Why Athens?
Of course, it was time to plan another city trip, and Athens was one of the cheapest flights going with EasyJet. I've always had an interest in the cities of Greece because it's mostly known for the beautiful beaches or for me party islands (first girls' trip to Zante) and I wanted to get to know the country a little better!
Quick tips-
Carry some cash with you- some places don't take card and it can be used to give as a tip to the free walking team or any staff within a restaurant, etc
Athens can be really hilly, so take good walking shoes
Make sure you drink a lot of water. Buying it from the shop is the cheapest.
Athens is full of cats which didn't bother us and we didn't find any to be aggressive or dirty; but this is just a thought to those with allergies, etc
We found the older generation of Greeks to be less friendly, but the younger generation are very talkative and love getting to know you and giving advice on where is best in Athens!
Try to take a walk off the main roads. You can find some cute little gems or places which are good for photos and less touristy!
Where we stayed in Athens
We had a few ideas about where to stay in Athens. We heard from a local that staying by the coast was a nicer area and easy to just take the train to the centre but due to us only staying a few days we wanted to make the most of our time and figured we wanted to be walking distance from everything.
I found a hostel on booking.com which fit us perfectly, called 'Athens backpackers'. We booked the only private room available (a triple room with a garden view) for a bargain price of £152! The hostel included free breakfast and a rooftop bar overlooking the Acropolis (What more could you want!?). I did, however, ask the hostel for an upgrade of a balcony and they said my room would have one, but this wasn't the case when we turned up. The staff are lovely and although I was a bit upset not having the balcony we saw the rooms that had them and actually I'm glad we only paid for our little room, especially with the location and nice staff :). Also, I will never forget the amazing smell of orange trees as soon as you step outside the hostel- honestly amazing and super pretty! If we had more time, I would have loved to go to one of the social nights and happy hour!
I'd definitely recommend looking at all options for Athens and the reviews. We read a few reviews saying that they felt unsafe in the neighbourhood or that the rooms didn't seem very clean. So definitely hunt around for something that makes you feel comfortable! Also, I'd love to stay in accommodation overlooking the Acropolis, but these were a little out of our price range.
Day 1- Airport, hostel and dinner
We took the train from Brighton, arriving at Gatwick just after midday. The queues were not as bad as expected after hearing a lot about long lines in the news. I found a deal on getting a 'Dragon pass' before flying, which let us into the airport lounge offering unlimited drinks and food! It was definitely a good experience! The flight went smoothly, and we arrived in Greece!
We had a bit of stress trying to locate the bus we needed to go into the centre and then found it to be full so ended up walking over to the train station and took the M3 into the city centre and walking to our hostel. Once checked in, we went straight to the top of the hostel and were able to see the Acropolis glowing in the light (So pretty!). We decided to head out as soon as we put our bags down to have a look at what was around the hostel. We followed tourists and locals down a small little street opening up to lots of restaurants with fairy lights and a busy dessert shop.
From my research, before we left, it was recommended to visit 'Ristorante Scholarchio', which had a menu for 2 people for around €30, including 5 dishes, wine, bread, water and a set dessert. It was a really nice dinner and being able to sit outside on the balcony overlooking the street was a really nice way to end our first night in Athens.
Day 2- Food, drinks and tours
After a quick continental breakfast at the hostel, we made our way for a 10 am start on a free walking tour. Definitely recommend this tour and make sure you bring cash to give as a tip after! We visited lots of different sights and also learnt a lot of history about Athens. The guides are really knowledgeable about everything and anything in Athens and give you some great recommendations!
Next on our stop was definitely food! We headed towards the Roman Agora and ended up at 'Tylixto', where we both got gyros and a side of fries and halloumi. They both tasted amazing, and I loved the chicken gyro, but also the menu had a bit of everything and was perfect for a quick lunch (bonus- they have toilets!). Just up the road from Tylixto was 'Lukumades'. This is Greece's version of doughnuts and although they tasted incredible, we could have definitely shared one portion between us! But I love how you pick your own filling and topping or choose a set paring!
After a belly full of food, it was time to hike up to the Acropolis! (I'd recommend good shoes for walking around Athens because it's a lot of hills and stairs!). As you start getting higher, you see more of the amazing view over Athens and it's a good way to stop, take some photos and have a breather. Once we reached the top, Adam decided to tell me he wanted to have a tour around the Acropolis and instead of going inside we booked a tour on our last day (Which took about an hour of us sitting outside the gates finding last-minute tours (but people watching was nice to do!). Our trip up to the Acropolis was worthwhile though because we ended up going on another hike to the Philopappos monument, where little bits of history were shown through the walk and the views from the stop are INCREDIBLE!
From our tour earlier, we were recommended to go to the top of Lycabettus Hill (wolf hill) and watch the sunset. We made our way back down to street level, first stopping at 'Fresko yogurt' to get a quick snack, and started walking towards it. We took a small detour and headed for a takeaway cocktail at 'TYCO' and for the price and alcohol content, it was worth it and made a nice fruity, alcoholic refreshing drink! Adam, also wanted to stop by McDonald's (because you have to try it in every country...) where they had popcorn chicken and spring rolls? Not what I was expecting, but it did taste good and honestly I'd want the popcorn chicken in the UK!
We carried on making our journey to the cable cars at Lycabettus Hill (Wolf Hill) to take us to the top. It was a little expensive for what it was (€10 return trip), especially since the walk probably wouldn't have been that bad and it's just a dark tunnel, but at least it meant quickly getting up and down the hill. It got really busy at the top and I'm glad we went early to get a good seat! The sunset was one of the best I've ever seen!
We left as soon as the sun went behind the mountains and rushed back to the cable carts to get the first cart down to get some food. We went to get a taxi but for the price, we just decided to
walk it.
Not really sure what we fancied and getting very hungry, we heard music playing from 'Stamatopoulos Tavern' and decided to sit down in the outdoor area. The waiters are really nice and the place was packed full of both locals and tourists. I wanted to try out the veggie option, but I was told they do not have that and so a Greek salad it was! The man looked surprised I had only ordered a salad for dinner, but it was the only other veggie
option on the menu I liked! Anyway, it was a good salad, a good evening of music and a really good day overall!
Day 3- Boat trip to Aegina and Agistri
We had another early start on day 3 because we booked ourselves to go on a boat trip around Aegina and Agistri. The trip includes a great team of hosts, drinks (including beer and wine) and a nice buffet lunch. We also opted for a hotel pick-up, which saved the stress of figuring out where we had to go to.
The boat is huge and you are able to sit at the top, inside, at the back or at the front (that's where we went!). It wasn't very busy and everyone on board was lovely! We saw dolphins as we sailed to Aegina and were able to take in the beauty of Greece with some music in the background (It was a bit windy, but I was still aiming for a good tan). The onboard staff come around offering drinks all the time and put out some pastries for a light breakfast snack. When reaching our first destination (Agistri island) we were offered to go on a bike ride around
the island by Sam, one of the staff onboard. I'd really recommend this, but he goes pretty quickly and I think we lost half the group. He took us to a pretty spot on the island overlooking a private beach, giving us time to take photos and then to the church on the way back.
After heading back onto the boat, it was time for a swim stop and some lunch. We jumped in from the boat and were able to swim in one of the bluest seas I have ever been in. I did some snorkelling (take your own set) and saw lots of different fish. We were one of the last to get food as we were in the water for so long but there was still plenty there- salads, meats, bread, food I'd never seen before and it all still tasted amazing!
The next stop was Aegina Town. 'Pistachio island' is what it's better known as. Sam took us to a local pistachio shop on the street and we were able to taste everything pistachio- nuts, butter, honey, alcohol, etc. We were then given some free time to explore the island. We headed to the ice cream shop, had some pudding, and then took a walk down to the local church and back. We saw the Temple of Apollo on the island, but it was a paid entrance and we were quite happy just walking around the local town. We headed back to the boat and off we set home (although we forgot people on the island, so the boat had to make a quick turnaround).
Once back on land, it was time to get showered and head out for dinner. We wanted to go out ' To Kafeneio' because Adam loved the sound of the meatballs (they didn't disappoint). After trying what felt like the whole menu, our waiter came out with two mystery shots telling us we were the quickest people to eat in the restaurant he has ever seen and they were on the house! after food, we headed out for some cocktails. The first place was 'Thea By Latifis', which was nice with the view of the Acropolis, but we only stayed for one. Instead, we headed to 'Brettos' where we tried cocktails made with ouzo (learnt our mistake there) and enjoyed the busy atmosphere.
Day 4- History, food and home
After the biggest lay-in of the holiday, we woke up craving a pancake breakfast. We left our bags at the hostel for free, checked out, and off we went. Our aim was to make breakfast and then see the changing of the guards, which happens every Sunday at 11. But we took a little too long eating and missed it completely :( The breakfast was good though, we went to a café called 'Estrella' where I had a stack full of pancakes which were covered in chocolate. We also shared a breakfast pizza just to see what it would taste like. I'd really recommend this place if you fancy somewhere sweet! After this, we took a stroll to 'Monastiraki square' and went down to the flea market. I loved all the little shops, and we even bought some beads from a huge bead store with so many varieties. Grabbed a quick iced coffee and set off for our tour around the Acropolis.
We were greeted by a lady at the subway station and had a group of me, Adam and one other. The lady knew everything about Athens- history, politics, education. You could ask her anything and she'd be able to tell you a whole novel's worth of information. We got to the entrance and climbed the slopes/stairs up to the top.
We were told all about the Acropolis itself as well as history from wider Athens. We then made our way back down, viewing even more parts of ancient Greece. Our tour also included entry into the museum. Usually, I don't do museums, but this was pretty impressive. Adam loved the tour because it was packed full of history, but if you're like me and only prefer little amounts of historic information, I did struggle to find myself interested in what was going on. But still, if you're into history I'd definitely recommend it or if not still just go to the museum!
After this, we headed back to the hostel, picked up our bags and headed to the airport to catch our flight home. The airport was a bit expensive but has a burger bar and a café which was okay for us.
Overall, I'd recommend Athens to anyone because it has so much history and beauty but also gives you insight into the city centre of Greece rather than just the beaches!
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