Day 1 – Early arrival in Athens!
Athens, the capital of Greece, has a population of around 664,000 and is the largest city in Greece and oldest city in the world. Perched high on a rocky outcrop overseeing the city sits Athens’ most iconic site: the Acropolis and Parthenon temple that can be seen from almost every point of central Athens. In addition to this, Athens offers immense charm and ancient history in a romantic setting with its quaint narrow streets, rooftop restaurants, breathtaking sunsets, and, of course, great food and drink – a city not to be missed!
I was pleased to have got to yet another great city on my city breaks list. It was an early morning arrival at the airport for me to catch my 7 am flight to Athens, which is two hours ahead of the UK and takes just over four hours to get there. April was a good time to visit, too, as I just missed out on the Easter weekend; so, prices were cheaper and the crowds thinner. Temperatures were also good and varied between about 17 and 22° C – much more bearable than the intense heat of the summer months. So, from a clothing point of view, it is advisable to take layers and a lightweight jacket in case of any showers.
After a good flight, I arrived in Athens in the early afternoon. It is not a large airport, but it is quite spread out and therefore quite a long walk between arriving at the airport and going to luggage reclaim and the airport exit. Luckily, other than passport control, there were no further border checks to comply with, so it made for a smooth and speedy transit.
The best way to get into the city of Athens from the airport is to use the metro, which is easily accessed at the far side of the airport. It cost me €9 to get to central Athens – I was staying in Plaka, so I took the Blue Line to Monastiraki which is literally a couple of minutes’ walk from Plaka. If you are coming to Athens, the best places to stay are Plaka, Monastiraki, Syntagma and Koukaki, as these areas are safe and allow for easy access to all the main sites of Athens. They can obviously be a little more expensive than other areas, but if you go out of high season, as I did, you will avoid those higher costs.
I left Monastiraki station and stepped out into the town, and straightaway I could feel the charm of the place. I set off for my hotel that should have taken a couple of minutes to arrive at, but I ended up walking the wrong way at first so did a complete tour around the area before arriving at the front of the hotel! So, I checked in and went to look at my room that was lovely and cosy with a nice little balcony, and then went up to the rooftop terrace that I had seen online to look at the amazing views from the top. The view of the Acropolis was stunning and looked so close. After plenty of photos and videos on the terrace, I went for a further wander around the beautiful town of Plaka. The town is known as ‘the Neighbourhood of the Gods’ and is stunning with its narrow streets, neoclassical architecture, and abundance of tavernas and shops that sell everything from great gifts to take home to leather footwear.
In the evening, I decided to try out one of the local tavernas that was a couple of minutes’ walk away from the hotel so that I could sample some traditional Greek fare. I settled for a lovely Greek salad with plenty of feta cheese and a moussaka all of which were delicious and didn’t disappoint. At the end of the meal, I was presented with some local Grecian spirit that I have forgotten the name of now, but it wasn’t ouzo, as I am familiar with that from past holidays in Greece, but it was particularly strong and not to my liking, although probably made me sleep well!
