Athens

[DisneyDaffodil]

Well, after a complete change of plan, we are now heading for a week in Athens in July. We are staying in a very nice 4* hotel, Melia Athens, which is a little further from the centre but still just around a 20 minute walk to the Acropolis, 15 minutes to Syntagma Square. We chose it as it has a rooftop swimming pool (very useful we find for summertime city holidays) and also very good Tripadvisor reviews. There will be myself, DH and DD (19)

Obviously we plan to see all the major sights, plus take the tram to the beach area one day and a ferry to one of the nearby islands another day. So, I’m looking for hints, tips, restaurant recommendations. Which beach would be the best for a day as I believe there are a few just outside the city which can be reached by tram? Which island would be best to visit, easiest to get to for a day from Athens? We want to visit the Acropolis but realise this will be hilly, which does present a bit of a problem as we struggle with hills in the heat. Is there an access that is easier to use, or could we manage part of the site possibly if we couldn’t manage all of it?

We have stayed in Crete twice but never visited Athens before so we are really interested in any recommendations we can get

TIA
Sue

[DisneyDaffodil]

Has no one been to Athens? 😂 Is it a reasonably straightforward city to navigate by walking? We will use the metro, tram and taxis sometimes especially for the ferry port, beach and airport but we tend to usually find that walking works better in cities as the traffic is so slow. Is this true of Athens too?

Any general advice or tips?

[danisleigh]

We have been to Athens twice for the day on a cruise and visited the acropolis. We used the metro to get there from Piraeus which was cheap and simple. The acropolis is hilly but I am pretty unfit and made it up easily this July in stifling heat, just take plenty of water and hats. We paid for a guided tour this time which was good as the guide broke up the climb by frequent stops to talk of the history and she also found shaded spots where possible. We didn’t do the museums due to lack of time but they look interesting and we would love to have more time there.

[DisneyDaffodil]

Originally Posted by danisleigh

We have been to Athens twice for the day on a cruise and visited the acropolis. We used the metro to get there from Piraeus which was cheap and simple. The acropolis is hilly but I am pretty unfit and made it up easily this July in stifling heat, just take plenty of water and hats. We paid for a guided tour this time which was good as the guide broke up the climb by frequent stops to talk of the history and she also found shaded spots where possible. We didn’t do the museums due to lack of time but they look interesting and we would love to have more time there.

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Thank you, there’s hope for me to make it too then 😀 We would definitely do it at a slow pace and try to go early in the morning to avoid the hottest part of the day, as we would be there in July also, and take plenty of water. I’m amazed at how much there seems to be in Athens and wonder if we should have booked 11 nights now as we originally planned but I’m sure we can see a lot in a week.

[Gydion]

Look to head to the *burbs* of Athens... out by Glyfada and/or Vouliagmeni for a nice beach/swim... maybe even Sounion where you get so see the Temple as well;-)

[DisneyDaffodil]

Originally Posted by Gydion

Look to head to the *burbs* of Athens... out by Glyfada and/or Vouliagmeni for a nice beach/swim... maybe even Sounion where you get so see the Temple as well;-)

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Thank you, we had heard that the beaches are worth a visit but was unsure which to head to. I believe they can be easily reached by the tram from Syntagma Square. I hadn’t heard of Sounion but I’ve just had a quick google and it looks lovely, so that would definitely be worth visiting 😀

[Goldia]

Hey there we've been to Athens! It was an October half term trip for us so was a bit chillier. The locals were all in jumpers and we had shorts and t shirts on. The hotel we were in had a roof top pool too, but it wasn't heated so it was a bit icy, but we still used it.

It was a few years ago so I need to remind myself of what we did...I'll look it up and come back as I want to give reliable information and not just random memories.

We had a whole week and really had a good time. You'll love it, I'm sure.

[mick]

Originally Posted by Gydion

Look to head to the *burbs* of Athens... out by Glyfada and/or Vouliagmeni for a nice beach/swim... maybe even Sounion where you get so see the Temple as well;-)

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Our first ever holiday abroad in 1972

Stayed in Vouliagmeni along the coast from Glyfada and took a local bus (cheaper than Thomson excursion ) to Sounion. Byron carved his name in one of the temple columns.

Mick

[Olympiad]

Hi - the walk up to the Acropolis isn't too steep and the path is wide and well paved from both the north and south routes. Getting up to the parthenon has some steps and the ground is rocky/more uneven but nothing too bad.

A key tip for avoiding the crowds in summer is to get there as early as possible in the morning. The legions of cruise ships start arriving from about 9.30 and you want to be ahead of them if possible. We were there in August a couple of years ago at around 9 and it was empty (plus it's before the heat of the day).

Personally I'd skip a day trip to the beach. The beaches aren't great compared to other areas of Greece and the islands and half of Athens will be there escaping the heat of the city. Island trip sounds good.

[Goldia]

I'm back and I've remembered some of what we did.

Of course you have to see the changing of the guard in Syntagma and we also enjoyed coffee in one of the cafes on the square.

The Parthenon is amazing and is worth the walk.

We bought a ticket at the entrance to Hadrian's library that gave us entry to all the main sights. This was fairly inexpensive back in 2016 but well worth it. I liked the Agora too, this was lovely.

One day we walked up Lycabettus Hill. Great views of the city, you don't have to walk though as there is a funicular for a one way or return if you prefer. Again there was a cafe at the top.

We took the metro to Piraeus, which runs on an honesty system with no barriers or anything. This was an interesting morning walking around the port and again a lovely cafe.

Another day we started at Kerameikos, the ancient cemetery and archaeological site. It was beautiful to look around and very interesting. There was a museum for the cemetery and a church nearby and it was a lovely walk back to the Acropolis.

The street food was divine. We enjoyed gyros at lunch (very cheap) and had some lovely meals.