Rod and I visited Athens on the last leg of a 9 month trip from Australia, Asia and India. Why choose Athens? Simply because it was the nearest safe place to fly to from Mumbai where we had ended our tour of India. We had earlier planned to go to Istanbul but UK govt. was advising against this so Athens it was. We booked a room for 3 nights in the Astor Hotel near Syntagma Square which was very central and gave us a chance to ‘mooch” about.
We loved it so much we decided to stay longer and found a great little apartment on Airbnb. Athens is a really friendly place and everyone we met was super friendly and helpful. There are very good cafes, bars and restaurants on every street in the city and we soon found a few favourites. The sightseeing is extensive and there is so much to see and do. The Parthenon is of course amazing but do take time to look around all of the sites on and around the Acropolis. It took several days. There is lots of walking but it’s gentle and there are sightseeing buses that go close to the top of the hill. It was great to have an apartment. It was small – this is not a very cheap option in Athens but it did allow us to spend a few cozy nights in and to cook our own meals. Please note that restaurant meals are huge here. We stayed for 3 weeks in all bit I could happily have stayed longer had Italy not been calling.
