Fun fact: Turkish Airlines ticket «Dublin → Istanbul → Dublin» is only about 20 euro cheaper than «Dublin → Istanbul → Athens → Istanbul → Dublin». And Istanbul to Athens is just a short one-hour flight. So in September 2022, after my vacation in Istanbul with my parents, I spent three days in the Greek capital.
Athens architecture
On the first morning, Athens left me with a puzzled feeling. My hotel was only a 15 minute walk from the city center. It was a sunny Sunday day. Then why were the streets so empty and shady?
At night it was even worse. A lot of streets were dark and empty, with none of the windows lit inside. Even with the European energy crisis of 2022, this was way too much, with whole buildings looking abandoned.
This BBC article provides a good explanation of why most of Athens is rows upon rows of uninspiring apartment blocks. Long story short: in the middle of the 20th century, Athens (and the whole of Greece) was pretty poor, and without proper government control a lot of older historical buildings were demolished and plain concrete apartment blocks built in their place. Nobody was concerned about the conservation of historical architecture, and when the government and people started to take notice, it was already too late.
I am still not sure about the mystery of the dark abandoned buildings though. Are these apartments half-abandoned in bad condition? Are they on renovation? Let me know in the comments if you know the answer.
Ancient Greece
But enough with ugly apartment blocks. Greece is world-known for its ancient history, for Athens being the birthplace of democracy, and for the amazing Greek mythology. When I was a kid, I LOVED reading the myths of Ancient Greece, with its gods and heroes. So I was very excited to finally come here.
And indeed, the center of Athens has ancient ruins and monuments on every corner (something like Rome). I have seen ancient ruins many times before, but it’s still a bit crazy to me every time: people actually lived here 2000-3000+ years ago, and came to this exact temple. Wild.
Acropolis, the famous citadel hill with multiple ancient buildings, including Parthenon, is clearly visible from many parts of the city center (partially thanks to the ban on high-rise buildings nearby). I found it provided some kind of anchoring effect: your everyday busy life goes on, but from time to time you look up and are reminded of something bigger. I found both Acropolis and Parthenon well-worth the visit — definite must-see in Athens.
The city of Athens from the Acropolis looks like the sea of chaotic streets, full of white apartment buildings.
Zoomed in, the maze of the streets somewhat reminds of a chaotic slum in some other parts of the world. In such moments, you really start to think that maybe the height of Greek civilization was 2000+ years ago?
For a more tranquil and beautiful part of Athens, visit the Plaka district. Though definitely touristy, it still has some charming old-town look and feel.
Athens geography
I was surprised to see how mountainous Athens was. In fact, Wikipedia even says that Athens is “the only major city in Europe to be bisected by a mountain range”.
And Athens is also one of the many, many cities that claim to be founded around seven hills. It is funny how many great cities claim the same thing: Istanbul, Moscow, San Francisco, Barcelona, Prague, etc, etc… (all probably inspired by Rome, see Wikipedia’s List of cities claimed to be built on seven hills).
This is of course fortunate for us travellers. Who doesn’t like to climb up the hill in the middle of the city and have a good look around?
Finally, Athens is a major port city, after all. The Aegean sea is right there, and there are plenty of opportunities to spend an afternoon at the beach.
All the good “beaches in Athens” suggested online were actually quite far from the city center. The ones I found in the city center (that is, accessible by metro) turned out to be poorly organized and maintained. Narrow, often littered and without the essential facilities. Far cry from the great city beaches of, let’s say, Barcelona, Los Angeles or Dubai.
But surprisingly the sea, even next to the city and in the middle of September, turned out to be extremely warm and pleasant! It was honestly my best swimming experience in Europe so far. Can’t wait to visit some proper beaches on the Greek islands next time!
Speaking of Greek Islands, I found out that there are several islands right next to Athens, which you can visit by ferry. Even better, “Three Islands a Day” cruises to Hydra, Poros, and Aegina islands seem very popular and nice. I didn’t go this time, but this would be a nice island hopping day option from Athens!
Next to the beach I found a Votsalakia Summer Cinema where in the evenings you can watch a recent movie outdoors, in English with Greek subtitles. And all this while seeing the stars above you and hearing the sound of the waves nearby. Amazing experience!
The outdoor movies seemed generally popular in Athens. I found another one (seemingly makeshift and free) just a couple of blocks away. Honestly — great idea, other cities, please catch up!
More Athens details
The food in Athens turned out to be amazing everywhere. Flavorful, big portions, fresh. And oh, so cheap! Great souvlaki or gyros (traditional Greek meat dishes on a skewer or wrapped in pita bread) will cost you only 3 to 4 euro, even in the Athens city center! And for 8 to 10 euro you will get a HUGE portion of delicious food. Perfect country for enjoying great meals and drinks outdoors.
The museums in Athens left a mixed impression. On one hand, they host some of the best ancient artefacts in the world. On the other hand, they surely could use some renovation.
Look at the following Artemision Bronze sculpture of Zeus or Poseidon (scholars are still not exactly sure). This amazing bronze statue from 2000+ years ago was found in a shipwreck site in the sea, and is now a highlight of the Archeological Museum of Athens. Still, it sits in a room that reminds of a high-school gymnasium.
The newest museum in Athens, Acropolis Museum, somewhat improves the situation. With the modern museum building and the views of Acropolis from its windows, it impresses not so much with the artefacts inside but with the interesting architecture.
The Greek alphabet left me very perplexed. It looked like a weird mix of Latin and Cyrillic alphabets (both of which I know), with some letters shuffled around and some mathematical symbols mixed in. I still cannot comprehend someone actually using Σ (sigma, pronounced “s”) symbol in an everyday alphabet, not as a mathematical sum symbol.
The photo below is a good example of the Greek alphabet in the Acropolis Museum. The phrase in Greek is pronounced “Lapíthis palévei me kéntavro”. So familiar and so unusual at the same time!
Finally, a bit of a funny detail. As I was talking to one of the street vendors, he pointed at my feet and said that I have a “Greek foot”. I immediately knew exactly what he meant. Earlier in the day I noticed that all the statues in the museum had the foot shape like mine: the second toe longer than the big toe. This foot shape is commonly known as “Greek foot” and is said to be less frequent foot shape around the world, but very common among Greeks (though different scientific studies seem to not completely agree on this…).
Since that conversation I read up on this topic, and apparently the scientific name for this foot shape is Morton’s toe. It is also described as a “condition”, pointing out that people with this foot shape may experience difficulties finding shoes that fit well. I personally have never experienced this, but it is indeed weird how different our feet are, isn’t it?
