Tell me about Athens

[Hairbrush123]

I am going to Athens in a few weeks and cannot wait. Has anyone got recommendations for where to visit in Athens? We are there for a full week so plenty of time. DP and I are going for our anniversary so we’d love to dine somewhere a bit special. We both love Greek food so give us your favourite Greek restaurants in Athens please! Thanks.

Like any city there is always dodgy areas, unkempt or away from the tourist trail . Not a single European city is free of beggars, gypsies, or pickpockets. The worst ones I saw were in Rome, including people who had horrendous disabilities (some looked like they had been inflicted upon them possibly to make them more enticing when it came to begging).
After almost two years of no travelling, I think the last thing anyone wants to hear is "the place you've chosen to visit is shit". It's all subjective anyway isn't it?

Anyway OP as promised here is our plan for the 5 days we are there :)
Arrive on Saturday night, find somewhere to eat and just chill.
Sunday is luckily a day where it's free to access the archaeological sites, so we are going to do all the smaller ones that wont take long to visit, and save the Acropolis for another day. Sounds crazy, but I bet on the Sunday it will be rammed, where as smaller places like the Agora, Temple of Zeus etc will be quieter.
In the evening we have tickets booked for an "Ancient Greek theatre performance" which sounds really fun (booked through Get your guide)
Monday free all day, with a cooking class at a restaurant with dinner (that we prepared) overlooking the Acropolis in the evening (booked via Viator)
Tuesday - Day time we are booked on a 4 hour catamaran trip, with onboard BBQ with plenty of stops for swimming and snorkelling (Booked via get your guide)
In the evening we have a walking tour around the acropolis booked with a guide. (Booked via viator)
Weds daytime free for wandering
Evening we have a tour down to Cape Sounion and the Temple of Zeus to watch the sunset (booked via viator)
Home late Thursday.
So pretty busy, but also plenty of free time. I wouldn't usually book so many tours and usually we pretty much do our own thing, but after not travelling for so long I just thought sod it, lets go for it! Also I'm starting a degree in Classical Studies next year so I want to learn all I can from the source!
Hope that helps in some small way! If you want to book any of the tours, let me know and I can pm you a discount code for both sites as I'm a student, so get student discount. I saved quite a bit which is always an extra bonus!
xx

Also I should have mentioned being a student, if you are one, or anyone else is to get an international students card prior to your visit. I still need to sort mine, but will do that before we go and it means I can visit the Acropolis for free, so even more money saved. Ka-ching!

@SicParvisMagna wow! You’ve thought every detail! Thank you. Unfortunately I’m no longer a student so I won’t get any concessions! But I am definitely punching some of your ideas. Now Greece is still amber - I can definitely start booking things.

I agree about the pickpockets/beggars/homeless. I found Paris/Lisbon absolutely awful for that and really ruined my holiday whereas other loved Paris and Lisbon but Marrakech on the other hand was wonderful but others said they hated it as it was full of beggars/homeless/drugs.

I hope you have a wonderful time. Is this your first time too? Please let me know what your thoughts of the city are!

Oh and please PM the discount codes! That would be wonderful thanks! @SicParvisMagna

Yeah it's my first time visiting Athens so really excited, not just for the city itself but just to get away!
I think you'll be going before me (we fly out on the 25th of September) so will definitely want to know how you found it :)

Just to let you know, the discount codes are time sensitive. If you don't book within something like half an hour, they renew and they no longer work. So if I was you, I would see which ones you like the look of first, then let me know and I'll send a code over, if that's ok? Would hate to send one and it times out before you've had a chance to decide! x

@SicParvisMagna that’s fine. Thanks for letting me know. I will come back later this evening. Hopefully you’re free. Thank you.

I really didn’t like Athens. I’ve been to many (probably most) European capitals and it was by far my least favourite - and I live in London so I’m not unused to busy cities and some rough areas. My overwhelming feeling was it was grey, dirty, drug needles, terrible traffic, polluted, had a bad atmosphere, run down. I’d recommend an island over Athens any day. The only real highlight was the Acropolis which is a must see.

Lycabettus Hill gives you an escape from the crowds and a bit of greenery as Athens is a very full-on city. Amazing views of the city, restaurant at the top. I was there several years ago so can't vouch for the food now, but lunch on the terrace enjoying the view and fresh air was lovely.

Tip - if you want to cross a busy road follow an old lady, they seem to be the only people drivers respect.

[quote Hairbrush123]@SicParvisMagna that’s fine. Thanks for letting me know. I will come back later this evening. Hopefully you’re free. Thank you.[/quote]
Hey Hairbrush I'm about for the evening if you still need those codes :)

I came back from Athens yesterday and what a wonderful city break! What a stylish city with so much to do and excellent gastronomy. The weather was gorgeous except for one day where it rained intermittently and was actually warmer in the UK . I really loved wandering around Plaka and Anafiotika. Sadly the National Park was closed due to wildfire risks!

I didn’t experience any druggies wandering around the city, homelessness wasn’t really any worse than other major UK city and parts of the city were dirty/rundown which was expected.

I went to a restaurant called Ama Lechei which I highly recommend. The food was delicious and the ambience was delightful. I agree with the points made about crossing the road — I wonder what the point of the pedestrian crossings were!

@SicParvisMagna didn't see your comment until now but enjoy Athens! If you want any recommendations of where to eat or anything generally then I can give you a few places to visit and try to answer your questions. Have a look at Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre. It’s a bit out of Athens but well served by public transport and it’s gorgeous! It has a nice water show and amazing views of Athens.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations.

Also the posters about traffic are 100% correct. Awful traffic. Found it very annoying that you are wandering leisurely down these narrow streets and massive 4x4s come revving down them

Hey hairbrush I have been wondering how you found Athens :) Glad to hear you had a fab time! I'm so excited about our trip, it's coming around so fast.
Yeah any restaurant recommendations would be fab! I don't eat fish or seafood but my husband does so I'm sure we can find something to make us both happy :)

When are you going again?
Ama Leche was absolutely gorgeous. Probably my favourite restaurant. It is not in the most desirable parts of Athens but the food was divine. The Greco’s Project was really good also and I really loved “To Triantafyllo tis Nostimias”.

We fly out on the 25th! Exciting!

I will look up those couple you just posted :)

Enjoy your trip! We took DS (who was about 6 at the time) to Athens several years ago. It is one of our most favourite city break destinations ever. Definitely try some frozen Greek yogurt (with honey and walnuts as toppings) if you can. I gorged on Greek salad just about every place we ate---such delicious, fresh vegetables with an amazing HUNK of feta in the middle. Incredible. The funicular up to Lycabettus Hill is fun and the views are amazing.

I think I've just put on a stone looking at those restaurants the food looks amazing!!

@SicParvisMagna that’s so exciting! Please let me know how you get on! I loved Athens and already want to go back. The food is to die for! I think Greece is the first country I’ve visited and didn’t have a McDonald’s .

@MrsMariaReynolds oh god how could I forget about Greek salads! I love the massive chunk of feta on top too. Me and DP had a Greek salad to share pretty much everyday and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Haha if it makes you feel any better we've had a maccy d's on quite a few holidays I like seeing the differences in the menus from here and abroad haha. France has chocolate mcflurries!

We went to Thasos in 2019 and I'm still dreaming of this cheese dish we had. I practically start drooling as soon as I think of it lol.
One thing I'm packing is plenty of indigestion tablets because I ate so much amazing but rich food, I had horrendous reflux the whole time lol. Was so worth it though.
I was showing my husband the food earlier, I'm not sure what I'm looking forward to more, being away in a fantastic city, or just being able to stuff my face solidly for 5 days

@Hairbrush123

I think Greece is the first country I’ve visited and didn’t have a McDonald’s

Not so fast.... there are several in Athens and some islands have one.

mcdonalds.gr/locate/

mcdonalds.gr/

@SicParvisMagna oh God I know the feeling of indigestion too well! I love going into local Mcdonald's and looking around their menu to see how it differs from here in the UK! I can remember in Singapore - they had a banana and chocolate pie instead of apple! Delicious! Maybe they have that cheese dish in Athens? Hopefully anyway! I think we are definitely foodies when it comes to travelling!

@NoviceNewMN sorry I should have made myself clearer. What I meant by comment was Athens was the first place I've visited and personally didn't eat a McDonald's there. Not that Athens doesn't have a McDonald's.

@Hairbrush123

Ah! sorry - misunderstood.

Sadly Athens is not my favourite city, however you are very close to Pireaus which is a great port/harbour town.

We are going to Athens for half term at the end of October with our 12 and 14 year olds.

We have booked the Grand Hyatt which is south of the Acropolis on the busy dual carriageway that heads to Pireaus. Having spent the morning checking out and noting all the areas of interest in the city which seem to be more to the north east; are we too far from the 'Action' so to speak?

We are big walkers but don't fancy a huge walk every day to get just to the centre of things. The hotel dose have an amazing rooftop pool with views of the acropolis but we want to be able to drag the girls out sightseeing without too much moaning.