistic breakfast for modern Athenians: a cheese pie from a bakery. Not eating too much of these first treats is a challenge, but a little restraint is well worth it in the end.

Consisting of many brief stops for everything from goat’s milk ice cream (from a chocolate boutique) to hearty bean stew and moussaka (in a taverna located inside the famous Varvakios meat and fish market), the tour serves up information as well as wonderful food.

The tours, which are all private (available for groups of up to eight participants) and conducted in English, are led by Sophia, a practicing street artist with a degree from the Athens School of Fine Arts, or by Theo, an archaeologist with extensive knowledge of history and a passion for modern art. They focus on art with political and cultural references, which often has strong messages about Greece today.

Greeting tour participants on pedestrianized Tsakalof Street in upscale Kolonaki, the guide leads them on a three-and-a-half-hour walk through the neighborhood, where the group makes ten stops at spots offering various types of shopping, from women’s fashion at Punchi Pupunchi and affordable jewelry at Prigipo to deli products at Yoleni’s Flagship Store. Other stops include a Greek cosmetics store, a furniture store, and a museum gift shop that promotes new designers.

Join-in tours are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:00, and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 16:00, in English and French. Private tours, which have a two-participant minimum, are also available in Spanish.

The tour continues with a trip to the coast and a stop in Mikrolimano in Piraeus; a ride along the Athenian Riviera to amazing Vouliagmeni Lake; and finally, as the sun sets, an incredible photo opportunity at the Temple of Poseidon in Sounio. (Tripods are available for evening shots.)

Your guide is a professional photographer, ready to help you with everything from camera settings to suggestions for editing apps, whether you are shooting with a professional camera or your phone. The tours, which are in English, are all private, with groups no larger than four people, ensuring that everyone gets the help and attention they need.

FAMILY TREASURE HUNT

“A tour where the kids are bored is horrible for the whole family,” says Antonis Chatzis, managing director of Be a Greek. Their four-hour Athens for Kids tour is designed especially for families traveling with kids aged 5-13, and is in the form of a treasure hunt.

The adventure starts at 10:00 at Hadrian’s Arch (the “door” to ancient Athens), and continues through historical Plaka, where teaching experts Vicky, Danai and Katerina will enthusiastically share stories about the daily life in ancient Greece, the philosophers, the Gods of Olympus, and the birth of democracy. At every stop, there is a series of activities to complete, including writing in ancient Greek, playing custom board games and recreating events practiced at the ancient Olympic Games; all these require cooperative effort. There’s also a break for refreshments at a café.

The tour is available for private groups (of up to eight participants) every day, and for semi-private groups on Fridays, and can be conducted in English or Italian.

The guide that you’ll get depends on the specifics of each tour, so participants will always have the benefit of an expert. Locations will change as well; for instance, if it’s about drinks with a view, the guide will chose the city center, whereas if the group is looking for alternative neighborhood hangouts, the destination is likely to be Exarchia. Hotel pick-up and drop-off is included for those staying within walking distance of the areas visited.

The tours are available in English, French, Spanish, German and Chinese, and in other languages upon request.