Athens

Spring is an amazing period of time in Athens. The inhabitants and a lot of tourists start the outdoor season at coffeeshops and at restaurants. Athens is a large city with a lot of shops and heavy traffic, but it has also a lot of green parks and open spaces where young and old can enjoy life. If you are visiting Athens the Acropolis is of course mandatory, but the city offers much more than old ruins.

Lykavito seen from the old stadium

If you are staying in Athens we will recommend you to get a room in the old part of town, called Plaka. If you are really lucky you will get a room with a view to Acropolis. The photos of Acropolis below are taken from Hotel Aphrodite. It is a nice hotel, but it shows signs of wear!

A lot of tourists come to Athens every year and there are of course many tourist traps too. Early in the season it is easier to find places without tourists where the locals go to do the following things: drink, smoke, talk and eat (accidental order).

The cab companies in Athens have started a charm offensive before the Olympics are coming to town. The goal is to make the drivers behave properly. It is a good thing that there are 3 more years before the Olympics, because they still over charge you, they smoke in the car and they pick up extra passengers. Most of the drivers are honest and nice, but there are a lot them that exploit the tourists ignorance.

Athens offers a varity of shopping possibilities. All the famous milliner's shops and a lot of other world-wide shops are here. There are also small shoe shops where the owner is mending shoes while he is waiting for he customers. There are special shops for Greek Orthodox priests where the can be updated with the latest in altarpieces and pulpits together with trends in clothing and headgear. It have been said that in Plaka they will fix you anything you want from sandals to a tank. I have not tested the tank option, but they sure have a lot of sandals.

Athens offers in addition to cafes and restaurants, many bars and clubs that stay open until the sun rise.

The tomb of the unknown warrior in Athens.

The changing of the guards at Syntagma by the tomb of the unknown warrior is very popular and the guards are in a lot of photos. You may have your photo taken besides them, but do not go between the guards and their sentry box.

The inhabitants of Athens are very proud of their new subway. The constructions of the subways have been going one for many years. When they started digging they found a lot of old tings and they had to stop until the archaeologists said that they could continue. At Syntagma station there are large displays of the findings.

More photos from Athens:

Acropolis by day

Acropolis by night

From the outdoor restaurant at Lykavito there is a very nice view of Athens and its surroundings. I love olives and Mythos!

Latest update:July 28th, 2001