By the fifth century B.C., when the rest of Western civilization was
still in its infancy, Athens was already a thriving metropolis, the
site of one of the world’s first successful democracies. The city gave
birth to influential schools of art, architecture, literature, drama, and
philosophy that continue to be the touchstones of modern culture.
Three magnificent sights from ancient times are preserved in Athens: the
Acropolis Hill, whose Parthenon to Athena is the world’s most famous
ancient temple; a huge archaeological museum; and the Ancient Agora,
the civic laboratory in which contemporary democracy was first developed
and tested.
Even though Athens has one of the most sacred cultural heritages in
Europe, I recommend that visitors see these icons quickly and then
venture out into the rest of Greece. Honestly, the rest of the fabled city
now leaves much to be desired; it’s a tangled, polluted mess of overdevelopment
and traffic.
As I write this, Athens has just come out of the limelight after hosting the
2004 Olympic Games, but changes made for the Games will shape the city
for years to come. In preparation for the games a new airport was built, an
extended Metro system and a new ring road were constructed, sidewalks
near S;ntagma Square were widened, roads were repaved, and traffic patterns
were rerouted. One project completed just before press time was
designed to “unify” Athens’s archaeological sites — focusing on the four
major squares, S;ntagma, Omónia, Monastiráki, and Koumoundourou —
by refurbishing facades throughout these areas and permanently closing
the sites’ access roads to vehicular traffic.
All this work was done with the visitor’s experience in mind, but because
so many transformations to Athens are ongoing, you may find that hours
and prices listed in this chapter have changed by the time you visit. In
addition, price hikes that typically accompany the Olympics may be in
place for some time to come — whether they’ll return to pre-Olympic
levels remains to be seen.
Because Athens is much farther from the heart of Europe than most
people realize, first-time visitors to the Continent and those on a whirlwind
trip should seriously consider whether to invest the time it takes
to visit Greece. They can either fly here from a more-central European
city (luckily, new no-frills airlines — see Chapter 6 — now make this
affordable for many travelers) or be prepared to spend a full six days
on a train and ferry just to get from Rome to Athens and back. Don’t let
me talk you out of seeing Greece if you have your heart set on it. Just
remember this: If you try to squeeze it in, you may be sorely disappointed.
But if you’re able to devote the time it takes to get out of Athens
and explore this beautiful, complex, and history-laden country and its
ancient culture, by all means make the trip.
Getting There
In addition to the usual options for getting to a major European city —
plane, train, bus, and (for adventuresome travelers) automobile —
Athens offers another mode of entry: ferry. But the marine route is not
for everyone; schedules are erratic, and the crossing can be quite long.
Flying is still the best alternative.
After you get to Athens, your feet and taxis are likely to be your best
transportation bets.
Arriving by air
The new Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos (%210-
353-0000; www.aia.gr), 17 miles east of the city at Spata, opened in
March 2001 — a major milestone in Athens’s preparation for the 2004
Olympics (and ahead of schedule, no less).
In the arrivals hall are two airport information desks (one at each end),
three ATMs (near the exits), and two free Internet kiosks. The Greek
National Tourist Organization (GNTO — sometimes abbreviated to the
Greek acronym EOT) occupies a desk between exits two and three in the
arrivals hall, adjacent to the travel agencies. There you can ask about
hotels and transportation into Athens.
A taxi into central Athens will cost 20€ to 30€ ($23–$35); expect the fare
to include a 2€ ($2.30) surcharge for trips to or from the airport and a
0.29€ (35c) charge for each suitcase.
If you decide to take a taxi, ask an airline official or a policeman what the
fare should be, and let the taxi driver know you’ve been told the official
rate before you begin your journey. If you’re taking a taxi to the airport,
try to have the desk clerk at your hotel order it for you well in advance
of your departure. Many taxis refuse to go to the airport, fearing that
they’ll have a long wait before they get a return fare.
The airport-Athens rail link, part of the Suburban Rail, was finished just
in time for the Olympics. The link connects the airport to line two of the
Metro, allowing passengers to travel from the airport to central Athens
in about a half-hour. One-way tickets cost 8€ ($9.20) for one person, 12€
($14) for two people, or 16€ ($18) for three people.
Buses (%195; www.oasa.gr/uk) from the airport into central Athens
cost 2.90€ ($3.35); you can buy a ticket from the driver. Both bus E94
and E95 run to the Ethniki Amyna Metro stop on line three, but E95 continues
on to S;ntagma Square in the heart of Athens, about a 70-minute
trip. Bus E96 stops at the Faliro Metro stop before continuing on to the
Piraeus Metro stop at Athens’s port, southwest of the city; both those
stops are on line one. Your airport bus ticket is good on any of Athens’s
public-transport systems for 24 hours from the time you validate it.
Arriving by ferry
Hordes of travelers take the ferry to Greece from Italy, so you’d think
ferry operators would have standardized their fares and schedules, but
you’d be wrong. The most popular crossing is from Brindisi (on the heel
of Italy’s “boot,” a seven-hour train ride from Rome) to the port of Patras
in Greece. This boat trip takes 10 to 17 hours; ferries usually leave
Brindisi between 7 and 11 p.m. (be on board at least two hours early).
Prices, ranging anywhere from $44 for a deck chair and a restless night
outside (not recommended in poor weather) to $385 for the best cabins,
are highest from late June through August. Eurail-pass holders can ride
for free on Hellenic Mediterranean Lines (HML; www.hml.gr), although
there may be a 20€ ($23) surcharge, plus port charges.
To get to Athens from Patras, you can catch a bus that leaves every 30 to
45 minutes; the trip on Achaia (%210-514-7310 in Athens or 210-623-
887 in Patras) takes two and a half hours and costs about 13€ ($15). You
can also take one of eight daily trains that makes the trek in three and
a half to four hours and costs 5.30€ ($6.10). You can also catch a bus to
Delphi. Make your connections as quickly as possible, because the last
train and bus of the day usually pull out very soon after the ferry arrives,
stranding unsuspecting travelers in uninspiring Patras overnight.
Getting from Rome to Athens this way takes about three full days. Many
people find that flying is the easiest and least expensive alternative for
getting to Athens (especially after you tally all the rail, ferry, meal, and
accommodation costs).
Arriving by rail
Trains (%210-524-0646 or 210-512-4913; www.ose.gr) from Patras
and southern Greece arrive in Athens at Stathmós Peloponníssou
(Peloponnese Station), about a mile northwest of Omónia Square. Across
the tracks is Larissa Station, Athens’s main train station. This is the
arrival spot for trains from the north and, therefore, also from other
countries. From this station, you can take Trolley 1 to S;ntagma Square
or you can get on the Metro (you’re at the Larissa stop).
Arriving by bus
Regional buses pull into Athens at one of two unimaginatively named
bus terminals. Terminal A (for buses from Patras; northern, southern,
and western Greece; and the Peloponnese) is at 100 Kifíssiou Street
(%210-512-4910); from there, city bus 51 runs to a station just west of
Omónia Square. Terminal B (for buses from central Greece, including
Delphi, Thebes, and Meteóra) is at 260 Liossíon St. (%210-512-4910;
www.ktel.org); from this terminal, a dozen city buses go to Attiki Metro
stop, from which you can catch lines one or two.
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