To ask where you'd stay in Athens (and if it really is as scary as San Francisco in terms of street chaos)

We stayed at the Herodian, near Acropoli metro station. It has a roof terrace and wonderful views of the Acropolis.

We walked everywhere - it's a very walkable city. There's something interesting to see round every corner. You can just take the Metro if you get tired.

I didn't notice dogs or homeless people particularly, and would have been quite happy to wander around on my own, night or day. The only issue is pickpockets on the Metro, specially around Acropoli, Syntagma and Monastiraki stations. They are very bold and swift, so you need to make sure your pockets/bag are secure all the time. Watch out for pairs of middle-aged women!

We stayed here; https://www.plakahotel.gr and it was really central and had a good breakfast. We’ve also stayed at an Airbnb which was great.

Fab city with amazing food, and some excellent museums. Try a food tour or a tour around the city, we’ve done several with 'With Locals'.

We stayed at the Electra Metropolis earlier this year. Fantastic location. I wouldn’t describe the streets as chaotic and I didn’t see any stray dogs. I would definitely have noticed the latter as I am highly allergic to dogs. There was a lot of graffiti but I find that a lot in some European countries. The only thing that I noticed was the air quality was poor.

We went last year
it was lovely, had a great time
didn’t feel especially chaotic, and it was definitely cleaner and (felt) safer than London

Athens is fabulous. Stay at the NOT Hotel. Hotel Athens | Luxury Hotel | Elegant Suites share.google/xF6wgnga5OyfzjCvJ NOT hotel

I'm in Brussels right now having a lovely time and if I'd believed half of what I've heard about Brussels I would never have left my sofa.

And Naples, honestly, you'd think every other person who visited Naples got robbed or stabbed.

I think only people with bad experiences share them and the majority of people have a perfectly nice and safe time.

Enjoy your holiday op. I'd love to visit Athens. It's definitely on my list.

I went to Athens about 6/7 years ago and stayed really centrally in an Airbnb. Thought it was lovely. Did witness a dog lie down in the middle of the street and have a nap which I assume was a stray. I’m sure it has its sketchy areas (what city doesn’t) but I wouldn’t describe it as chaotic. Though my dads from the south of Italy so I have a fairly high chaos tolerance!

As cabin crew I regularly have layovers in both Athens and San Francisco. The two cities could not be more different and I wouldn't describe either as "street chaos" (though San Fran does have a homeless and drug problem) Both are amazing places to visit!

Oh and Glyfada is not touristy so not need to worry about tourist traps!

I’ve been going to Athens with work for decades.
parts are run down for sure same as anywhere.
You could stay in say Glyfada which is south of Athens along the coast and is really buzzy and lots of nice places to eat/drink (its one of the wealthy suburbs). Getting to Plaka from there would be around euro 25-30 take 30-40 min, spend the day and go back. Plenty of hotels or nice apartments to stay in.

We went with 2 kids 8,10 in summer and stayed at the hotel Stanley. Amazing pool on top of the hotel with restaurant serving sushi (and to your loungers). Was amazing. We took taxis to the main areas but walked round the bustling streets, squares and bars and cafes at close to midnight with our kids. Didn’t feel at risk at all personally. We can’t believe we haven’t been sooner as it’s a stunning city and food and drink amazing x

Athens is a little scruffy but we didn't find it frightening. There are so many beautiful things just in neighbourhoods!

If you get a ticket online get one to see everything and go to the Acropolis really early.

We stayed at Radisson Blu so don't stay there! It was loud all the time with huge groups of tourists. If I went again I'd get an Airbnb.

Stay in Plaka and you will be fine. There are def some areas I wouldn’t walk round on my own very late at night but if you are mostly in the touristy bits you will be fine. The Acropolis is amazing!

Dh and I have stayed in the centre for a few days several times, before heading to Nafplion on the Peloponnese coast. We’ve stayed at the Grande Bretagne twice, but more often at the small Hotel Adrian in the Plaka. Rooms on the non-street side have balconies where at night you can see the Acropolis all lit up.
We’ve always wandered all around the Plaka and have never encountered any sort of problem.

BTW, IMO the National Museum (not the Acropolis one) is a must, if only for the truly astonishing gold artefacts that came from the tombs in the ruins of Mycenae.

Stayed in plaka with DH and DS11 at Easter this year at Athens Cypria hotel which we loved. It was really central, very touristy area between shopping streets, had a roof top bar and a pizza place across the road that did amazing take aways.

We went out altogether some nights and DH sometimes went for a walk on his own and I don’t think we ever felt unsafe. It just felt like any other big city in terms of looking after your bags, being aware of your surroundings etc.

we absolutely loved Athens. We did the Acropolis, Olympic stadium, national gardens, temple of Zeus, museum of technology and walked everywhere. We did a coastal open top bus tour one day just because it was too far to walk realistically.

Don't waste your money its horrid there.

I live in Athens and don’t think I’ve ever seen a stray dog in the city 😅😅

We stayed this summer in Exarchia which is a studenty area about 25 mins walk from the centre - or a fairly short bus ride. There were nice restaurants and cafes and people were generally friendly. There was quite a bit of anti tourist graffiti but people weren’t unfriendly. We saw a few people on the streets who were clearly drug users but they were pretty isolated examples. It didn’t feel unsafe walking around even at night.
Would definitely recommend for a city break - there’s lots to see and we ate some lovely food.

I’m not sure what you’ve been told about street chaos but that wasn’t my experience at all. That’s on foot mind you, I think you’d have to be brave or stupid to try to drive in the centre of Athens.

Every capital city has its dark side tbf. When we went stayed in Monastiraki. Loved mooching round Plaka and it was freezing as February. But few tourists and the Parthenon was deserted. This was before the financial crash and the refugee crisis but am sure it’ll be fabulous. The Greeks are fiercely proud of their heritage-just lean into that and you’ll find it an amazing experience.

People talk absolute horseshit. Athens is fine and has almost zero in common with any American city.

Loved Athens. Stayed in Plaka two years ago. It was great! But I am a Londoner so maybe I don’t notice the bad stuff ;-)

Not scary at all - you are reading the wrong stuff, if you think it's full of sewage etc etc.
It's the cradle of civilisation, FFS.
Stay in Plaka, or near the new(ish) Archeological Museum, and then you can walk everywhere.