The Hellenic Parliament began as a palace for a teenage king. In 1843, Bavarian architect Friedrich von Gärtner designed it for Otto, the 17-year-old second son of Bavaria's King Ludwig I, who'd been handed Greece's throne by treaty. The neoclassical design reflected both reverence for ancient Athens and the aspirations of a newly independent nation.

Otto's reign ended messily in 1862. By 1929, after major renovations, the building had found a more suitable purpose as parliament. It has housed Greece's legislature ever since. Outside, Evzones guard the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in white skirts with 400 pleats, each marking a year of Ottoman rule. Their red shoes have spikes beneath that create a distinctive click as they march.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours trace the building's transformation from royal residence to democratic institution, connecting its architecture to Athens' emergence as a modern capital and explaining how a Bavarian teenager's palace became the seat of Greek self-governance.