Ignore the financial woes and sink your teeth into Greece’s capital – you’ll soon find that there’s plenty of life beyond the ruins.
ATHENS SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS
Athens icons
Every hotel in town with an Acropolis view will charge extra for it, and it’s obvious why. The rocky hill is home to some of antiquity’s greatest buildings and even in ruins, the Parthenon still has a majestic hold. The signage is sparse and incredibly dry, however, which is where the Acropolis Museum (15 Dionysiou Areopagitou , 900 0900) comes in. Sat at the foot of the Acropolis, the new Bernard Tschumi-designed showcase houses many of the treasures that were originally on the sacred hill, and tells the stories behind it. Equally impressive is the Panathenaic Stadium on Vasileos Konstantinou. Originally built out of marble in the 4th century BC, it was refurbished for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
Cultural attractions in Athens
To learn more about ancient Greece and see more ancient vases, funerary stones and sculptures than you ever thought possible, then the National Archaeological Museum (44 Patission, 821 7724) is a treasure trove. Be warned – it’s a dry museum from the old school, but the collection is world class. More up-to-date is Athinais (34 Kastorias, 348 0000), a converted silk factory which hosts art exhibitions and theatre productions. Arrive between May and October for the Athens Festival, which has cultural performances in venues across the city, including the Odeon of Herodes Atticus – a stone amphitheatre on the side of the Acropolis.
Athens walks
Athens can be something of a traffic clogged nightmare, but certain pedestrianised strips minimise the pain. Most impressive of the lot is the 3km-ish promenade that cuts through the heart of the city, starting at Dionysiou Areopagitou and passing many of the city’s ancient highlights on the way. There’s also a route through the Agora and Acropolis that you can happily spend a day on, taking in the major sights at close quarters. You’ll have to pay EUR12 for the privilege, however. If you’re feeling particularly energetic, you can slog it up Lykavittos hill to the Chapel of Agios Georgios. The views and the sunsets from up there are superb, although there’s a funicular railway for those who fancy the easy-way-up and stroll down approach.
Athens tours
A hop-on, hop-off bus is worth taking if only for orientation purposes, but the EUR18 tickets with City Sightseeing (922 0604) last for a couple of days, and help you decide which ruins are only worth a peek and which warrant further investigation. The Acropolis is undoubtedly one of the latter, and a having a guide explain what everything is and bring the hill to life makes for a much more edifying experience. Athens Walking Tours (884 7269) offers half day walks for EUR36. The company also sells day trips to the likes of Delphi, Cape Sounion and Mycenae.
ATHENS HOTELS
Find the best deals on Athens hotels using the search box on the right, but the accommodation options below have been inspected and come recommended.
Budget accommodation in Athens
There are a number of decent budget options in the unfortunately rather seedy area near Omonia Square. The design-focused Hotel Chic (25 Pireos, 522 2822) is the most interesting, with hi-tech rooms where you can light up the pictures from behind available for from EUR53. Of the solid but unspectacular competitors, Hotel Cecil (39 Athinas, 321 7079, from EUR50) is the best bet. It’s clean, freshly painted, air-conditioned and sufficiently south of the worst area. Elsewhere, the Exarchion (55 Themistokleous, 380 0731) offers cheaply-furnished but comparatively agreeable accommodation on happening Plateia Exarhion for from EUR50 a night.
Mid-range hotels in Athens
Fresh (26 Sofokleous, 524 8511, from EUR70) offers the design hotel touch on a relative budget, with lots of bright, bold colours and furnishings that you’d rather like to steal and take home. But it’s the rooftop pool and cafe-bar area that really impress. Meanwhile, the bathrooms at the Magna Grecia (54 Mitropoleos Street, 3240 3145) are poky, but with ornate high ceilings that border on the palatial and Acropolis views for from EUR80 a night, who cares? The nearby Diamond Hotel (24 Voulis, 323 2443, from EUR75) is more dazzle and sparkle than regal, but the shimmering curtains plus silver and gold furry rugs add bags of character.
Luxury accommodation in Athens
The buzzy, high-quality downstairs eatery and extraordinary panoramic photos splashed across the ceiling elevate Periscope (22 Haritos, 729 7200, from £140) above the norm – it’s certainly the best option in the central-but-chic suburb of Kolonaki. Baby Grand (65 Athinas, 325 0900) is great fun too, with Mini Coopers turned into reception desks and special EUR147-plus deluxe graffiti rooms where spray-can wielding artists have been allowed to run riot. Less quirky, but very spacious and well-equipped with cooking facilities and a balcony are the studios at AVA Hotel Apartments (9 Lyssikratous, 325 9000). Prices start at EUR148 a night.
Top end accommodation in Athens
The affluent northern suburb of Kifisia is home to many of the luxury options. The Pentelikon (66 Diligianni, 6230 6506, from EUR205) is staid-but-solid five star luxury, while the eye-popping Semiramis (48 Charilaou Trikoupi, 628 4400, from EUR180) is anything but. With wild pinks and greens across the board, an utterly psychedelic pool and just about everything in the room electronically controllable, it’s bold and rather brilliant. The Grande Bretagne (Plateia Syntagmatos, 333 0000, from EUR265) is the city’s grand old dame, however, and even the standard rooms feel fit for royalty at the unquestioned top address in town.
ATHENS RESTAURANTS
Cafés in Athens
Kolonaki and Exharia are the best spots for mooching in cafés. The former is coffee-for-breakfast and people-watching central, whilst the latter has a more arty, edgy feel to it. Floral (80 Themistokleous, 380 0070) and Fanous (78 Themistokleous, 3317 9234) on Plateia Exarhion are shining examples of this. Floral is part-bookshop and photographic gallery, while Fanous is Arabic right down to the hookah pipes and extravagant cushions. For a taverna-style meal, try To Kafenio (1 Epiharmou, 322 4515) in Plaka for a traditional treat. The meatballs are sensational, and Jamie Oliver has filmed here. Meanwhile, Mamacas (49 Persefonis, 346 4984) in Gazi is a gleaming white, modernistic take on Pops’ place.
Snacks in Athens
Thanasis (69 Mitropoleos, 324 4705) is the sort of place that puts paper over the already plastic-coated tables before you eat, but it’s instantly forgiven the moment you taste the souvlaki. The legendary reputation of this enormous spot is utterly justified, and the meat is so tender than it slides down the throat like butterscotch. Right opposite is Ice Grill, an absurdly-named joint that sells seemingly hundreds of flavours of mighty fine gelati. Lena’s Bio (11 Nikis, 324 1360), near Syntagma Square, is a nice cruisy place to get salads, pastries and sandwiches of the home-made, organic variety.
Best restaurants in Athens
Varoulko (80 Pireos, 522 8400) changes its menu depending on what’s fresh at the fish market every day, and the emphasis is very much on the seafood in this stylish but not stuck-up joint. The Michelin-starred food and Acropolis views on the terrace make for a great combo. Spondi (5 Pyronnos, 756 4021) offers a modern take on traditional Greek dishes, and on a summer night, the courtyard setting is heavenly. Make sure you save space for the excellent desserts. Cibus (Zappeio Gardens, 336 9364) also gets brownie points for its location in the National Gardens as well as its superb Italian-influenced food.
ATHENS ENTERTAINMENT AND NIGHTLIFE
Athens bars
Booze Cooperativa (57 Kolokotroni, 400 0863) is a self-consciously hip place where two fingers are stuck up at the smoking ban, and the iPhone-clutching chess players of the day time crowd give way to DJs, drinkers and diehards as night falls. Meanwhile, Circus (11 Navarinou, 361 5255) is the super-colourful, good time meeting place of alternative Exharia and stylish Kolonaki.
Gazi is the hotspot though, with a sea of bars radiating from Keramikos station. Nearby is Nixon (61B Agisilaou, 346 2077), an enchanting place of high stools, a film noir feel and jaunty big band music. It’s the kind of place where you can fall for a broken woman blowing smoke in your eye.
Live music in Athens
Gagarin 205 (205 Liossion, 8547 6012) is probably the best place to catch touring acts live, and there will usually be a Greek indie/ rock band playing when no-one’s in from overseas. For something a little more laid back, the Half Note Jazz Club (17 Trivonianou, 921 3310) is the city’s classic jazz haunt, and has a reputation for taking the music reverentially. A distinctive local flavour can be found at Stoa Athanaton (19 Sofokleous, 321 4362), where old timers play rembetika – a Greek take on the blues – to a fiercely loyal crowd every night.
Nightclubs in Athens
While you’ll still get the more familiar style of nightclubs in Athens, the more intriguing encounters come at the bouzoukia clubs. These extravagant affairs involve charged up traditional folk music, scantily clad dancers and flowers being thrown all over the stage. Iera Odos (18 Iera Odos, 342 8272) in Gazi is a top bouzoukia spot. In summer, the clubbing scene moves to the Glyfada beach strip. The beautiful people flock to enormous Ibiza-like dance parties taking place in the likes of El Pecado Isla (14 Karamanli, 895 9645) and Akrotiri Boutique (5 Vas Georgiou, 985 9147).
ATHENS SHOPPING
Markets in Athens
The Central Market off Athinas is largely aimed at locals rather than visitors, but it’s still fairly atmospheric. The cute cheese and dried fruit stalls tend to be overshadowed by the enormous cuts of meat hanging down from the roofs of the butchers’ pitches. Completely the opposite is the Monastiraki Flea Market. Taking over the largely pedestrianised streets to the west of Plateia Monastirakiou, the chaps on the stalls and shops here will try to flog you everything from motorbike helmets and ceramics to bags and belts. Nearby is the Ancient Agora – the market and meeting place of ancient Greece. It’s now ruins, but they’ve been preserved to allow the imagination to go back 2,500 years.
Shopping in Athens
Whilst elsewhere in town, the country’s financial troubles have led to shops being boarded up, in well-to-do Kolonaki there’s always someone willing to take on struggling store’s space. The emphasis is on the boutique in this part of town, and while major streets such as Solonos and Skoufa tend to hog the attention, it’s worth ducking down small side streets like Haritos to find indie designer fashion, odd toy shops and chandelier dealerships. As you head towards Syntagma Square – especially on Stadiou – it gets more high end, with major international designers and expensive jewellers holding sway. The pedestrianised streets of Plaka – particularly Adrianou and Kydathineon – have the odd gem amongst the usual tourist tat.
ATHENS TRAVEL INFORMATION
Athens travel tip
Athens’ museums can be an ancient world overkill for those not utterly gripped by the subject, but the most exciting spots are where the ancient and modern collide. The Athens Metro system has to be one of the most spectacular in the world – when it was being dug out, remains from bygone eras were found and preserved. Hopping around by train, therefore, becomes a trip around a series of mini-museums. The Syntagma and Monastiraki stations are arguably the most spectacular.
Athens flights
Find the best deals on flights to Athens using the search box on the right.
Currency
Greece, for now at least, uses the euro…
Calling Athens
The international code for Greece is +30, and the city code for Athens is 210. Add 00 11 30 210 to any number listed here to call from abroad.
Details correct as of January 2011, when this guide was researched by David Whitley. It was originally published by the Sun-Herald in Australia.
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