Aegina town is built around a harbour that has been in continuous use since antiquity, and despite the tourist development of recent decades, it retains a genuine working character. The fish market still functions in the mornings, the kafeneions fill with regulars, and the neoclassical architecture along the port dates to a period when the island was briefly the capital of the newly independent Greek state in the 1820s.
A good starting point is the harbour's south end, near the departure point for the Moni boats. Walking north along the waterfront, you pass the old customs house — one of the first government buildings of modern Greece — and the cathedral of Agios Nikolaos. The neoclassical buildings along this stretch are worth a slow look; several have been well restored and now house shops and cafés.
Turn inland at the fish market and walk toward the central square, Plateia Ethnegersias. From there, a short climb through the narrow streets brings you to the church of Agios Dionysios, which has a pleasant courtyard and views back over the rooftops to the sea. Continue uphill slightly to reach the small archaeological museum, one of the oldest in Greece, with finds from Kolona Hill and the wider island.
From the museum it is a five-minute walk down to Kolona Hill itself, where the single remaining column of the Temple of Apollo stands on an excavated site above the waterline. The combined ticket for the museum and archaeological site is good value and takes about an hour to do properly.
Photo: Berthold Werner / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)