A "Must Visit" City...
Written: May 29 '00 (Updated Jun 05 '00)
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Pros: Multifaceted, modern meets ancient.
Cons: pollution, traffic.
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| andruzzo's Full Review: Athens |
What people have to understand and when they set foot in Athens is
that there is much more than meets the eye. Much can be said about
other large cities. New York, for example. At first, you notice
the garbage, the chaos, the noise, the traffic, the crowds...once
you get past that you see a wonderfully magical city full of architecture,
history, arts, culture, restaurants....
Athens is the same kind of experience. Sure, thing's are not as
structured as with other cities, such as New York, but then again,
what European city really is?
Initially, people complain about a few things about Athens:
1) Pollution. Granted, the smog in Athens is not pleasant and on
a hot summer day you can really taste it. But, the Greeks are
aware of this, and great strides are being made to combat this.
First, Athens has enforced strict pollution laws on automobiles
recently, and boards and agencies have been set up to tackle
industrial pollution. Believe me, nobody hates the Athens smog
more than it's inhabitants.
2) The traffic is chaotic. Actually, I used to think that driving
in Athens was bad until I moved to the US and started driving in
Manhattan. The traffic and driving mayhem of Manhattan surpasses
that of Athens...case closed. There is a plus side: You can pretty
much park anywhere!
3) Rudeness. Well, this can happen and is pretty much expected in
a big city. This can be heightened in summer months when the
heat becomes unbearable. As the temperature rises so does the
temper of some people. Truth is, if you are walking in the streets
of Athens and just stop ANYONE and start talking to them, I'll bet
you they will be nice and helpful and try to communicate with you
whether they speak your language or not. Some kiosk owners
leave much to be desired as do most cabbies and ferry workers.
However, you shouldn't let these things ruin your visit to Athens and
should not stop you from experiencing one of the greatest cities in the
world. There is so much to see and so much to do. Unfortunately, people
get turned off by some of the negative things and rush through the
city and go to some tourist places in one day, leave and say what a
hole Athens is. Believe me, I know people that have said the same
of other Cities. It truly does a place injustice.
The first things to remember are that Athens is a city that doesn't sleep.
There's stuff going on and things to do 24 hours a day.
Of course, you'll want to explore the core and see all the ancient ruins.
My best advice, get up early, wear comfortable shoes and take lots of film. The great thing about the Athens core is that you can pretty much
walk to most of the sites, so you don't really need to deal with cabbie
or get in a bus.
Here's my itinerary of thing you must see/do in Athens:
1) Of course, the Acropolis. There is no way you can go to Athens
and not visit this monument! No ifs ands or buts. You just have
to go. This is the city's crown jewel afterall and one of the
best known ancient sites in the world. Do yourself a favour and
either get a good tour guide to tell you all about the place or
get a good guide book and have read it before you get there. Actually,
you can usually find a tour guide giving a tour while your there
and you can easily become part of the group or tag along to listen.
Once you are on the hill, you'll get an awe inspiring view of the
Parthenon and the entire city. I've been there dozens of times
and I never get bored of it.
2) After the Acropolis, head to the Archaeological Museum. You'll
probably be tempted to go shopping in the Monastiraki (the
the street shops around the Acropolis), but I suggest you leave
that for later. The museum houses some of the most important
ancient finds in all of Greece. Again, a tour guide or guide book
is essential for complete appreciation.
3) Sintagma Square. It's worth the walk to Sintagma square if and
only to see the changing of the guard.
4) Head back towards the Acropolis and do some shopping at the
shops around the Acropolis, in Plaka. There's quite a few
restaurants here that would be a great place to take a break,
have lunch, or just have a Frappe.
5) Lycabettus Hill. Okay, the Acropolis is the most famous hill
in Athens, but it's definitely, not the best place to get a view
of the city. This is achieved at Lycabettus Hill, which is about
a mile or two away from the Acropolis. Look up, and around,
the large hill with the while little church at the top, that's it!
I'd suggest going up around 6pm or so (in the summer). Meander
through some residential streets to finally find the cable car
that takes you up (you can also walk up if you like). Take the
cable car on the way up and walk down later if you like. Once you
are up there, empty that roll of film and then sit down and
have a drink. Just sit back and relax. Absorb the view, and just
enjoy the breeze. The sun will soon be setting and you'll get a
magical view of Athens that many tourists just don't get to see.
There's also a VERY nice restaurant on Lycabettus where you can
stay and have dinner....
6) My preference for dinner however, is in Plaka. You must spend a
night in Plaka. This is the oldest part of Athens, built around the
Acropolis. It is a maze of stairways, walkways, and restaurants
enclosed inside Jasmine gardens. There's people everywhere and the
restaurants are filled with people enjoying greek delicacies and
live greek music. Walk around once, get a feel for the place and
then go back to one of the restaurants. Plaka truly is a magical
place at night.
7) Philopappus Hill. Another very small hill which is right
across from the Acropolis entrance. It's a 5 minute walk up an
unlit pathway to an ancient site that gives you a breathtaking
view of the Acropolis. This is especially impressive at night
since the Parthenon is usually lit up. After you descend from
here, then turn left up the cobblestone pathway and head to
the DORA STRATOU Dance Theater. This is show which is put on
every night (around 10:00pm) that has professional dancers, in
authentic dress performing dances from different villages and
regions of Greece. The theater stage is made to look like a small
village, and there's an ensemble playing live music. It truly
is an impressive show and worth seeing. I've seen it more times
than I can remember.
8) The Herodion Theater. If you can, get tickets to a show in the
Ancient Herodion theater
at the foot of the Acropolis. There is just something special, that
just can't be put into words, of seeing an Ancient Greek play, or
a symphony orchestra, while above you the Parthenon is lit up and
there's a full moon. Something you'll never forget.
9) Kolonaki. For very exclusive and expensive designer clothing and
apparel, head for the Kolonaki area. You'll find names such as
Bulgari, Van Cleef and Arpels, Cartier, Fendi, Verscace...you get the
idea. Have a seat at the plateia (square), order a Frappe and do
as the Greeks: peoplewatch (and smoke alot, but that may not appeal
to you!)
10) The NEW Athens Subway system. This is definitely a MUST SEE! First
of all, it's the newest and most modern in Europe. Second, if you
think of the difficulty that came with creating this subway in
a city where you can't turn over a rock and not find ancient ruins,
you'll really appreciate it. Thirdly, it is also coined as the
underground museum. You see, since they found ancient artifacts
and ruins pretty much everywhere they dug, they decided to build
some of these into the actual subway waiting areas. So the subway
in most of the core stations has many of the ancient finds intact
on display at the site they were found! Tell me this isn't a
brilliant idea?
11) Mikrolimano. It's definitely worth taking one more night to visit
the small little seaside areas in the southern part of Piraeus.
The entire shore of Piraeus is full of life, restuarants, cafes,
bars, nightclubs that come to life at night. Mikrolimano is
the trendiest and most scenic of all neighbourhoods, as you'll
see as you approach. It's full of people strutting their stuff.
The bars and cafes are overflowing with beautiful people and the
seafood restaurants are to capacity, each with it's own "maitre"
trying to entice you to sit down. At night, you get a great view
of Athens in the distance. This is a very exclusive and expensive
area to live in greater Athens.
12) Kifissia. This considered by many to be the "Beverly Hills" of
Greece. You can't really walk there (unless you are staying there)
but it is truly a beautiful neighbourhood. It boasts the most
expensive residences in Athens and it is home to most of the
stars, politicians, and rich families of Greece. The setting is
QUITE different from the downtown core. All the squares are very
well kept and manicured, the streets are also immaculate and
all the residences have tall gates, etc. The shopping here is
also very exclusive and expensive. It's a very popular coffee-sipping
people-watching hotspot.
13) Leoforos Poseidonos. This translates to "Poseidon Avenue" and
is essentially the road that runs along the coast and heads all
the way down to Sounion. It's also the main road that passes
in front of the Olympic Airways airport. It leads to many
of Athen's nearby beaches, seaside hotels and of course to Athen's
biggest and well-known nightclubs. These nightclubs are something
to be seen! 5000+ capacity clubs built right next to and in some
cases on the water! The names, decor and ownership of most of
these clubs change from year to year, but be assured of one thing:
They're always full of beautiful people and the most amazing modern
music. Of course, they're empty before midnight! Also, there
are now many Greek Music clubs that cater to mostly Greek youth.
The trend recently in Greece has been back to Modern Greek music
and the energy and dancing that goes on in these clubs sometimes
surpasses the big nightclubs. There are also a number of small
bars and cafe-bars (cafe in the day, bar at night), some of which
have tables and service right on the beach.
14) Glifada. Just off Leoforos Poseidonos is the "small" area known
as Glifada. This has become a very hot spot for the Athenians,
so much so that the traffic on Poseidonos becomes bumper to bumper
here. Once you turn in...forget about it! Parking is next to
impossible. However, it is truly one of my favourite places, and
in the summer months I can spend the entire day there...no problem!
There's beaches close by, lots of cafes, restaurants, there;s
an excellent shopping center and everywhere you look gorgeous people
everywhere. At night, it really goes nuts, so much so that you can't
walk in the streets. You're elbow to elbow with everyone, with small
clubs, cafes and bars everywhere.
15) Sounion. Okay, Sounion is a good hour drive from Athens but
if you're gonna be in Athens, I suggest you rent a car and go.
This is the southernmost tip of the upper part of mainland Greece.
The southernmost of the entire mainland is on Peloponessus which
you go to by crossing the Corinth canal. Sounion, however, is
very unique place. First of all, it is not "built-up" and
full of tourist traps and houses. Second, the temple built there
is a beautiful example of ancient Greek architecture. The marble
is so white and provides the greatest contrast to the deep blue
water below (and it's a big drop!). You should definitely visit
and take lots of pictures. You will also get to see Sounion from
a distance from a ferry if you decide to go to any of the Aegean
islands.
16) The Port of Piraues. Alright, this is a pretty disgusting area...it
is a port afterall. It's not really a place to see...but I include
it here because, it will lead you to any of the islands of your choice, which is probably the main reason you went to Greece. So
now that you've seen Athens...get out and go see the islands!
Athens, to me is more than just a city...it's a state of being. I like
to sit back at a cafe and just take everything in. I also like it
because I have everything I want very close by. It's the
greatest place to start your vacation in Greece. After spending some
time in Athens, I get into the right mood and I gear up for my
adventures on the islands...if you spend some time there, you'll fall
in love with her too.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
andruzzo
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Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 9 members
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