Athens
Why go?
Don’t assume that Athens is just a transport hub. It may be a
teeming metropolis of 4 million souls (and its fair share of
soulless urban jungle), but the 2004 Olympics have granted it a
rebirth which was long overdue: not just in terms of infrastructure
(though the new ring road, metro lines, tram link, museum- and
hotel refurbishments are a godsend), but also in terms of culture
and high life. Syntagma and Plaka, now partly pedestrianised, brim
with shoppers, flaneurs and new-found confidence. Kolonaki is a
boutique-lined, poodle-walking Nice-in-Greece. Psiri is a gritty
neighbourhood of meze bars and music clubs. Even the cuisine is
inching towards the haute. Sure, spend a day in the
Acropolis and Archaeological Museum (you can’t not), but
consider an extra day or two for the lesser sites (Kerameikos, Pnyx
hill), the smaller museums (Benaki, Cycladic Art) and the
out-of-centre monasteries of Kaisariani and Dafni. And keep plenty
of time spare for strolling the streets of historic Plaka, with
their outdoor tavernas, crumbling houses and churches, and no end
of jewellery / clothing / carpet / souvenir shops.
If you want to combine Athens with a taste of island life, the
Saronic islands – Hydra, Spetses, Aegina – are an hour
or two by hydrofoil, yet retain the painterly beauty and the slow
pace of the remotest archipelago (Hydra and Spetses are largely
traffic-free). Four days here and three in Athens would make a
wonderful week’s break from northern Europe, especially in
spring or autumn.