A city break in Greece without ever visiting Athens first didn’t seem right, so a city break in Athens was booked, and all 
the traveller advice not to go there pushed to one side.
A Year Ago
The flight was almost an hour late taking off because of an engine that wasn’t working, yep!!
This was the one I mentioned in our previous cuppa and a chat – where the pilot announced this and added that this was why the plane was so hot, because that particular engine also controlled the air conditioning; help was on the way to fix it though.
Was this my first sign that I shouldn’t be going to Athens, were the naysayers right?
Landing in Athens
One thing that got my attention as we landed was the scalextric spaghetti junction-esk whirl of busy roads, side by side with a train line and all of it sprawling directly beneath the airport runway. A busy city welcome indeed!
Athens is Marmite
It’s the capital of Greece.
People tend to love it or hate it.
I’d sensed Athens was an extrovert, not easy to pin down like other parts of Greece, it’s too rebellious for that, it won’t sit pretty in a nice little box and it doesn’t waste time comparing itself to anywhere else, it does it’s own thing with an attitude of ‘take it or leave it’.
Athens is edgy, gritty at times, with some rough edges, a Jack in the box of archeological sites, softened by the many rooftop bars and restaurants.
It’s unpretentious, raw, oozing it’s own personality, and it’s very tourist heavy, a buzzing hive of people and shops in the city centre.
You’ll also hear: But “It’s rough”, “not pretty”, “its dirty “ “too much graffiti” “the drugs problems are in your face, with pick pockets everywhere” right?
Bad experiences might come down to a lack of research and planning; then ending up cringing in a badly chosen hotel in a dodgy neighbourhood!! Or falling prey to pickpockets and scammers. Maybe. Though that could happen in any big city tbh.
I think it’s safe to say Athens is a bit of an acquired taste, easy to write off after a 5 min snapshot first impression…..so give it some time!
Delightful
To balance the books, I think more people love Athens than hate it – am I wrong? It’s never short of tourists!
‘Hip and Historic’ I heard someone say – love that!
I heard another traveller say it’s “one of the most misunderstood cities in the world, there’s so much more to it than archaeological sites and its full of personality” they weren’t wrong.
Why Athens Anyway?
It’s distinct personality and edginess appealed to me, curiously.
It wasn’t the historic sites or ancient ruins.
I’d cut Athens out of a Greek island hopping trip a while back and wanted to get back and appreciate the contrast of the capital against what I’d already seen.
The plan was no schedules, no excursions, no alarms waking me up in the morning, just being in the city centre and getting a feel of it, especially being so sharply split between team love and team hate it, and none of the other parts of Greece I’d visited seemed to compare. I wanted to see this ‘other’ face of Greece.
Most people don’t go to Athens for a dedicated holiday – they’re usually using it as an interchange to head onwards somewhere else in Greece or overseas, while the cruise ships and ferries are constantly in and out. Maybe this is partly why I overlooked it before – seeing it as an unnecessary interchange destination rather than a destination in itself.
So the negative hype didn’t put me off?
No.
Yes, there are some gritty neighbourhoods, I’d seen youtubers showing us the real deal, some areas had people openly using needles etc during the day in the street – so I can totally understand wanting to avoid that scene, I think Omonia was one of them, avoid that area – hotels are cheaper there for a reason!! Do your research before you book where to stay, hear what other travellers have fed back recently.
As per everywhere you go, the more desirable locations with easier access to the touristy hubs tend to come at a slightly higher price, so take time to weight it all up. I recommend taking a virtual walk around areas for accommodation via street view on Google maps or something similar, to get a feel of what’s in the area, I do this before any hotel booking….. and of course read lots-and-lots of reviews.
The Bright Side
Yes there’s lots of gritty graffiti, but also some pretty impressive street art, tonnes of inspo for street photography creatives!
In fact, there are organised walking/street art tours that talk you through some of the deeper political meanings and messages behind the graffiti/street, art and how it reflects the views, lives and struggles of locals. I saw some on the usual tour sites Get Your Guide, Trip Adviser, Viator….I didn’t book onto one but looking back I wish I had.
Flea market antiques, quirky arts and crafts, high street fashion, leather goods and other typical Greek souvenirs will keep your shopping needs met.
Around Ermou Street
Ermou Street is one of Europe’s busiest shopping streets and you’re bound to find yourself wading through it if you’re staying in central Athens, if you love to shop in high street style sores you’ll like this street.
Some of their recognisable high street brand were in opulent looking buildings that echo the feel of a castle or cathedral, beautiful.
When I walked into a branch of Zara and H&M I barely looked at the clothes, I was too busy swooning at the architecture and design of the building, staring up at the beautiful arches and taking pictures.
Around Plaka
Plaka has more of an old town vibe, with some boho chic shops, souvenir shops, of course plenty of leather bag shops and pretty restaurants. I thought there were more interesting shops in this area, as well as it being much nicer to walk through.
The Metro
Dive straight in
Getting on public transport, mingling-in with the locals on day-to-day commutes, getting a feel for the hustle and bustle – is a great way to immerse yourself into a new place, so that’s exactly what I did, as soon as I exited the airport. No cosy transfers.
I might add, the €9 Metro ticket appealed much more than the estimated €40 taxi ride from the airport to my hotel.
The Metro is connected to the airport, you can walk to it via a small lift across the road from the taxi rank, buy a ticket from the machines and whizz into central Athens.
Busy?
The platform seemed quiet when I arrived, but quickly filled up – as did the metro carriages with each stop, lots of people standing up, crowdy – typical underground transport scene and it wasn’t even rush hour yet but I was fortunate enough to get a seat.
“Mind the gap” echos at every stop, people swarming on and off, fast paced and packed before 5pm and not just with airport travellers.
Not sure if Friday is one of the busier days but I’d hate to see it on a weekend – no thank you.
Other Impressions
Some of the stations are above ground, others below – some of the platforms were quite dark and moody – not brightly lit, and one station was painted all bright red….I got weird vampire film vibes from it.
It’s all pretty much like London Underground in principle, though the high rail for holding if standing is very high and there’s quite a long waiting time between trains, well on the Blue line anyway!! They’re not every 2-3 mins, more like 20-30 mins, giving the platform time to fill up. Peak tourist season must be crazy.
There were a few steps when exiting into Monastiraki Square (my stop) if I remember rightly, but it was manageable.
I wanted to try the Metro out as it seemed quicker and easier for this trip.
Don’t do it
If you’re feeling up for it – give it a go but it’s nothing fancy and you might need to do battle with crowds, your luggage and busyness so if that’s not for you and you want zero stress and maximum ease after you’re flight, don’t get the Metro – spend some more Euros and save yourself the headache; book transfers or a taxi from the airport.
There are buses as well, but I didn’t look into those.
Transport – on the subject of thieves and scammers
Scams happen all over the world, including dear old home (UK), so just try and outsmart them by being in the know as much as you can.
People say Athen’s is particularly hot for pickpockets.
On Your Guard: antenna up
When coming to and from the airport via the Metro you should be extra vigilant to the door jamming scam.
Apparently thieves will jam the Metro doors leaving tourists stressed by this with all their bags and luggage in tow, trying to get on or off. If this happens the advice is to just miss your stop and go back on yourself from the next stop. I didn’t witness this, but I did get a sense of needing to be on the alert…as per any busy city, especially when in unfamiliar territory and easily distracted with a ‘holiday mode’ head on.
Other Scams
I heard Athen’s is particularly hot for pickpockets, sometimes pretending to drop something on the floor so you bend down to pick it up, then they seize the opportunity to steal something from you.
Another scam – someone places a large map over your cafe or outdoor restaurant table, covering your phone – then steals the phone while pretending to help you with where to go.
I’ve also heard people say not to rent a car in Athens as it’s a pretty stressful feat, unlike driving around the smaller Greek islands.
Frankly, you don’t really need a car if you centrally located in Athens, most sites and things to do are walkable – but if you do, don’t leave any valuables in it (even the boot)….just saw someone saying all their travel docs, credit cards, passports etc were stolen after they’d left it all in bags in the boot of a rented car. Nightmare.
Location of Choice
Monastiraki Square and Plaka seem to come up a lot as better choices for where to stay, busy and walkable – relatively safe…antenna still needs to stay up for scammers and pick-pockets, don’t flash valuables or cash around – the usual things.
Around Monastiraki Square felt very central, a constant hive of people and activity.
I watched a youtuber recount his trip to Athens, he said he was a student and made new friends quickly after asking people to take his picture – they invited him out to a club that night, he said yes….they shared the cost of bottles of alcohol because the ‘per-drink’ prices in the club were too high.
They’d also been drinking before going into the club. When it was time to get back to his accommodation he was on his own, said he didn’t want to cough up for a taxi so decided to walk the dark empty streets home alone, knowing he could be a target for robbery he decided to jump on an electric scooter (like the pay as you go cycles in London) but he couldn’t figure out how to get it to work and was making a lot of noise in the process – he said he knew he might attract attention and get robbed to he decided to just ‘run’ home!!! He ran all the way back to his accommodation and made it back safely – he seemed chuffed.
So many obvious red flags here – please be safe everyone.
Monastiraki Square
Day and night there’s always something going on, whether its street performers, protesters, people watchers, preachers, people sitting around, people coming and going from the station or into the square from nearby areas, fruit sellers…..the list goes on.
The night before I flew home I had a fairly early morning flight so I decided to be sensible and try and go to bed a bit earlier ….I fell asleep eventually, not helped by the reggae music session that seemed to be going on for a while in the square that night lol. 💛
Would I go back to Athens?
Maybe for a short city break but there are other parts of Greece I’d rather go back to.
I enjoyed the retail therapy, warm autumn weather (despite a couple of rainy days), people watching and Greek food, a visible melting pot of people and cultures.
Splashes of the modern stand shoulder to shoulder with ancient ruins, street art, vintage vibes and modern high street shops.
From the UK, Athens is a short flight, but if you’re travelling long-haul, I think you should plan to see more than just Athens.
Don’t go to Athens expecting it to look like the picture perfect islands and white-washed villages you see in other parts of Greece. Athens is Athens.
I had a good idea of what to expect before visiting, so I wasn’t really surprised or disappointed, just curious.
As the saying goes ‘comparison is the thief of joy’, so keep an open mind about other people’s experiences and go and have your own, your way.
Athens is in a league of its own. It is what it is, and if you can find some interest or joy in it….that’s the point right?
I heard someone say they were surprised at how modern Athens is – definitely more to it than just ruins, and unlike 99.9% of visitors I wasn’t excited about going up the Acropolis to reach the Parthenon ruins (a structure dedicated to a Greek deity), happily gave this a miss – you’ll see it from a distance at ground or rooftop level when you’re out and about.
Heading Home
Do all the taxi drivers in Athens drive like formula 1 race drivers or was it just mine?!!! You’d have thought I was about to miss my flight the way he was racing up the motorway, I had plenty of time and I’m sure I remember him doing over 100mph.
Thankfully we made it one one piece 🙏
Great article and fabulous photos! I love street art.