I swear I say this about every place we visit these days but Athens is one of those cities I’ve always wanted to visit. Growing up I really enjoyed learning about Greek history and the mythology that ran alongside it and have been waiting years to spend some time exploring this ancient city.
Day 1 – Arrival
Anyway we just made it to Athens and we were super excited to see our 3rd wonder of the world, feel the sun on our skin after a wet and windy British winter and dive into a brand new culture. As we left the Monastiraki Station we were greeted with our first views of the impressive acropolis, looming down on us from above. Just in front of us the ruins for Hadrian’s Library gave us a close up first look at the impressive ancient Greek architecture.
We turned around to find small market stalls scattered across the square with quaint little cafes and bars around the perimeter. We made our way straight to our Airbnb which was a 5 minute walk away from the square. It became very apparent that although Athens has some stunningly beautiful spots throughout the city, you can’t ignore the anarchist vibe that runs alongside and often overtakes the attempts at gentrification and capitalism that you’d expect from every other capital city.
Although the grimy streets and crumbling buildings may put off some travelers for us it gave Athens an edgy charm as the city’s economic and political struggles have inspired an absolute gold mine of street art. Scoping out graffiti hot spots has become a normal part of every trip for us now.
Once we’d settled in to our Airbnb we excitedly started our Greek food adventure at the restaurant next door to the apartment. Seychelles. It was recommended by our Airbnb host and didn’t disappoint. We had some boiled seasonal greens, sweet potato and spinach salad, grilled sea bass and slow cooked veal cheeks.
Over the following days we continued sampling Greek delights like moussaka, salads, feta, souvlaki, lamb shanks, zucchini fritters, swordfish skewers, red mullet and pistachios but the star of the trip for me was a fusion dish of slow cooked pork fillet, sweet potato mash with pineapple and soy sauce reduction. Astonishingly good and super easy to replicate at home. There are literally hundreds of dining options in walking distance from the centre. From cute little family run taverna, flash rooftop restaurants, fast food vendor’s and plenty of kebabs/souvlaki stops.The bars were also top of their game offering affordable cocktails and of course Ouzo.
Day 2 – Exploring Ancient Athens
We began our first full day exploring the many cultural delights Athens has to offer starting with The Acropolis. To look at from the front you can’t help but wonder how steep it’s going to be but we found it was actually quite an easy climb to the top. It helped that there were various points of interest on the way up. First one was the Theatre of Dionysus, a small crumbling outdoor theatre, followed by the impressive Odeon of Herodes Atticus. An astounding amphitheatre maintained in excellent condition, this arena once hosted Elton John, Foo Fighters and many other huge artists.
As we started to ascend further up towards the entrance the tourist numbers increased as we walked up through the archway and entrance area and into the main area on top of the hill. Immediately we were blown away by the size of the Parthenon and were more than happy to add it to the list of wonders we have seen.
We went out to the viewpoint which overlooked the North Eastern side and gave us our first view of Mt Lycabettus. We were taken aback by the sprawling white sea of Athenian buildings, bordered by mountains and illuminated by the warm sun and bright blue sky. We then vowed to climb the mountain the following day and noticed its steep zig-zagging walkways, a bit of an anomaly on the skyline as it erupts through the sea of white in the middle of the city. Not that it stopped the urban sprawl at all as the city continues off in the distance behind it.
We strolled back down the way we came and explored a bit of the nearby park, within 2 minutes we were away from the hustle and bustle and enjoyed some peaceful views of the acropolis through the trees. We then stopped for lunch in the quintessentially Greek plaka district. Full of quaint streets full of flowers, taverna and boutique shops and hotels.
After lunch and an ice cold beer we headed towards the Temple of Zeus. A very small site in the grand scheme of things as there isn’t much there apart from a few columns and ruins. Nice to stroll around but probably not worth the 4 euros entrance fee. We then ventured through another park towards one of the highlights of the trip for me, the Panathenaic Stadium. This stadium hosted the first ever modern day Olympics back in 1896 is still used for more recent sporting events and concerts.
You can explore the whole complex and climb the stairs to the top for some stunning views of the stadium and city in the background. After doing a lap of the stadium and checking out the museum, we headed back towards our apartment via the park stopping at Syntagma Square where we caught a quick glimpse of the changing of the guard at the Parliament building before hitting some craft beer bars on the way back. The craft beer scene in Athens is great with most bars having an IPA or two available but there are some specialist bars which had a very good selection. The best of which was Barley Cargo with over 500 beers to choose from Beer Heaven.
We accomplished this all in a day and could’ve done even more. Athens is huge but a lot of the main attractions are around a 2km walk away from the base of the Acropolis. Our first full day ended at a stunning rooftop restaurant where we both had delicious lamb shanks for dinner with views of the Acropolis illuminated against the night sky.
Day 3 – Climbing Mt Lycabettus
The second day of our trip we got up a bit earlier with the main focus being to climb Mt Lycabettus. We started off by doing one of our own DIY street art tours after some late night research on where to look.
We weaved through the back streets where the real side of Athens showed its true colours, vibrant colours on the walls but much darker scenes on the street. The struggle is real here and the evidence of hard drug use and poverty littered the streets. It was hard to witness and to be enjoying the graffiti felt inappropriate almost while addicts in the area can clearly be seen using drugs in broad daylight.
We backtracked on the route we came home on yesterday past Monastiraki and veered off before the square towards the hill. The streets had already started to incline and after about 20 mins of straight walking we had just hit the park at the base of the mountain. Once we got there we turned around and already found decent views over the city and a huge rain cloud rolling over a distant mountain.
After a quick breather we started to ascend the mountain via the road which stopped about halfway up. The foliage quickly changed from woodland greenery to cacti, flowers and bushes. With the mountains covering the horizon and the endless sprawl of white buildings brightly lit by sunshine, the views were incredible already and we were only ⅔ of the way up. The climb wasn’t too bad but the weather was just right, sunny but not too hot. It would’ve been much more difficult in the height of summer. There is a cable car on the other side but we fancied the challenge.
We finally got to the top where there is a cute little church and restaurant but really you come up here for the staggering 360° views that show you how insanely vast this city is. We could see every monument and attractions we visited yesterday and they looked so much smaller, it almost felt like I was standing over a model village.
We took in the views and decided to head back to the peaceful back streets of the plaka district for lunch hoping to avoid the rain cloud. It was on our tails all the way to the restaurant. As the weather took a turn we went to the Acropolis Museum where we viewed many ancient Greek artifacts and learned more about the Acropolis and the history of Athens. From the top floor of the museum we could see a clear view of the mountain we had just climbed and how far we’d actually walked that day. We are fortunate that we can get around like this and enjoy walking as much as possible, you see so much more of a city on foot.
Day 4 – Escaping The City
We felt we had smashed the first couple of days in Athens so on our last full day we decided to escape the city and take a ferry to the nearby island, Aegina.
We’d done a bit of research and found it was easy to get there. For a couple of euros we got the metro to the port and then it was €9-14 each way for the ferry. We opted for the quicker option at €14 which took around 40 minutes with the €9 trip taking 1hr 10 minutes. Timetables vary so make sure you take a look first and plan ahead. Aegina is a small island with two towns on either side about 10km apart. The island is famous for its pistachios and this was made very clear by the first vendor we passed. I’m not a big fan of nuts but pistachios I don’t mind and I admit they were pretty damn good. They have incorporated pistachios into a variety of products from butter to ice cream and even a Baileys type liquor which was delicious. We had around 4 hours here which was just right.
The seafront is only around a kilometre long with around 10 bars and restaurants by the harbour. We walked further round the coastline and it was incredibly peaceful. We could’ve stayed for a couple of days and really relaxed here. Although the better beaches were around the other side of the island we found some really nice little spots, always with sparkling crystal clear waters.
You could easily just take a nap whilst listening to the waves. We explored the other side of the town before sitting down for a seafood lunch. We shared a huge salad and a couple of fish dishes – swordfish skewers and red mullet which were as fresh and delicious as you’d expect. We were in no rush to get the bill as we willingly let our skin cook in the sun. I might add there’s no point rushing for anything in a restaurant anyway. I wouldn’t say waiter service is slow, it just isn’t rushed but you will get the best service from genuinely happy staff everywhere you go. We really felt the Greek people were just so welcoming and helpful everywhere we went. After working in the bar/restaurant industry for nearly 16 years I really notice and appreciate the extra efforts and little touches. We had just enough time to explore the backstreets and grab an ice cream (pistachio flavor of course!) before jumping on the ferry back to the mainland. We managed to catch the wrong train which actually dropped us off closer to home which was a nice bonus.
Greece has left a lasting impression on me and I can’t wait to get back to do some island hopping, learn more about their fascinating history and eat all of the delicious food.