Europe : Athens – Woke and Awake Travel

Back on the move after Covid lockdowns 2021 !

To & From Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos, ( AIA )

Athens has an odd climate, oppressively hot in the summer months, but pleasant either side with a wet winter. We arrived in late September a perfect compromise.

Best option was a Ryanair flight to the Greek Capital a four hour daytime flight, the Greek mainland +2 GMT. We had used booking.com to pre-order a car to our hotel, a short enough 30 minute drama free ride, costing about € 35.

Booked the centrally located Grecotel Pallas Athena a boutique Hotel within walking distance of all main attractions and next to Athens town hall. For the outdoor balcony breakfast it was a must !See Link 1.

With the short transfer we were out exploring the local area by late afternoon. Athens has a real charm and plenty of historic sites, but with a population the size of Ireland, tends to sprawl over a large urban expanse, from a high vantage point the central business/cultural districts surrender to the inevitable population concentrations and decay.

Close to the hotel is City Hall opposite Kotzia Square a fountained space beloved by pigeons, further down Athinas main drag there are two markets the open air fruit and veg on the right and opposite an indoor meat market, not for the faint hearted. Despite the pungent excess we decided lunch was calling, and headed to the Monastiraki Square home to roof top bars. We landed into Manouka , space was limited even at our late afternoon time, and the best tables with views are booked in advance once night falls to get the best views of the Acropolis.

See Link 2

Suitably fed and watered, we headed back to the hotel to refresh for dinner. Always a good option on the first night is an Irish bar for some value comfort food and drinks. Within 15 minutes walk of the hotel is James Joyce bar with an outside eating option, great value and friendly staff sprinkled with locals and Irish alike.

See link 3.

Day 2

The hotel provided a lavish buffet breakfast and with seating outside on a balcony overlooking the teaming street life, a pleasant start to the days adventures. Heading straight down Athinas leads to Monastiraki Square through which you discover Hadrian’s Library, or as is the case in Athens what’s left of it.

A € 30 ticket seems the best option to access the main Acropolis and Archeological sites of the historical centre. The ticket is available at the library, do not try to buy a ticket at the Acropolis, the queues are epic. The next planned stop was the Roman Agora of Athens and then on towards the main site of the Acropolis.

There is a steep enough climb to reach the Parthenon, the ancient structure sat atop the Acropolis, but going straight to the turnstiles with the prepaid tickets ensures no delay in the hordes of visitors buying tickets at the venue. It is of course suggested you visit early or late to catch the sunrise/sets, but mid-day is possibly quieter, if not very warm, cant imagine it would be much fun in the height of summer.

Spectacular views on the way up of Herodes Theatre –but stunning at the ruin.

There is a lot of work being done at the ruin so access is restricted to the outside only. Having brushed up on our Ancient Greek history, we retreated to the city to take on some suitable refreshments.

After little discussion we decided tonight Indian dinner was in order, our must have Indian everywhere we go ! After our long day sightseeing, basic research led us to Naanwich, an alternative Indian fast food restaurant. It was rammed so we thought it must be good–we had not factored in price and absent service which may have been the catalyst for the young crowd. Confirming the fast food theme, we queued, duly ordered took a number found a seat two floors up and waited for the food to arrive, which in fairness it did some 15 minutes later. Not one of our best curries worldwide, but the boast of Acropolis views was more accurate than the food authentic.

Anyway difficult to fault the price .

Day 3 We set off to explore the last sites covered by our tickets, the Ancient Agora and the sites around Parko Thiseio which includes the Temple of Hephaestus,

Beautiful setting in the park.

One last area to visit were the National gardens with Zappeion Hall built in the 1880’s for the first modern Olympic games, now a conference centre. We cut back across Monastiraki Square to find a lunch spot plenty of eateries offering all kinds of cuisine.