Travel Tips for Europe

N. P. Goulandris Foundation Museum of Cycladic Art

2008-04-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

N. P. Goulandris Foundation Museum of Cycladic Art
Kolonáki
If you have an hour to spare, this museum is the best of all the others in
town after the National Archaeological Museum. The Goulandris has wonderfully
informative plaques describing each piece in a collection that celebrates
the art and simple sculpture of the Cycladic tradition, which began
in about 3000 B.C. Famed 20th-century artists such as Brancusi, Henry
Moore, Modigliani, and Picasso were all inspired by these sculptures. The
museum’s second floor houses ancient Greek pieces, many from the fifth
century B.C.
See map p. 539. 4 Neoph;tou Douká Kolonáki. % 210-722-8321 or 210-722-8323.
www.cycladic-m.gr. Metro: Evangelismos. Bus/trolley: A5, A6, A95, E7, 3, 7, 8,
13, 200, 214, 220, 221, 222, or 235. Admission: 3.50€ ($4.05) adults, 1.80€ ($2.05) students.
Open: Mon and Wed–Fri 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Sat 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
More cool things to see and do
Wandering the city in search of less touristy ruins: It seems
that everyone who visits Athens makes a beeline to the Acropolis,
and most also find their way to the Agora and the National
Archaeological Museum, but then many travelers set sail for the
islands, leaving the rest of the city’s vast archaeological heritage
to the few who stay an extra day and explore a bit.
The best of the remaining ancient sites includes Hadrian’s Arch
(on Amalías Avenue, between Vasilissis Olgas and Dionissiou
streets), through which the Roman emperor marched in A.D. 132
to dedicate the gigantic Temple of the Olympian Zeus (%210-
922-6330). Built a little bit at a time between 515 B.C. and A.D. 132,
the temple measures 360 by 143 feet. Fifteen of the original 104
columns are still standing, each an impressive 56 feet high. The
sight is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; admission is 2€ ($2.30).
The octagonal Tower of the Wind (where Eolou Avenue ends at
Pelopída Street) was built in the first century B.C. and once held a
water clock, which measured time by the fall or flow of water. In the
18th century, whirling dervishes did their religious spinning dance
at the tower.
An ancient cemetery called the Keramikós (%210-346-3553), 500
yards from the Agora at 148 Ermoú St., was outside the walls of the
ancient city. You can still see some of the old walls here, as well as
the ancient city gates. The cemetery site has roads lined with
tombs and includes a section of the Sacred Way. Hours are Tuesday
through Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; admission is 2€ ($2.30).
Seeing the changing of the guard: Athens’s version of this tradition
is much more entertaining than its London counterpart. The
guards wear shoes with pom-poms on the toes and march in a
comical, stiff-legged style. They stand at attention in front of the
Parliament building and march back and forth in front of the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier (both are on S;ntagma Square). The dutyrotation
ceremony occurs every Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
Enjoying some Greek music and dancing: All over Athens, bouzoúki
clubs — named after a mandolin-type instrument often played in
them — can give you a tase of traditional folk music and dancing.
The musical styles include the rebétika tunes of the urban lower
class or dimotiká, upbeat country folk music. Greeks traditionally
show their appreciation for the music by smashing plates, but you
should check with the staff before you do this because many clubs
don’t allow this anymore. (Places that still do charge you or let you
buy them before the show.)
As you get farther from the Pláka neighborhood, the clubs get more
authentically Greek. Still, most clubs are used to seeing a lot of
tourists, and the waiters can teach you some simple dances. Things
really get busy around 11 p.m., but if you want a good seat you’d
better arrive early.
For good rebétika music, try Rebétiki Istorís, 181 Odos Ippókratous
(%210-642-4937); Taximi, 29 Odos Isávron (%210-363-9919); or
Stoa Athanaton, 19 Sofokleous in the Centrsal Meat Market (%010-
321-4362). Taverna Mostroú, 22 Odos Mnissikléos (%010-324-
2441), is a top-notch dimotiká club. More club info is available in
Athenscope magazine, which you can get at news kiosks.
You can see the most authentic, artistic folk dancing in the open-air
shows put on by performers from the Dora Stratou Folk Dance
Theater (%210-924-4395 or 210-922-6210), May through September
nightly at 9 p.m. (plus 8:15 p.m. Wed and Sun) on Philopáppou Hill.

Guided tours
Hop-in sightseeing tours (%210-428-5500; www.hopin.com) make the
rounds of 25 Athenian stops in a two-hour circuit between 9 a.m. and
4 p.m., and you can get on and off at will (and make use of a free tour
guide at the Acropolis, where admission is extra). The bus stops at all
the major sights in this chapter and on S;ntagma Square.
Tickets cost a steep 42€ ($48) and are good for two days; you can get
them at travel agents or on the bus. Hop-in also offers variants on the
bus tour for 46€ to 64€ ($53–$74); the higher price is for a tour that
includes either lunch at a Pláka tavern or a two-hour guided tour at the
Acropolis and a stop at the National Archaeological Museum (the cost
of the tour covers admission fees).
Key Tours (%210-923-3166; www.keytours.com) offers half-day tours of
Athens that include the Acropolis, the University, Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier, the Academy, Temple of Olympian Zeus. Tours cost $50. A night
tour that includes dinner in the Pláka runs $58.

Following an itinerary
If you’re the type who’d rather organize your own tours, this section
offers some tips for building your own Athens itineraries.

If you have one day
If you see only one sight in Athens, it has to be the Acropolis, with its
mighty Parthenon, the most famous Greek temple in the world and the
symbol of the city itself. Spend the whole morning here admiring the
work of the ancients, their temples and theaters, and the sculpture and
other artifacts in the on-site museum.
After lunch (grab a souvlaki to go and some pita), trolley up to the
incredible National Archaeological Museum, housing one of the richest
collections of antiquities in the world.
In the late afternoon, head to the Pláka to explore its alleyways and
nightlife. Have dinner under the sycamores of Platanos Taverna, and,
if you’re there between May and September, head to Philopáppou Hill
before 10:15 p.m. to take in a performance of the Dora Stratou Folk
Dance Theater. In winter, just find a traditional bouzoúki club after
dinner and clap along.

If you have two days
Spend Day 1 as described in the previous section. On Day 2, start off at
the Ancient Agora, exploring its ruins and visiting the museum inside
the famed Stoa of Attalos to see, literally, the machinery of the world’s
first democracy.
Afterward, delve briefly into the Pláka for an early lunch at one of its
sidewalk tavernas (Thanasis is excellent). Make sure you get to the N. P.
Goulandris Foundation Museum of Cycladic Art by 2:30 p.m. so you
can admire its beautiful and highly stylized ancient statues.
Return to the Pláka in the late afternoon to seek out some of the less
famous ancient architectural ruins hidden in its back alleys, such as
Hadrian’s Arch. Then rustle up some dinner at Palia Plakiotiki Taverna
or Taverna Xinos, and find a bouzoúki club to plant yourself in for an
evening of retsina, ouzo, and song.

If you have three days
If you can manage it, I would definitely give Athens only the two days
described previously and spend the third day in Delphi (see the next
section, “Traveling Beyond Athens”).
The best way to do this, if you’re arriving in Greece by ferry, is to take
the bus from Patras to Delphi the night you arrive. (I’m not counting this
as one of your three days because the boats arrive in the late afternoon.)
Stay the night in Delphi, and then spend Day 1 clambering around the
evocative ruins, consulting the oracle (at least in your imagination), and
touring the museum before hopping a late afternoon (or evening) bus to
Athens. Then you can spend Day 2 and Day 3 of your Greek odyssey in
Athens.
If you arrive in Greece by plane, spend Day 1 and Day 2 as described in
the preceding section, but leave Athens on the evening of the second
day for Delphi. Spend the night there before exploring the mountainside
the next day, returning to Athens in the evening again for a late dinner.

2007-11-12T01:49:00.000-08:00

National Archaeological Museum
Neapolis

This museum is one of the greatest archaeological museums in the world —
a testament to all of Greece’s eminence and beauty hundreds of years before
the rise of Rome and thousands of years before Columbus set sail for the
New World.
You need three hours for even a perfunctory run-through. Aspiring archaeologists
may want to stay most of a day and maybe even part of a second.
The collections are hard to understand fully or enjoy without plenty of
background info, so I recommend you invest in a catalog guide.
Life-sized and oversized bronze statues from Athens’s Golden Age (400s
B.C.) are the most striking artifacts in the museum. These include Poseidon
about to throw his (now missing) trident, a tiny child jockey atop a galloping
horse, and the “Marathon Boy” striking a disco pose. Most of these
bronzes were found at the bottom of the ocean in shipwrecks by divers in
the late 19th and 20th centuries.
Representing the sixth and seventh centuries B.C., the museum presents
statues of kouroi — attractive young men with cornrow hair, taking one
step forward with their arms rigidly at their sides. These figures, adapted
from Egyptian models, set the standard in Greek art until the Classical
period ushered in more anatomically correct and naturalistic sculpture.
See map p. 539. 44 Patissíon (October 28 Ave.; several long blocks north of Omónia
Square). %210-821-7717 or 210-821-7724. www.culture.gr. Bus/trolley: A5, A8,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 22, 60, or 200. Admission: 6€ ($6.90) adults, free under 18
and for all the first Sun of each month. Open: In summer, Tues–Thurs 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m.
and Fri–Sun 8 a.m.–7 p.m.; in winter Mon 10:30 a.m.–7 p.m., Tues–Sun 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

More cool things to see and do
Wandering the city in search of less touristy ruins: It seems
that everyone who visits Athens makes a beeline to the Acropolis,
and most also find their way to the Agora and the National
Archaeological Museum, but then many travelers set sail for the
islands, leaving the rest of the city’s vast archaeological heritage
to the few who stay an extra day and explore a bit.
The best of the remaining ancient sites includes Hadrian’s Arch
(on Amalías Avenue, between Vasilissis Olgas and Dionissiou
streets), through which the Roman emperor marched in A.D. 132
to dedicate the gigantic Temple of the Olympian Zeus (%210-
922-6330). Built a little bit at a time between 515 B.C. and A.D. 132,
the temple measures 360 by 143 feet. Fifteen of the original 104
columns are still standing, each an impressive 56 feet high. The
sight is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; admission is 2€ ($2.30).
The octagonal Tower of the Wind (where Eolou Avenue ends at
Pelopída Street) was built in the first century B.C. and once held a
water clock, which measured time by the fall or flow of water. In the
18th century, whirling dervishes did their religious spinning dance
at the tower.
An ancient cemetery called the Keramikós (%210-346-3553), 500
yards from the Agora at 148 Ermoú St., was outside the walls of the
ancient city. You can still see some of the old walls here, as well as
the ancient city gates. The cemetery site has roads lined with
tombs and includes a section of the Sacred Way. Hours are Tuesday
through Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; admission is 2€ ($2.30).
Seeing the changing of the guard: Athens’s version of this tradition
is much more entertaining than its London counterpart. The
guards wear shoes with pom-poms on the toes and march in a
comical, stiff-legged style. They stand at attention in front of the

Parliament building and march back and forth in front of the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier (both are on S;ntagma Square). The dutyrotation
ceremony occurs every Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
Enjoying some Greek music and dancing: All over Athens, bouzoúki
clubs — named after a mandolin-type instrument often played in
them — can give you a tase of traditional folk music and dancing.
The musical styles include the rebétika tunes of the urban lower
class or dimotiká, upbeat country folk music. Greeks traditionally
show their appreciation for the music by smashing plates, but you
should check with the staff before you do this because many clubs
don’t allow this anymore. (Places that still do charge you or let you
buy them before the show.)
As you get farther from the Pláka neighborhood, the clubs get more
authentically Greek. Still, most clubs are used to seeing a lot of
tourists, and the waiters can teach you some simple dances. Things
really get busy around 11 p.m., but if you want a good seat you’d
better arrive early.
For good rebétika music, try Rebétiki Istorís, 181 Odos Ippókratous
(%210-642-4937); Taximi, 29 Odos Isávron (%210-363-9919); or
Stoa Athanaton, 19 Sofokleous in the Centrsal Meat Market (%010-
321-4362). Taverna Mostroú, 22 Odos Mnissikléos (%010-324-
2441), is a top-notch dimotiká club. More club info is available in
Athenscope magazine, which you can get at news kiosks.
You can see the most authentic, artistic folk dancing in the open-air
shows put on by performers from the Dora Stratou Folk Dance
Theater (%210-924-4395 or 210-922-6210), May through September
nightly at 9 p.m. (plus 8:15 p.m. Wed and Sun) on Philopáppou Hill.

Following an itinerary
If you’re the type who’d rather organize your own tours, this section
offers some tips for building your own Athens itineraries.

Exploring Athens - Athens’s top sights

2007-08-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

Exploring Athens

The congested, sprawling, and polluted appearance of Athens today
can’t hide the fact that it was once the center of Western culture. The
world-class sights located here are a testament to the city’s history as
the seat of European civilization, and they mustn’t be missed.

Athens’s top sights

The Acropolis and the Parthenon
Located right in the heart of Athens, the Acropolis Hill is where, mythology
tells us, the gods Athena and Poseidon squared off to see who could
take better care of the local citizens and thus become the city’s guardian
and namesake. (Poseidon produced a saltwater spring from the ground;
Athena topped him by inventing the versatile olive tree.)
The Acropolis is part of Greece’s identity, a landmark that symbolizes the
country itself. At the top rests the mighty Parthenon, a temple that rises
nobly above Athens, reminding the modern city of its ancient heritage.
Allow a good two to three hours to tour the Acropolis and its museum.
You enter by climbing stairs to the Beulé Gate, built by the Roman Emperor
Valerian in A.D. 267. The cute little Ionic temple of Athena Nike (built 424
B.C., rebuilt A.D. 1940) is perched on your right as you climb.
The world has bigger and better-preserved ancient shrines, but the
Parthenon still remains the poster child of Greek temples. Between 447
and 438 B.C., the Athenians spent lavishly to build this shrine to their
patron. A 40-foot statue of Athena (a small Roman copy of it is in the
National Archaeological Museum) once graced this all-marble temple. The
structure is perfectly proportioned, and a few architectural tricks make it
appear flawless to the naked eye. To compensate for the eye’s natural tendency
to create illusions, the horizontal surfaces are bowed slightly
upward in the middle to appear perfectly level, the columns lean slightly
inward to appear parallel, and each is thicker in the middle so it looks like
a textbook cylinder to you and me.
The Parthenon remained virtually intact through the Middle Ages. It
became an Orthodox church in the sixth century, a Catholic church during
the Crusades, and an Islamic mosque when the Turks occupied the region.
But its luck ran out when the Venetians attacked the Turkish city in 1687.
The Turks stored ammunition in the old temple, and when a Venetian cannonball
hit the stockpile, the armaments exploded and blew the Parthenon
to pieces.
Although the temple was once covered almost entirely with sculptures and
ornamental carvings, only a few sculptured spots remain on the Parthenon
today. British Lord Elgin collected almost all the other sculpted friezes and
pediment pieces from the rubble — destroying many in the process — and
shipped them to England from 1801 to 1811. These bits of the original
Parthenon remain in the British Museum, even though the Greek government
has asked for their return many times. British officials have repeatedly
refused, citing Athens’s lack of a suitable museum in which to display
the marbles. In response, Athens has begun to construct such a museum
at the foot of the Acropolis. Although the hope was that it would be completed
in time for the Olympics (and the Greeks could use the international
attention to once again pressure the Brits), the structure is, as of this writing,
still just a construction site.
If you look down the Acropolis’s south side, you see the half-moon shapes
of two theaters. The huge one to the east that is mostly in ruins is the
Theater of Dionysus, built in 330 B.C. (entrance on Dionyssíous
Aeropayítou; %010-322-4625). Near the entrance to the Acropolis lies the
Odeum of Heródes Átticus, which was built in A.D. 174 and restored in
recent centuries to stage concerts during the Athens Festival from June to
October (for information, call the festival office at %010-322-1459 or the
Odeum at %010-323-2771).
The 12€ ($14) admission ticket is valid for seven days and includes admission
to the Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum, the Ancient Agora, the
Theater of Dionysus, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and the Karameikos
Cemetery as well as the Roman Forum and the Tower of the Winds. It is
still possible for visitors to buy individual tickets at sights other than the
Acropolis.
See map p. 539. The Acropolis entrance is on the west side of the hill and can be
reached from a path off Dioskoúon and Theorías streets. % 210-321-0219; 010-
323-6665 for the museum. Metro: Acropolis. Bus/trolley: A2, A2e, A3, 1, 5, 9, 15, 40, 57,
110, 126, or 230. Admission: 12€ ($14) ; free first Sun of the months Oct–June and
every Sun Nov–Mar. Acropolis open: Summer, Tues–Sun 8 a.m.–7 p.m., Mon noon to
7 p.m.; winter, daily 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.; closed occasionally in the early afternoon.
Acropolis Museum open: Mon 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Tues– Sun 8 a.m.– 7 p.m. Call the Greek
National Tourism Organization (%210-331-0437) for details and precise hours for
this year.

The Ancient Agora (Market)

The everyday life of ancient Athenians revolved around the Agora, or marketplace.
But like the Forum in Rome, not much is left of the historic
market today; it appears as little more than a dusty bowl filled with mangy
trees, broken-down pediments among the grass, and rows of broken
column stubs marking the borders of temples and buildings from a bygone
era. Still, the Agora takes a good two hours to sift through the rubble and
study the reconstructed bits — longer for real students of history.
The Hephaisteion, built between 449 and 444 B.C. (and one of the world’s
best-preserved Greek temples), and the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos are
the two most remarkable remains. A stoa was a series of columns spaced
evenly apart supporting a long roof under which shopkeepers set up business,
people met, and philosophers held court in the shade. One famous
thinker named Zeno held classes under a stoa so often that his disciples
were known as the Stoics.
The Agora’s interesting museum is in the huge Stoa of Attalos, which was
built in the second century B.C. and rebuilt in the 1950s. In many ways, the
Agora is a museum of modern democracy; the most fascinating artifacts
document systems the ancients used to carry out their famous democratic
processes. For example, you can see bronze jury ballots — jurors voted
with a bronze wheel with a solid axle if they felt the man on trial was innocent,
with an empty axle if they found the defendant’s story as hollow as
the rod.
The museum also has a marble kleroterion (allotment machine) that looks
very much like a modern lotto machine. Bronze tickets bearing the names
of government officials were inserted into slots, and colored balls would
fall from a tube and randomly determine who among those names would
fulfill various civic duties, such as serving on a committee.
The museum also has a collection of pottery shards called óstraka, on
which, once a year, Athenians could write the name of any man they
thought had gained too much power and, thus, threatened the democracy.
If any person’s name appeared on the majority of óstraka, he would be
ostracized, or banished, from Athens for ten years. (And now you know
where the term came from.)
See map p. 539. The entrance to the Ancient Agora is on Andrianou Street at Ayiou
Philippou Square, just east of Monastiráki Square and below the Acropolis. Metro:
Thiseio or Monastiráki. Bus/trolley: 35 or 731. %210-321-0185. Admission: 4€($4.60)
adults. Open: Daily 8:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.

Athens’s runner-up restaurants

2007-08-11T02:11:00.000-07:00

Athens’s runner-up restaurants

Damigos
$ Pláka This cellar taverna has specialized in deep-fried codfish and
eggplant for almost 150 years. Add in the cheap meats and stews, and
you’ve got one of the best values on the Pláka’s main drag. See map p. 539.
Odos Kidathineon 41. %210-322-5084.

Kouklis Ouzeri
$ Pláka Kouklis is the best Pláka joint for mezédes of all shapes and
sizes. Pick and choose from the dozen presented on the platter or go all
out and splurge on the whole shebang. See map p. 539. Odos Tripodon 14
(between Flessa and Thespidos).%210-324-7605.

Palia Plakiotiki Taverna
$$ Pláka This series of beautiful flowering terraces, complete with a
band playing traditional Greek tunes, may look contrived, but this place
is the genuine article. Locals come to this ancient taverna for good food
and a rousing good time singing along with the music. Prices are a bit high,
but think of it as cheap admission for the floor show. Try to book ahead.
See map p. 539. Odos Lissou 26. %010-322-8722.

Thanasis
$ Pláka Thanasis sells great souvlaki with a pita for just 1.45€ ($1.65).
Get the food to go or eat at an outdoor table amid the throngs at this
bustling corner of the Pláka. Good fries, too. See map p. 539. 69 Odos
Metropóleon (just off Monastiráki Square). %210-324-4705.

Athens’s top restaurants

2007-08-10T03:42:00.000-07:00

Athens’s top restaurants

Daphne’s
$$$$$ Pláka ELEGANT GREEK/NOUVELLE
This neoclassical 1830s former home features frescoes on the walls, a
shady garden with bits of ancient marble found on site when the restaurant
was built, and sophisticated Athenians at many tables. The cuisine
here gives you all the old favorites (try the zesty eggplant salad) with new
distinction, and combines familiar ingredients in innovative ways (delicious
hot pepper and feta cheese dip). Most nights a pair of strolling musicians
performs their repertoire that ranges from Greek favorites to “My
Darling Clementine.”
See map p. 539. 4 Lysikratous St. (across from Hadrian’s Gate). %and Fax: 210-
322-7971. Reservations recommended. Metro: Akropoli. Bus/trolley: A2, A2e, A3, 1, 5,
9, 15, 40, 57, 110, 126, or 230. Main courses: 16€–25€ ($18–$29). Open: Dinner daily.
AE, DC, MC, V. Closed Dec 20–Jan 15.

Diros Restaurant
$$$$ Near S;ntagma Square GREEK
What more could you want? It’s not expensive, it’s right off S;ntagma
Square, it has both an air-conditioned interior and sidewalk tables, it’s
been around forever (technically, the original Diros closed some yearsback, but the staff stuck together and reopened a new “Diros” just like the
old one in this location) and the food couldn’t be more satisfying. If you
need a break from Greek food, this family-friendly joint also serves more
familiar dishes such as spaghetti and roast chicken with french fries.
See map p. 539. 10 Odos Xenofóndos (one block south of S;ntagma Square).
%210-323-2392. Reservations suggested. Metro: S;ntagma Square. Bus/trolley: A2,
A3, B2, B3, E2, E6, 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 15, 25, 26, 27, 40, 57, or 110. Main courses:
10€–18€ ($12–$21). Fixed-price menus: 13€–19€ ($15–$22). AE, DC, MC, V. Open:
Lunch and dinner daily.

Platanos Taverna
$$ Pláka GREEK
This classic Greek taverna is located on a tree-lined bend in a residential
street. The interior features a simple mix of paintings, photos, and oldfashioned
Greek ambience. Platanos serves hearty mainstays of Greek cuisine
cooked simply but with a keen eye for freshness and quality.
See map p. 539. 4 Odos Dioyénous (near the intersection of Adrianoú and Eólou).
% 210-322-0666. Metro: Monastiráki. Bus: 25, 26, or 27. Main courses: 7€–15€
($8.05–$17). No credit cards. Open: Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat; also lunch Sun
Mar–May and Sept–Oct.

Restaurant Kentrikon
$$$ Near S;ntagma Square INTERNATIONAL
Locals find that the excellent food at this huge restaurant is worth the comparatively
high prices. The best bets on the menu include the lamb ragout
with spinach, chicken with okra, and the special macaroni. Although
everything at this air-conditioned, 1960s joint is quite informal, the service
is top-notch.
See map p. 539. 3 Odos Kolokotróni (one block up from Stadíou). %210-323-2482.
Metro: S;ntagma Square. Bus: 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 15, 25, 26, 27, 40, 100, or 200. Main
courses: 7€–17€ ($8.05–$20). AE, DC, MC, V. Open: Lunch Mon–Fri.

Rhodia Taverna
$$$ Kolonáki GREEK
The atmosphere at this relatively cheap restaurant is among the best in
Athens. The décor includes lacy curtains, dark wood paneling, wine kegs,
and a vine-sheltered garden in back. Yet the ambience can’t steal the show
from the superb food; try the octopus in mustard sauce, light bourékis
(vegetable-filled pastries), or lemon-tinged beef.
See map p. 539. 44 Odos Aristípou (off Kolonáki Square). % 210-722-9883.
Reservations suggested. Bus: 22, 60, or 200. Main courses: 7.50€–16€($8.65–$18). No
credit cards. Open: Dinner Mon–Sat.

Taverna Xinos
$$$ Pláka GREEK
Live music and folksy murals give this place an informal feel, but this is
one of the city’s best restaurants. For a real cultural treat, arrive after
9 p.m. — that’s when the locals and connoisseurs arrive — and sit back,
relax, and enjoy a liesurely dinner. The dolmádes, moussaká, and lamb fricassee
are all delicious.
See map p. 539. 4 Angélou Yéronda (sometimes spelled “Geronta;” either way, it’s in
the heart of the Pláka, between Kidathinéon and Iperídou). %210-322-1065. Metro:
Akropoli. Bus/trolley: A2, A2e, A3, 1, 5, 9, 15, 40, 57, 110, 126, or 230. Main courses:
7€–16€ ($8.05–$18). No credit cards. Open: Dinner daily (sometimes closes Sun).
Closed part of July and Aug.

Dining in Athens

2007-08-10T03:38:00.000-07:00

Dining in Athens

Greeks are more concerned about the quality and freshness of the food
than the appearance of the restaurant. The old travel adage, “Seek out
the place crowded with local families having a good time,” definitely
holds true in Athens. Lots of eateries look like dives but serve food fit
for the gods on Mount Olympus. The dinner hour is rather late, starting
anywhere from 9 to 11 p.m., so be sure to drop by a taverna (a Greek
cafe) in the early evening to tide you over.

A key part of the Greek diet are mezédes, appetizers served before the
meal or on their own (similar to Spain’s tapas). Greeks eat mezédes with
wine at a laid-back taverna or with ouzo (a popular anise-flavored hard
drink) at an ouzerie (a cafe where you find ouzo, wine, and mezédes).
The tastiest are tzatzíki (a yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and mint dip),
melitzanosaláta (eggplant salad), grilled kalamarákia (squid), oktapódi
(octopus), and loukánika (sausage).

Other outstanding dishes served either as mezédes or as entrees are
dolmádes (grape leaves stuffed with rice, pine nuts, and currants), souvlaki
(shish kebabs of pork or lamb), keftédes (coriander- and cuminspiced
fried meatballs), spanokópita (spinach and feta pie), moussaká
(an eggplant, potato, and minced meat casserole with a melted cheese
crust), and other dishes of arní (lamb), kotópoulo (chicken), or choirinó
(pork).

Greek giaoúrti (yogurt) is the creamiest and most delicious I’ve ever
tasted. My favorite Greek meal is apple slices dipped in thick, plain
yogurt. The ancient Greeks liked méli (honey) mixed with nectar so much they called it ambrosia, “food of the gods.” You may feel the same
way after drizzling some over your yogurt for dessert. Baklavá is flaky,
thin pastry dough called phyllo layered with nuts and soaked in honey.
S;ka Mavrodáfni is figs baked in red wine and served in a spice, orangewater,
and honey sauce.

The quality of the seafood isn’t always what you would expect it to be in
Athens; overfishing and the resulting restrictions have led to high prices
and freshness concerns. The port city of Piraeus boasts the best seafood
restaurants in the area.

Wine may have been invented by the Greeks, but you wouldn’t know it
from the turpentine-flavored retsina, which is flavored with pine resin
and has mysteriously become Greece’s most famous wine. Un-resined
krasí may be more palatable to your tastes. Although most Greeks prefer
whiskey these days, the national alcoholic beverage is ouzo, a clear,
anise-flavored liqueur that turns milky white when you add water.
For lunch on the run, gobble a gyro — a pocket of pita bread filled with
strips of roasted spiced meat — there are countless gyro joints everywhere
around town. Otherwise, you can stop by any taverna for a nourishing
round of mezédes.

Athens’s runner-up accommodations

2007-08-10T03:34:00.000-07:00

Athens’s runner-up accommodations

Hotel Achilleas
$$ Pláka This sister to the Hotel Pláka was renovated in 2001 and is a
nice 3-star property with modern minimalist lines, but what makes it really
stand out is the general friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. See map
p. 539. 21 Lekka St.%210-323-3197. Fax: 210-322-2412. www.achilleashotel.gr.

Hotel Hera
$$ Makriyánni This hotel really has some of the best Acropolis views
in town from the lush rooftop garden. Rooms are boring but have balconies.
The location is in a quiet part of town. See map p. 539. Odos Falirou 9
(between Odos Petmeza and Odos Donta).%210-923-6682. Fax: 210-924-7334.

Hotel Pláka
$ Pláka This place offers breezy, modern accommodations with comfy
amenities and balconies in the heart of the Pláka. Get a room on the fifth
or sixth floor on the back side for a great view of the Acropolis. See map
p. 539. 7 Odos Kapnikareas (at Mitropoleos). % 210-322-2096. Fax: 210-322-2412.
www.plakahotel.gr.

Jason Inn Hotel
$ Near Monastiráki On the north side of the Agora, this hotel is simple,
clean, comfortable, relatively quiet, and cheap. What more could you ask
for? Rates include breakfast, served on the rooftop garden terrace. See map
p. 539. 12 Odos Asomaton (a block off Ermou). %210-325-1106. Fax: 210-523-4786.

Parthenon
$$$ Pláka Literally steps from the Acropolis, this modern hotel on the
southern edge of the Pláka offers cut-rate prices. See map p. 539. Odos Makri
6 (just south of Odos Dionissiou Aeropagitou and Hadrian’s Arch). %210-923-4594.
Fax: 210-644-1084.

Orienting Yourself in Athens, Getting There, Accomodation

2007-08-10T03:29:00.000-07:00

Orienting Yourself in Athens

Athens is a sprawling metropolis with an insatiable appetite for the
surrounding countryside, which it continues to devour at a rapid pace.
Still, the center of the city preserves the Acropolis and many other
ancient ruins scattered among Byzantine churches, Turkish buildings,
19th-century boulevards, and modern metropolitan gridlock. And the
work done to prepare for the 2004 Olympic Games should clean up and
make more user-friendly many parts of the historic center of town. The
one Athens landmark you have to locate and remember is S;ntagma
Square, the political, geographical, and traffic center of the city.

Introducing the neighborhoods

From S;ntagma Square, the Pláka stretches to the southwest; this
largely pedestrian- and tourist-friendly quarter is one of the most colorful
old sections of town. I recommend that you spend the bulk of your
visit here.
The southwest corner of the Pláka is bounded by the Acropolis Hill,
which draws visitors with its majestic Parthenon temple and other
famous ancient ruins from the time when Athens was the center of
Western civilization. The Monastiráki neighborhood, which features a
flea market and shop-lined street, lies north of the Acropolis and west
of the Pláka, next to the Ancient Agora.
North of the Pláka and S;ntagma Square, all roads lead to Omónia
Square, the hub of a district that was once the commercial heart of the
city. The square was redone for the Olympics, so returning visitors may
notice fewer car lanes choking the area with traffic.
Northeast of S;ntagma Square you find the shopping and residential
zone called Kolonáki. Although no longer the city’s trendy hotspot
(newer suburbs have stolen that title), the district is still a chic, happening
spot. Due south of S;ntagma Square is Mets, a trendy residential and
intellectual quarter.
The relatively undiscovered neighborhood of Makriyánni, south of the
Acropolis, is a moderately upscale area, full of good hotels, restaurants,
and shopping. Southwest of this neighborhood is an even bigger secret —
the Koukáki residential zone, with inexpensive hotels and a modest,
thoroughly Athenian restaurant scene.

Finding information after you arrive
The Greek National Tourist Organization (often shortened to the Greek
acronym EOT), at 7 Tsochas St., is open Monday through Friday from
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (%210-870-0000; www.gnto.gr). It offers maps and
information about Athens.

Getting Around Athens
I find that the best way to get around town is usually to use my feet
and hail the occasional taxi. Except for a few longer excursions to visit
museums, you may spend most of your time in or near the pedestrianfriendly
Pláka.
The traffic in Athens is worse than in any other European city. The hornhonking,
erratic driving, pollution, and daily congestion are worse in
Athens than even in Rome and Naples. Drivers routinely turn left from
the far right lane of a multilane boulevard, or use a string of empty parking
spots as their own personal passing lane. I definitely urge you not to
drive here.

By Metro (Subway)
The Metro (%210-679-2399; www.ametro.gr) system in Athens is clean
and efficient but not quite finished. Line one begins at Piraeus, Athens’s
seaport, and runs through central Athens before terminating north of
the city at Kifissia, an upscale suburb. Lines two and three make a large
X across the city, meeting at S;ntagma Square, and each is currently
being extended on either end. For tourists, the most useful stops are
S;ntagma Square, Akropoli, and Monastiráki, each of which is centrally
located and offers access to two of the Metro lines.
A single ticket costs 0.70€ (80˘); a day pass is 2.90€ ($3.35). Children
under 6 ride free. Buy tickets at machines and booths inside the stations.
Keep your ticket (good for one trip, including transfers, and valid for 90
minutes from the time you stamp it) with you until you exit the Metro.

By bus and trolley
Athens has several overlapping bus and bus-trolley networks. Blue
minibuses stop at red signs every two blocks. Both minibus 100 and
200 stop on the north side of S;ntagma Square before continuing to the
commercial district just north. The 200 minibus cuts a wider perimeter
around the district, though, and also stops at the National Archaeological
Museum, making it especially useful for visitors.
Bus and trolley tickets, which are sold in the Metro stations and at ticket
kiosks, cost .45€ (50˘) and are good for one trip only, no transfers.
Athens has expanded and reconfigured its public-transportation system
to accommodate the increased traffic that typically accompanies the
Olympics. Now that the Games are over, there may be even more changes,
as the city exhales its collective breath and returns to “normal.” Upon
your arrival in the city, pick up transportation maps to help you sort out
the bus and bus-trolley routes.

By taxi
Taxis are cheaper in Athens than in any major European city — if you
pay close attention to avoid getting charged improperly high rates. Taxis
are the simplest way to get from doorstep to doorstep, and they occasionally
provide the added bonus of a white-knuckle thrill ride. The
charge for taxis is .75€ (85˘), plus .26€ (30˘) per kilometer. If you leave
the city limits, the per-kilometer charge rises to .50€ (60˘). The fee for
luggage is .30€ (35˘) per piece. The night rate (between midnight and
5 a.m.) is .50€ (60˘) per kilometer. The surcharge for stopping at the airport
is 2€ ($2.30).
The number of unlicensed cab drivers around Athens is increasing.
Usually, these pirate cabbies (many from Eastern Europe) don’t drive
the standard gray Athens taxi, but a similar gray car. Making sure your
cab driver has a meter and a photo ID is a good idea. Make sure the
meter rate reads “1” — it should only read “2” if you’re going well outside
the central city. And don’t be shocked if your driver picks up other
passengers during your ride. A taxi can carry other customers to destinations
that are on the way, but everyone pays separately. Just check
the amount on the meter when you climb in, and pay the difference
when you get out.
You can hail a taxi on the street or call %210-363-6508, 645-7000, or
222-1623. You pay a small surcharge of 1.30€ ($1.50) when you call a
taxi.

By foot
Many of Athens’s tourist attractions are concentrated in the city center,
and some areas, such as the Pláka, are pedestrianized, so expect to see
much of the city on foot. A new 21/2-mile cobblestone promenade (part
of that “unification” of Athens) wends its way around the base of the
Acropolis and past many ancient ruins. A word of warning: Drivers here
are aggressive, so as a pedestrian, be especially cautious.

Staying in Athens

Almost all the hotels in Athens are simple and basic. Although you can
find some pretty shabby places if you stick to the low end of the price
ladder, you’ll find plenty of clean options if you look around. If you want
to stay near the sightseeing and nightlife, the Pláka or Monastiráki are
your best bets. The Koukáki and Makriyánni residential zones have
plenty of good, clean hotels, which are cheaper than those in the city
center. The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, 24 Stadiou St., 4 blocks north
of S;ntagma Square (%210-323-7193 or 210-322-9912; www.grhotels.
gr/english.html), can help you book a hotel anywhere in Greece.
You should steer clear of only one area: the downtrodden Omónia Square
zone. Once a haven for budget inns, most people now find it too seedy.
Hoteliers increased their prices for the Olympic Games. Although those
prices should have been in place only for the games, there’s no knowing
how long it will take for rates to return to pre-Olympic (read: more reasonable)
levels.
Note: Hotels can ask you for a deposit of 25 percent of one night’s stay.
In the tourism off-season, by all means bargain.

Athens’s top hotels

Acropolis View Hotel
$$$ Makriyánni
This nice hotel, snuggled into a quiet side street on Philopáppou Hill, has
small and unspectacular, but modern rooms with televisions and airconditioning.
A few rooms even live up to the hotel’s name. But if your
room lacks a view, head up to the roof terrace, where you can get outstanding
Acropolis vistas, especially at sunset.
See map p. 539. 10 Webster St. (off Rovértou Gálli, 2 blocks down from its intersection
with Dionysíou Aeropayítou). % 210-921-7303. Fax: 210-923-0705. Metro:
Akropoli. Bus/trolley: A2, A2e, A3, 1, 5, 9, 15, 40, 57, 110, 126, or 230. Rates: 100€–160€
($115–$184) double. Rates include breakfast. AE, MC, V.

Andromeda Hotel
$$$$$ Embassy District
The city’s only boutique hotel is easily the most charming in Athens, with
a staff that makes you feel like this is your home away from home. Rooms
are large and elegantly decorated. The only drawbacks: It’s a serious hike
(20 to 30 minutes) or a ten-minute taxi ride to S;ntagma, and few restaurants
are in this residential neighborhood.
See map p. 539. 15 Timoleontos Vassou St. %210-641-5000. Fax: 210-646-6361. www.
andromedaathens.gr or www.slh.com/andromeda. Metro: Megaron. Bus: 1,
3, 7, 8, 13. Rates: 435€–465€ ($500–$535) double. Rates include breakfast. AE, DC,
MC, V

Trip Tips for Athens and the Greek Islands

2007-08-10T03:20:00.000-07:00

Athens and the Greek Islands

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.