A few days in Athens

Don’t go to Athens so many people told me. It’s dirty. It’s dangerous. It’s just another city. But you know what? Paris is just some city with the Eiffel Tower. Cairo is just some city with some pyramids. London is just some city with a big clock. 

I saw the whole city through the eyes of someone just happy to be back with her boyfriend after 6 months long distance. With that being said, I unabashedly loved Athens. The critics of Athens all had the same things to say and while I did see the trash and the poverty I also saw a city clawing its way back to normalcy. Everything was open and everyone was so incredibly welcoming and ready to share their city. 

We arrived Saturday night way later than planned because of flight delays. We assumed there would be nothing open or atleast things would be dwindling down for the night. That wasn’t the case at all. We checked into our hotel and despite being a bit fatigued from the journey, we felt reinvigorated by the life of the city and went across the street to a gyro shop where we were greeted with glass jug of wine and shaved zucchini strips battered and covered in tzatziki. I can only liken the set up to those wings and beer you might find yourself guiltily downing after a night out. But this was zucchini… which is a vegetable… so you don’t have to feel guilty. We had all Sunday and Monday to explore and then the morning and early afternoon of Tuesday before we caught our 4pm flight back to Budapest. Here’s the highlights and a few tips I couldn’t wait to pass on. 

Accommodation

While looking for accommodation I was surprised to discover that hotels and Air BnBs in Athens were about the same price. I’ve been feeling a little wary of AirBnB lately so I searched high and low and finally found The Lotus Inn. Honestly we really lucked out with this one. There were not a lot of reviews but the hotel was running a special discount if you stayed more than 2 nights. Booking straight on their website was a bit cheaper than booking through any of the travel sites like booking.com. I debated booking a hotel with more reviews but I kind of decided that the price and super central location were worth the prospect of being homeless on the streets of Athens. Whatever, if it doesn’t work out it’ll just be a hilarious story I get to write about. Well unfortunately for you it was amazing.

We stayed in the Monastiraki area which seemed to host just as many Greek locals as it did hotels. The hotel was located a 5 minute walk from 2 different subway lines, a 10 minute walk to tons of ruins and tourist sites, and most importantly our room had a stunning view of the Acropolis. Throw in the continental breakfast that I scarfed down like it was my first time discovering the concept of yogurt and fruit as a meal item and you’d be dumb not to prioritize staying here on your next visit to Athens. 

The Sights

Walking from the hotel up to the acropolis created a natural path to see most of the ruins I had on my list. I did start the day feeling a bit overwhelmed with how much I wanted to see. Maybe it wasn’t apparent through my earlier blog posts but it can be super difficult for me to relax on vacation and not feel tied to a to-do list that must Must MUST be full of check marks by the time I board the plane. The insane amount of essential stops in Athens actually did end up taking the pressure off me a bit because there is really no way you can see everything in a few days.  

There are several different passes that you can use to get discounts and cut lines at the different museums. You can purchase a pass that includes entry to the Acropolis and 6 other sites including Hadrian’s Library and the Roman Agora. This pass can be purchased online here or at any of the ticket booths at any site. This particular pass is good for 5 days. 

There was also the Athens City pass which includes much more transportation and guided tour options. This pass seemed a bit more customizable but not worth it if you’ll only be in Athens for less than 72 hours like us.

On top of the insanely awe-inspiring ruins, I also encourage you to check out the natural beauty that Athens has to offer. Off of Syntagma Square which hosts the impressive Parliament building and serves as a meeting spot for many tour groups, is The National Garden.The National Garden looks pristinely manicured while still feeling lush and exotic. It hosts Greece’s Monument of the Unknown Soldier, Botanical garden and museum, and children’s library. The park can also be accessed through Hadrian’s Arch where you can find The Temple of Olympian Zeus. 

The Beach

Maybe I was inspired by the way water is artfully brought to life in the Ancient Greek tragedy, Odysseus. Or maybe I was inspired by the single bead of sweat that traveled from my neck to my butt crack before I even fully boarded the airport bus to the hotel my first night in Athens. Either way I knew I couldn’t go to Greece and not swim in the ocean. We had two options of how to go about getting there. Get your guide offers quite a few excursions that leave from Athens port and take you on a sail boat all around different islands. While this looked amazing we didn’t want to sacrifice our whole day. Additionally, while the prices looked reasonable for what was being offered, we just didn’t want to spend the money. 

Instead we opted to take public transit to a beach south of Athens. I’d had a few flagged on google maps before traveling but asked our tour guide from the food tour his favorite. He told us we had to check out Akti Vouliagmenis, which wasn’t one I had seen. He said it was the best with such animation that we had no choice but to believe him.

Getting there was relatively easy- we took the subway from Monastiraki station and then got on a bus which we rode for about a half hour. We paid 10 euros each for entry. The area was very well maintained with changing rooms, bathrooms, showers, different chairs with tables and umbrellas and all available for first come first serve use. There were cafes and bars every 50 feet or so and nicer seafood restaurants right outside the entrance. We had brought fruit from the Monastiraki market and so just ended up needing to buy more water as it was intensely hot.

There were different boats to rent and excursions leaving from the beach as well as a huge inflatable obstacle course.

Getting home was a bit more difficult. We ended up waiting 45 minutes for a bus that was way too crowded once it finally came. Eventually a different bus came that we got on. We ended up taking that bus to another local bus. Overall the whole experience that should have taken 90 minutes ended up taking about 3 hours. 

Despite the delay in getting back to Athens, our trip to the beach was absolutely worth it- smelly bus ride and all.

Food

I noticed a great pride in the food of every restaurant we passed whether it was a walk up souvlaki cart or a sit down restaurant with a band. 

It was Dans birthday so I booked a street food walking tour through Get Your Guide. You can book a lunch time or dinner one. It started with Souvlaki, traditional Greek street food and then moved to a restaurant where we got a taste of 7 different entrees and traditional Greek alcohol. These entrees were followed by dessert at a Greek bakery. We tried orange cake, Greek yogurt and a sweet cheese.The orange cake was surprisingly my favorite. When I think of Greek food, the first thing that comes to mind isn’t dessert but the sweets I found in Athens were the unexpected cherry on top of my time there. 

 As we walked the tour guide gave a great overview of street food and local restaurants in the area. If you’re not able to attend this tour, definitely make sure you have time for some type of walking tour. The history of Athens is so incredibly layered as it’s just so unbelievably old. Every street has a story and the people of Athens are eager to share them with you. 

For refuel during the day I relied on little juice and yogurt places that could be found all over. My favorite was pure raw watermelon and lime juice and a small bowl of Greek yogurt with honey and nuts.

Monastiraki square has not only a large market with lots of souvenirs but also carts where you can buy fresh fruit for just a few euros.

There were quite a few restaurants that only took euros or upcharged to use a card. Additionally restaurants stayed open way later than expected. We ended up eating dinner at 11pm one night and were definitely not the only people in the restaurant.

Transport

Bus from airport:

We arrived just after midnight because of flight delays. The last metro into the city center leaves the airport at midnight so we ended up taking a bus to Syntagma Square and walked about 15 minutes to our hotel from there. The tickets for the bus were 5 euros each and had to be purchased before boarding. 

Train to airport:

Upon leaving Athens we were happy to see we could take a subway right around the corner from our hotel straight to the airport. We took the M3 line. It does only run every 20 minutes so be sure you plan accordingly.

I found the Athens subway a bit complicated but this is coming from someone who still finds herself taking the wrong train in NYC after living here for 6 years. I think the main problem was not being able to read Greek. The trains came pretty regularly but the ticketing system was a bit complicated as there were lots of 24 -72 hour passes that included a lot of different options. We ended up just buying one time rides which proved to be the most economical as we walked everywhere and only used the subway twice.  

The subways do require you to validate your tickets as you enter AND WHEN YOU EXIT so keep your tickets available until your ride is complete.

Every single station we went through was accessible and had an agent working to answer questions.

Final Thoughts 

Parts of Athens felt nothing like a city at all. The terrain was rough and looked untouched completely by human civilization. Parts of the city looked almost biblical with how sprawling and undeveloped it was. And then you’d walk 10 minutes and find yourself squished in between people waiting to cross a busy street and suddenly you’d remember you were in a city.

But then again, other parts of Athens almost felt like the Truman Show with how picturesque and pristine it all was along with how friendly the shop and restaurant owners were. The attitude towards tourists was really welcoming and I never felt like I was imposing.

I’ve said this before in other travel posts but learning the language even a minimal amount goes a long way. I was really lucky that Dan knows a few basic Greek phrases and can read some Greek. His Greek combined with my Hungarian means we have the most specific language skillset on Earth. Maybe one day we’ll create a hybrid language and it will be the one that stumps historians in a thousand years. 

I also want to say something about languages in general. I am so incredibly privileged and lucky that my mother tongue is English. And that in most places English is the default second language. Traveling to countries where the first language is not English is generally an extremely easy process because I know there will at least be someone who speaks enough to help me. With that being said, there is a sense of entitlement that comes from knowing you don’t need to prepare. I always urge English speakers (not just Americans!) to recognize that just because English is so widely spoken that doesn’t mean you should solely rely on it! Attempting to say hello and thank you in the native language and acknowledging not knowing more goes a long way. It shows an openness and awareness that can be super refreshing. Remember when you are interacting with a server or transit worker in your native language they are probably doing this in more than one language switching back and forth all day and that’s really impressive!

So wherever you choose to travel next do so with grace and the understanding that not everyone knows what you know. 

This is sadly my last travel blog for the next little bit as I settle back in to life in New York. I have bigger things in store, though, so please keep reading. You can always check out my day to day adventures on instagram and check out a few pictures from Athens below.