Athens Experience

Good and bad of Athens

Advantages: Vibrant, lively, good food, great sights.
Disadvantages: Some dodgy bits!

...a four day break in Athens with my wife and thirteen year old son. Like all cities, we found it had good and bad bits, but on the whole, I would highly recommend a visit. Our hotel was located just off an area called Omonia Square. The guide book described this area as 'gritty'. I guess we should have read into that what we actually found. There are men with obvious Heroin addictions wandering around the area day and night. Prostitutes can be seen ...
...Once you get into central Athens then you enter a bustling, exciting, clean, and vibrant city centre. I suppose the only real disappointment is that it is in some ways just like any other city centre throughout Europe. You are spoilt for choice when it comes to eating, but the area known as The Plaka is definitely aimed at the tourist market. The food is fine, but the prices are high. It is a lovely area, but I don't think you would find many locals ...

GF1124 12.12.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Athens in general

An The Winner is...The TAXI!

Advantages: cheap, easy
Disadvantages: too much traffic in the centre 24/7

If you are planning a trip to Athens, there are a few notes you should take -and I do not mean the route to Acropolis or the address of the best taverna! You need to know the "transportation culture" and the best way to get around. I believe that after 26 years of visiting Athens annually, I am your man when it comes to advice of this nature (or the woman for that matter!) Your options are: the tram, the bus / trolley, the metro and last but not ...
...the super-fast "city worms" of Amsterdam, but definitely one of the safest and most pleasant means to travel with, especially during the rush hour. All the trams is service are brand new, as the routes were built only recently for the Athens Olympics of 2004. They are fully air conditioned, very cheap (fares around 1.50 euros max) and provide a gorgeous trip by the coastline -especially around sunset. You can pick them up from "Symtagma" square, ...

coffeeandTV 18.10.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Getting around in Athens

Athens - Haven't You Grown Since I Saw You Last?

Advantages: Vibrant, cheap excellent public transport. Famous historic sites. Eating out
Disadvantages: Not as 'Greek' as it used to be. Poor air quality. The drivers!

I'd been to Athens before, but not since 1973 so I was fully expecting a lot of changes, and to a greater extent I was right. For example, I was probably amongst the last tourists to be allowed full access to wander all over the famous Parthenon on the Acropolis hill. Since then it has been fenced off and variously concealed behind one piece of scaffolding or another, and is rumoured to stay that way for decades. I remember that summer of '73 with ...
...takes 20 minutes from central Athens to the port area of Piraeus. Getting to Athens from southern England takes anywhere between 3.5 to 4.0 hours depending on flying conditions, so there's a hint of the 'long haul' to the flight, complete with movies. Greece has never been 'big' on railways so it would be a real labour of love to get there by train. The newer Athens International Airport is a lot slicker than the old Kalamaki on the coast, but its ...

BNibbles 30.11.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Athens in general

Athens off the tourist track

Advantages: Fun, fascinating and altogether fabulous
Disadvantages: Chaotic and confusing for the first time visitor

...is that I never visited Athens purely as a tourist. I lived in Greece for three years, and spent the first two in Halkida, on an island called Evia, about an hour and a half north of Athens (well worth a day out for seafood lunch, the beach and the bars but that is another review). We didn't go to Athens often, and when we did the first stop was usually Marks and Spencers to stock up our small English community on tights and underwear! After two ...
...truer picture of the real Athens than the pure tourist trail. Now you may notice there is a distinct lack of ancient ruins in this list. There are two reasons for this. The first is that with the exception of the Acropolis and the Agora alongside it, ruins are pretty much par for the course in Athens and you can find them all over the place - you don't really need to make a special effort to seek them out. The second is that they really don't change ...

Agglida 11.06.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Athens in general

A wonderful surprise

Advantages: History, humour, food, weather, nightlife
Disadvantages: Pollution, congestion, too many Man Yoo fans ;-)

I went to Athens having never particularly wanted to go there and came away loving the city. I spent the best part of a year there, mostly on a Mon-Fri basis, but with several weekend stays. The bad things first. The traffic is incredible. Forever busy, noisy and smelly. (You'll see many cars you thought had completely disappeared from the road. Wrong: Athens is the car retirement home of Europe.) But it is also highly entertaining. It somehow works. ...
...good things. Geography. Athens is spectacularly located in a basin, surrounded by many mountains and the sea. The Acropolis rises up above Plaka, near the centre of the city and provides an astounding backdrop to much of city life, and is a sight of which you never tire. Lykabettus rises high to the northern edge of the centre and provides many of Athens best views (try to visit it at sunset, if you're not used to hills, take the funicular or a taxi). ...

KungFuJoe 19.10.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Athens in general