Athens Out and About

Transport

Travelling round Athens is easy, during high peak tourist season the atmosphere in some means of transport is quite hectic and overcrowded. A all-ways-of-trasport (bus, tram, bus) costs 1,20EUR (June 2015), it does not cover some special routes such as going to the airport (Eleftherios Venizelos) and has a time span of 70 minutes, the validation of the ticket is necessary.

Metro Line 2

Metro, suggests the main way of transporting round Athens, 3 metro lines, 1 suburban line and 1 tram line carry approximately 1 million people every day, try avoid the peak hours  where wagons will be packed (Mon-Fri 7.30 - 10.00, 13.00 - 16.00 and Fri-Sat 9.00 -12.00). Keep in mind: during summer trains get also full with tourists making moving around a bit uncomfortable. Metro lines map here (some maps show future extension)

Buses, they suggest the "support" of the train lines in Athens as the government formed in 2014, though they might not be always on time, be aware that there might be changes without warning on the route and the time of departure or frequency. Information you should seek is, the place of departure (all stops have an individual name, the places where stops are located are rarely being given on the route plan). For more info you can get advised the official website here.

Taxi sign in Athens

Taxis, a "tribe"(fara) that seeks psychological help are the taxi drivers, hated by the majority of Athenians for their aggressive of driving, rude behaviour, and all-time seeking a way to get some extra money (i.e. When its time to pay the fare, it is very likely he will try to "steal" you some of the change or take the longest route to your destination, be aware of any tricks they might do).

Car driving, just don't copy the Athenians, you can't have their driving skills, take the public transport. Note: there might be crossings for the pedestrians, but for the drivers there are not any crossings!

Weather in Athens

Hot in the summer, cold in winter, Easter bit cold,  storms especially during summer and autumn can be very sudden and strong!

Food in Athens

Walkway in Psyrri at 3am

Souvlaki, an all time favorite for locals and tourists, its quality depends on the place you will ago. Also famous with souvlaki is gyros, which is a souvlaki wrapped with a pita bread and filled with french fries, tzatziki sauce (in some places tzatziki sauce is replaced with other types of sauces),onion, tomato and other, for food lovers this can be breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner!

Indian, I would recommend a relatively new restaurant opened in 2013 named 'Mirch' about 3 minutes on foot away from Monastiraki station, has a short but tasty options in its menu, portions are big and cheap, soon you will feel fool. (I would totally recommend you to try 'Indian souvlaki')
 

Lifestyle of Locals
For the Greeks coffee, is what tea is for British , beer for the Germans. Our personal time to gather and discuss, hence you will notice an crazy amount of cafes round Athens, ideal time of the year to do that....mostly summer but cold will not bother Greeks to enjoy their coffee, though Athens is not the biggest consumer of it in Greece. Greeks do love welcoming tourists, especially those interested in understanding deeper their personal philosophy and culture of modern life.

Neighbourhoods

Monastiraki Square

Central meeting points of the locals are usually one of the places : 

Monastiraki square at 5am during summer

Monastiraki, an important transport joint connecting lines 1 and 2 of the metro leaving the visitor the option to visit nearby areas without walking much. Monastiraki square takes its name after an old mosque and nowadays remain closed(?!?). All streets round Monastiraki square are full with souvenir shops, restaurants, clothes shops and the local delicatessen "frozen yoghurt", but the access is 99% done on foot.

Visit tau bar, A for Athens roof bar, 360 roof bar, Vrettos for some great flavored liquors to take home

 Thisio, the next station of metro line 1 after Monastiraki station (heading to Piraeus) spread around the Acropolis rock with loads of cafes placed along the road and great view to the Parthenon, (keep in mind the road is uphill, so make sure you aren't tired)
Visit Stavlos bar for drinks

Plaka - Anafiotika, an urban neighbourhood of old houses built during the 1920s after Greeks fled during the destruction of Smyrna(nowadays in Turkey), with some cafes and restaurants appearing between the narrow streets and small alleys, creating a refreshing shelter to enjoy a cold drink or meze during the high temperatures of the Greek summer. 

Most cafes and restaurants remain open at night too, serving drinks as the past few years they are very popular to modern Greek youth of Athens.

The area inspires people interested in culture with obvious existence of graffiti artists, small theatres and museums hidden all over Plaka. Special characteristic is the architecture of houses in the area, named in Greek as "Refugee homes" indicating a different architect style compared with the common "neo-classic" style of other houses existing at that era.

Syntagma, the heart of Athens where hundreds of strikes and riots have taken place round the square, as many violent incidents have taken place in the old and modern history round the Parliament house (which used to be a Palace). It is a 24/7 alive area and meeting point for youth due to the easy access to Ermou street (one of the most expensive roads) and the nearby shops. Have all the metro lines closed? No problem! Around Syntagma square you can find all-night buses passing through all the main roads of Athens, just ask the driver and make sure you are on the one you need.

Band performing on the lower part of Ermou walkway

The ideal night-out for me - an Athenian, starts with some snack in a local meze-restaurant to prepare physically for the drinks. After some mezes, head towards Psyrri, going through the main road you will see youth enjoying some shisha, "vromiko" (dirty in greek - meaning fatty food), traditional sweets and delicacies in local shops which usualy stay open until early in the morning.
Afterthe first drinks, it is time to head to Gkazi-Technopolis, attending several concerts located on Ermou walkaway or ending up in the numerous night clubs around Kerameikos station for some proper
greek style or modern clubbing.

View from a roof bar in Thissio

If you prefer romantic atmosphere, Thiseio's cafes and roof bar-restaurants offer a great view on Acropolis for you and your partner, I would strongly suggest the one's located on Apostolou Pavlou walkaway, where there are no objects blocking the view.

Depending on the class of the bar you visit, the average price for cocktails is 9 EUR, for standard drinks 8 EUR, for special drinks 9 EUR.

Feeling hungry after a great night and it's very late? Don't worry! Round Kerameikos station you will find a wide variety of cheap fast food restaurants open 24/7.

Sermpetia stou Psyrri front

Sweets and more sweets

Those of you having a sweet tooth, look for the "Sermpetia stou Psyrri" a sweet shop opened in 1997, where you can find loads of traditional and modern sweets for every occasion, all of them are served with a side of vanilla or kaimaki ice-cream flavour, when you are done they will bring you a "kerasma", some shots of masticha liqur - take care it's strong, but helps with stomach aches.

Visit the Street burger for burgers, Hoxtron bar for underground mood, WS for some greek nightclubbing


Places to visit: Psyrri, Kifissia, Marousi, Glyfada, Alimos, Kolonaki
Wikipedia provides a good analysis above the above places
Places to avoid: Viktoria, Omonia, Exarchia

100 things you should know about Greece
http://www.greeka.com/greece-travel/greece-things-remember.htm

More to come:

Athens and Art

Athens and Monuments

As Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world, you know where this is going.... Several ancient ruins are spread round downtown Athens and some remain hidden underground till nowadays.

Acropolis, Shower of winds, Stoa of Attalos, Temple of Hephaestus, the columns of Zeus, New Acropolis Museum, Benaki museum