Athens Information
With more than three million people squeezed into 165 square miles, it should come as no surprise that the city of Athens is noisy, filled with traffic and swelteringly hot during much of the summer. On good days it’s confusing and tiring and on bad days you cannot wait to escape its confines, such is its energy. However, as with all forces of nature, Athens can use all this energy for good as well as bad, you just need to know where and when to experience it.
If you visited Athens prior to the recent Athens Olympic Games and thought ‘never again’, it would have been almost understandable. Athens was never an easy lover, you had to work for it, but post Olympics it has changed almost immeasurably thanks to the millions of euros pumped into the city. Larger roads feed traffic more sensibly, clean, safe and efficient Metro and Tram systems ferry passengers around the city simply and cheaply, plus many of the pathways, buildings, hotels, museums, shops and restaurants were renovated around this time too.
Don’t think that all this modernisation has obliterated its Mediterranean charm though, as the majority of its juxtapositions remain. Friendly conversations with passing strangers occur regularly, as does witnessing a highly animated and very loud argument; iced coffee is consumed by the gallon in eternally crowded street cafes by people that will be taking part in a street demonstration next week and your ears are bombarded by the sound of the car horns and mobile telephone ringing. Yes, have no fear; Athens is still as brash and as exciting as it always was.
To ‘see the sights’ of Athens, much like other capital cities, you will need a few days. This much time will ensure you walk the well-trodden tourist paths of Plaka, the Acropolis, shopping down Ermou and up Lycabettus Hill; but spend either a little more time or squeeze the sights into one day less and the keen city explorer should venture both north and south of the city – where the suburbs show another side of Athens. The city’s compact size and reliable public transport network means visitors can see far more of it than somewhere such as London.
Few people realise that some excellent beaches are accessible towards the south of Athens centre or that cosmopolitan shopping districts are hidden in the leafy northern suburbs, each easily accessed in around 30 minutes. Very few capital cities in the world offer this much diversity with so little traveling, even fewer do so with the added attraction of ancient antiquities on display too. The secret of enjoying Athens is to be prepared for all its idiosyncrasies and not to be afraid to spread your wings a little – remember this and your thoughts on Athens will be changed forever.
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