Athens - Busy, Bustly & Beautiful

We arrived in Athens at 5:00 pm and had a day and a half to see the city. Compared to chilled-out Naxos, where we had spent the previous week, it was loud and busy and a bit of a shock to the system, but we loved it. Here's how we spent our time...

Changing of the Guards

On our first evening, after settling into our hotel, we ventured up to Syntagma Square, where the Presidential Palace is situated. This was about a 10-minute walk from our hotel, directly up Ermou Street.

The Greek Presidential Guards standing outside their sentry boxes look splendid in their uniforms of pleated skirts, white shirts, hand-embroidered waistcoats and wooden shoes with pom-poms on. All parts of their uniform have a particular significance, such as their red wool hats, the Farion, where the red symbolises the blood that has been shed, and the black tassel represents the mourning and tears that were shed during the Ottoman occupation. 

They are there to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and there is an official changing of the Guards ceremony each Sunday morning at 11:00. However, if you miss that one, like we did, they do a shorter changeover ceremony on the hour, every hour.  Again, all the actions they make are deliberate movements, representing freedom and National pride. It is well worth going to see and is something free to watch.

For more information about the Guards, click Here.

Acropolis

When in Athens, you have to visit the Acropolis. As someone who loves an old ruin of Ancient Greece, this is the daddy of them all. The Acropolis hill consists of various structures, including the majestic Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nike and the Erechtheion, complete with the Caryatids holding the roof aloft. There are also various amphitheatres and places of interest on the slopes leading up to the temples to wander around.

When visiting the Acropolis, you should be prepared:

It will be busy - be prepared to queue and walk at a slow pace up the hill. Be prepared to have people walk in front of your photos and for people to tut when you walk in front of theirs. Be patient and you will get the shot you want.

It is hot (depending on time of year) - wear a hat, take some water. Do not buy water from the concession shop just outside the gates as this will cost you a small fortune for the tiniest of bottles (we know, we were fleeced). Either take your own or buy from a vending machine inside the grounds for 50 cents

Book in advance - I booked online through Acropolis Tickets & Tours. It is advised to book to go early or late in the day to avoid the midday heat. The earliest time slot I could book at the time was 10:00 am. By the time we got there, many of the later tickets were sold out, and people were having to wait several hours to get in.

Our tickets included an audio guide we could download before we got there and listen to through our own earbuds. You can book tickets which include an actual living tour guide for a higher price if you prefer. We like to wander around at our own pace, and the audio guide worked well for us.

Our tickets online cost £42.00 pp.

Acropolis Museum

After the tour of the Acropolis, we ventured into the Acropolis Museum a short way down the street. It cost €20 per person, so it’s not cheap, but it did have lots of interesting artefacts that had been found on the Acropolis as well as information about its history over the years. It is an interesting place if you have the time and the funds to visit.

Top tip - avoid the museum restaurant. We looked at the menu, and it was pretty expensive, and the atmosphere was a little museum-y. It’s worth walking a little further down the road to the old Plaka area of Athens, where there is a plethora of authentic cafes and tavernas, for a much more pleasant experience (in my opinion).

The Plaka

The Plaka area sits at the foot of the Acropolis hill and is the oldest part of Athens. It is known as 'The Neighbourhood of the Gods'. It is a vibrant area full of restaurants, souvenir shops, boutiques and many interesting neo-classical buildings. It is a great place to eat, shop or just while away a few hours people watching. We stopped at a traditional taverna for lunch, but apparently, the evenings are an experience all of their own, with a lively atmosphere and music playing.

Open-top Buses

If we had more time, I would have liked to take one of the open-top hop-on-hop-off buses, but we only had an afternoon to spare, so it would have been a tight squeeze and we wouldn’t have got our money’s worth. I love these bus tours in big cities as they give you a great overview of the city and point out all the places of interest. Next time we go, we will definitely do that.

A Pleasant Surprise

Our hotel was located on the corner of Ermou Street and Pittaki Street. In the evening, we noticed Pittaki Street was full of lights, which I initially assumed was some kind of Chinatown. On further investigation, however, we found Little Kook, a whole street dressed up for Halloween, and it was fabulously bizarre. There were a couple of coffee shops selling cakes and desserts all in the same theme. The staff were also dressed up, which added to the fun.

The best part was the Little Kook Curiosity Shop, which is packed to the rafters with lots and lots of shiny decorations and lovely things. If you like a Christmas shop, you’ll love this place. Understandably, I wasn’t allowed to take photos inside, so you’ll just have to see it for yourself. I did treat myself to a tree decoration, though and even managed to get it home in one piece. On checking out their Facebook page, it looks like they change their display theme every couple of months, which is a fun idea. I think it’s meant for kids and families, but we loved it.

If you want to find out more click HERE. The website is written in Greek, but for those of us non-Greek speakers, you can still view the amazing pictures and get a feel for what it's all about.

Places to Eat

We had lunch at a restaurant on a corner of the Plaka called Ta Yuvetsakia/Ta Giouvetsakia. The food was great and very reasonably priced considering the location. The staff were extremely busy but very friendly and efficient.

In Athens, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of places to eat. From our balcony alone, we could see many rooftop bars and restaurants with views of the Acropolis or the city if you fancy something special. What we didn't see, however, were many fast food chain restaurants, McDonalds, Starbucks etc. I'm sure they were probably around somewhere, but all the ones we saw were independent places. 

Not far from our hotel, we found a restaurant quarter filled with lots of restaurants and bars, many of which had live music playing while we ate. We stopped there for an evening meal, and it was lovely to sit under trees covered in fairylights, listening to the music being played.

I assume there are pockets of these areas all over the city. We just happened to find this one as it was around the corner from where we were staying - down through Kook Street and turn right. If you want to find it, I’ll pop a map below.

Where We Stayed

We stayed in the Lotus Center Inn on Ermou Street. This is one of the main roads through the city and leads up to Syntagma Square.

As a special treat for the last two days of our holiday, we booked two nights in the suite at the Lotus Center Inn. The suite has the most amazing view of the Acropolis from the balcony, and even has a hot tub to view it from with a nice glass of red wine (which we did for several hours). The suite has floor-to-ceiling glass patio doors so you can enjoy the view from anywhere in the apartment. We even left the curtains open so we could wake up to the view on the hill. It was a little bit more money than we would normally spend on two nights away, but the view was pretty spectacular, and something we will never forget. The breakfast was served across the road in a rooftop restaurant, which also has great views, but not quite like the balcony.

This is the view we had from our suite.

Taxis

The taxis should all take payment by card. We took an official cab from the airport into the city, and I told him before we got in that I had no cash. He accepted our fare, but halfway through the journey, he said it was the end of his shift and he no longer had his card machine, so it had to be cash or he wouldn’t get paid. This made things a bit awkward. In the end, the hubster paid by PayPal into the guy’s personal account. I’m not saying this will happen to you, but you may want to make sure you have some cash, just in case. The return journey was much easier and we paid by card.

The fare from the airport to the centre of Athens is a standard €50.

If you want to see more pictures and videos of Athens, follow me on my Instagram page - ameliashort_writer.

We booked our Acropolis tickets online through Acropolis Tickets & Tours, who use the Head Out app and cost us £42 pp. This included an audio guide through the Key Tours app.

We booked the Lotus Center Inn through booking.com

We flew to Athens via easyjet.com

I have no affiliations with any of the companies mentioned in this post. All information was correct at time of posting

If you love Greece and like reading books about it, you might like my 'A Place in Greece' book series, available on Amazon.

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