Athens

Many people warned us to just do the Acropolis and not spend much time in Athens. I am so glad that we didn’t listen. All 8 in our party agree that we loved Athens. The city is busy, with crazy drivers – scooters and cabs flying by on either side of you, and graffiti everywhere. However, the city is accessible by walking or public transportation. The streets are lined with Tavernas, restaurants and shops. Our hotels in Athens were both located in the Monastiraki neighborhood which was a great location with lots to do.

Many of the sites, including the Acropolis or Ancient Olympic Stadium, require lots of vertical walking. This was tough with our group of fairly healthy 60-somethings. We can’t imagine doing this much beyond our ages now, and we are all in pretty good shape.

We began our vacation in Athens for two nights. We stayed at the Athens Manor Houses. The rooms were nice but spread out over a couple of blocks with 2 rooms in the main building and 2 down the road. Our room was in the main building on the third floor with no elevators. I highly recommend when making hotel choices to ask about accessibility to rooms by asking if there are there elevators, what floor is the room on etc… The front desk was very helpful with concierge duties to acquire tickets etc… and had bellmen to help with bags.

We explored Athens on foot most of the first day. We found the Acropolis after a long uphill climb, but tickets were timed and we would have had to wait for a couple of hours to go in, so we decided to purchase tickets for the next day. We found the online ticketing to be difficult to navigate which sites were legitimate, so we had the front desk help us with that. The desk also made us reservations at a roof top restaurant with view of the Acropolis – MS Roof Garden. This experience was spectacular! We had a table with unobstructed views of the Acropolis which is lit up so majestically at night. The food and service was amazing!

Restaurants/Food in Athens

I am covering the foods of Greece in a different area, but here are the restaurants we visited in Athens.

MS Rooftop Garden – amazing views of the Acropolis. Fantastic food, cocktails and service. The best calamari we have ever had.

Ydria Café – Plaka, outdoor seating. Delicious traditional Greek food – I had my favorite – Pastitiso – which not many restaurants had.

Diodos Archaias Agoras – taverna just outside of Monisteraki Square with street views of the Acropolis.

Loukoumades – a little shop that makes Greek donut holes called loukoumades. Here you could get traditional with honey and walnuts or pick from any number of toppings including ice cream.

Gelato – everywhere!!!

Mona Lisa’s – Gourmet gelato, popsicles, and chocolate – had a chocolate wall that dripped chocolate!!

Sites/Neighborhoods

Acropolis

The second day, we decided to utilize the Hop On Hop Off bus to save our hips and knees on the hills. This turned out to be a great way to see some of the city and get to the sites. The Acropolis was outstanding. To think that this site was constructed thousands of years ago and is still somewhat intact is amazing. The views of Athens from the top of the Acropolis are superb in every direction. You can see the city buildings, mountains and all the way to the ocean.

Ancient Olympic Stadium

This is a stadium that was built in the 1800s. Some of the guys, Jim among them of course, when up to the top of stadium (about 200 rows up) to take a picture down. Concerts are held in the stadium now and they were setting up for one while we were there. We followed the tunnel to the chamber where every Olympic torch is displayed. This was very cool to see.

Changing of the Guard

This was a good take, watching the traditionally uniformed guards at the House of Parliament change over with their strange routine. They change over hourly, so it is easy to catch one. We walked here from the hotel which required about 100+ stairs, but we could have done it the next day on the Hop On Hop Off bus.

Monastiraki Square and Flea Market

This was a short, straight walk from the hotels and also a stop on the Hop On Hop Off bus. This little square was bustling with people. There are shops set up all around it, leading you into the area where the flea market is. This was more of a touristy area of souvenir shops and little eateries and tavernas. This was a fun place to walk around. Also, the best views of the Acropolis from the surrounding rooftop restaurants is here.

Areas around the square have great outdoor taverna with one street in particular having wonderful views of the Acropolis at night from the street level. We spent our last night in Greece at one of these tavernas and had the best night! It was so relaxing. We never felt rushed at all at any of the restaurants. As a matter of fact, we had to call the waiter over for the check when we were ready to go.

Little Kook

There is a very colorfully and lively decorated area in Athens called Little Kook. Because we were there in October, the décor was all Halloween themed. They change the décor for the time of year. Little Kook has a shop, a restaurant and a café named “Little Kook”. We visited a shop selling Christmas ornaments here and the staff couldn’t have been nicer even though they didn’t allow phots inside the store. We had just come from lunch when we stumbled upon the Halloween extravaganza, so we didn’t eat here. I have read mixed reviews on the café and restaurant stating it overpriced with crazy long wait times and poor customer service. Again, we didn’t try it, so we do not know if this is true, but it was fun to walk through and check out the decorations.

Plaka

Plaka is another neighborhood in Athens between Monastiraki and the Acropolis that we walked through to go to the Acropolis. This was unique as stairs help you navigate the incline. Restaurants are on the patios with the steps going through the center of them. We ate an incredible lunch in Plaka at Ydria Cafè, but not on the stairs.

Next stop, Santorini!!!