About Athens, Greece

People who read the news and watch CNN can't help but wonder what the Gods have in store for Athens. Will the city survive austerity? Will the economy collapse? And what happens in a worst case scenario? For those of us who come from 'stable' societies, what is going on in Athens seems scary. Oddly though, that has not stopped people from coming to Athens, either to see the ancient sites and museums and to shop, eat and drink or because they are on their way to the islands or are exploringthe mainland. And those who have come have seen that despite all the financial problems, life goes on.

The images of Athens as a city in flames as anarchists and heavily armoured policemen battle daily is a creation of the media. Yes for the average Athenian times are hard. They are being taxed heavily, pensions are being cut, and the number of unemployed grows as the country sits in a kind of limbo, not knowing if more help is on the way in the form of more loans and bailouts, or if they are going to go back to the drachma and work this out themselves. Is this a collapse of a society or the birthof something new and better? Could be both.

I am assuming that in the area of tourism things will be better than last year when strikes disrupted people's travel plans. I believe a new reality has set in and the unions have come to the realization that successful tourism is important to the future of Greece since it is the one thing that actually works and brings in money. I also have noticed that the major demonstrations have disappeared as people have realized that demonstrations just inconvencience and annoy their neighbors and guests and don't solve anything, and that they are going to have to work together to get out of this mess, so why make things even worse? The tourist industry has not given up on Athens and even now the major cruise companies are negotiating to make Athen's port of Pireaus a major hub. Petty crime is a problem as it is in any large city but if you are aware and take precautions then this should not be a problem. Yes there are areas that I don't recommend you stay in if you want to feel safe, and on my hotels page I tell you where the best located hotels are.

Central Athens, the area around the Acropolis which contains all the ancient sites, museums, restaurants, shops, cafes and parks is pretty much as it always was. What they had achieved to prepare for the Olympics is turn a city, known for its faults as much as its assets, into one of the most walkable, livable, exciting, art, music and entertainment centers in the world. By unifying all the antiquities with parks and pedestrian streets and avenues and tying them in with the nightlife areas of the Plaka, Psiri and Thission they have created a model that other cities are sure to follow. With the new highways that divert traffic from the downtown they have not only made the city streets safer and the air cleaner but they have made it easier to get in and out of town by car, bus or taxi. The new metro makes the trip to the airport and the port easier and opens up new neighborhoods to visitors who used to be confined to an island downtown surrounding the Acropolis. The coastal tram means you can get on one of the new air-conditioned light-rail cars and go to the beach, or shop and have dinner in the coastal suburbs. Athens is no longer a city that it takes awhile to get-to-know before you actually like it. Athens is entering a second Golden Age. The museums and galleries are renovated, air-conditioned and bigger and better with more opening. The streets are clean, hotels have all been renovated and restored, many made accessable to the disabled. The restaurants, tavernas, cafes, clubs and bars stay open late and as many who came for the Olympics discovered, ATHENS ROCKS like no other city on earth. And if you prefer a more quiet Athens there are parks and quiet neighborhoods that will suit you too. What this means is that anytime of the year Athens is entertaining, whether it is your stop-off on the way to and from the Greek Islands in the summer or if you visit during the 3 other seasons and use it as your base for daytrips to explore the Peloponessos and the mainland. Athens has something for everybody and despite the problems caused by the economy, the Athenians have good reason to be proud of their city.

So you ask yourself... should I go to Athens? I can't foretell the future. I don't know how the economy will affect your trip. Probably you will find some bargains and there may be some problems. But if you follow my advice and things don't entirely unravel, there is no reason why you shouldn't enjoy yourself in Athens, even during the crisis, as many of these people below have. If you are worried at all, book your trip with a reliable Greek Travel Agency and they will keep you happy and safe.

Travel During the Crisis

This is just a quick and simple but very sincere and genuine email thanking you for your fantastic online guide. I have just come back from a week's holiday in Greece and I cannot begin to describe to you what a life changing experience it was. I feel like I've come back as a better version of myself, as corny as that sounds! It was my very first holiday alone and so felt like a huge achievement, almost like a present to myself :)

Greece seemed like a strange choice to family and friends, especially considering the current financial climate but your guide motivated me and made the place seem exciting and inspiring, and I was certainly in dire need of some inspiration so it made perfect sense to me! All the information that you have online is up to date, helpful, useful and relevant. It made travelling so much safer and made the trip easier overall. I wish you had a guide for every country in Europe to be honest!

So thank you so much for encouraging me to take this trip as you armed me with so much information and therefore confidence that I felt that I could in fact do it alone. Greece (I spent 5 days in Athens and 2 days in Santorini) is an experience which I will never forget and I'm grateful because you helped to make it happen. You write your guide with passion and real love for the country and it really shows.

P.s. Female travelers worried about travelling alone, please do not be scared of Greece. It was such a lovely experience, I did not have any unwanted attention from men, at least not any more than I would have had back home! If you stick to the same common-sense measures that you would anywhere in the world, then you'll be fine!

P.s.s. My favorite part of Athens was without a doubt Exarchia and I'm so grateful for your guide that breaks down what the place actually means to Greeks rather than the overhyped media stories. It was nice to see all the tourist parts of Athens like Plaka but Exarchia is where I felt home and where I felt just like a Greek. People need to be aware of safety issues around certain areas but also go with an open mind when you're visiting a new country, you never know what you might find!

I hope the holidays have been great for you! We've had a wonderful couple of weeks in Athens. Thanks for your recommendations! We've had a few meals at Mary's, and have been to Saita Taverna, Apolausi and some other great places we stumbled upon. We'd agree that O Mbakalogatos is a really fantastic restaurant- we had an amazing meal there- but I have a hard time not loving the 'secret' taverna by the Central Market even more! I could have the great retsina and the mashed favas everyday!

Greece's historic sites and and antiquities have been wonderful to see; we even booked a day trip to Delphi through George's taxi service and had a great day with Kostas at the helm. But to me the highlights of our trip have been Platia Agiou Georgios and the Athens Central Market. Staying on Platia Georgios has been worth the trip all by itself. As I think you mention on your site, it's almost a village in itself, and it is quite a lovely little oasis in such a big city. It turns out the apartment we're staying in is directly above Allotino, so we have a delightful view of Platia Georgios, day and night. Just stepping out on the balcony and taking in the view makes me tremendously happy. (Oh yes, Allotino IS great too!) I've greatly enjoyed Kypseli in general, but Platia Georgios has been the icing on that cake.

Outside of Platia Georgios, my favorite thing has certainly been the Central Market. It's just so lively and interesting, and it's wonderful to see a large modern city that still has such traditional commerce going on. I actually want down and bought... well, I figure it was probably goat, to cook up in a fricassee for our Christmas dinner. Had a fun time navigating the market in the pre-Christmas rush and the merchants were very, very patient with my very poor Greek. I loved the Laiki Agoras in Kypseli, but the Central Market is, of course, exponentially more exciting and facinating. There are traditional markets in the UAE, of course, some taking up quite a large area in Dubai; I enjoy those as well and go to them frequently, but Athen's Central Market is even more lively and varied, a place I would love explore over and over.

It's been quite interesting to get to talk to Greeks during this trip. Despite the severity of the crisis and the terrible impact that it has had on many of their lives, they have been, in my opinion some of the very nicest and even upbeat people that I have ever met. It would not be surprising or unexpected to hear more negativism from them; I know a lot of Americans in similar situations that do! (Of course when Greeks discuss their government, it's a whole different story! All bets are off!) My wife has been chronicling our stay on our blog; usually just short and sweet updates with a few pictures. It's mainly so our families back in the US know that we're alive and what we're up to! http://livingthetravelchannel.wordpress.com/

Thanks again for the recommendations and for your terrific websites. I wish I had found them months earlier! We'll be recommending them to others! Great to see the Istanbul site up! Looks great! We went to Istanbul last January and were amazed by it! Hope to go back someday, of course, but I think a return to Greece is higher on my list now.

Before I go on to my rave reviews about your websites and Fantasy Travel I have a moan. My moan is that it seems harder than it should be to find somewhere to give rave reviews and recommendations about service in Greece. At least you do provide a forum for testimonials but I can't help but think that a lot of expert and hard working Greek people are not getting the publicity they deserve on the internet for their professionalism and promotion of their country.

That out of the way I thank you so much for a fabulous October holiday in Athens (5 days), Crete (10 days) and Santorini (3 days). I had complete faith in your expert advice and my friends and I were not disappointed. G.O Tours gave us an awesome one day Argolis Tour and we were impressed with the relaxed but very professional way Maria and Andreas took us around the ancient sites. The new Acropolis Museum was amazing.

The overnight ferry was a great way to travel to Crete and as arranged through Lefteris the lovely George gave us a wonderful taxi tour to start our holiday there.We fell in love with Crete and a week in Chania was not enough. Santorini was gorgeous of course.

Fantasy Travel were absolutely fantastic. Marcos and Yana were so expert, patient, friendly and helpful in planning our holiday by email for months beforehand. We found all arrangements, prices and the hotels they chose were absolutely spot on. Everyone we dealt with on the holiday was so professional, patient and helpful we cannot say enough good things about Fantasy Travel and the way they individually and collectively represented their lovely country. I recommend them and your websites to all my friends, family, workmates and anyone else that will listen in the hope they will come to Greece and have the same wonderful experiences we have had.

My wife and I recently visited Greece and used Fantasy Travel as our travel agent. We got their name from your internet site. The agent we dealt with was Vasillis.

When my wife and I travel, we always like to deal with an agency local to that country. We usually contact two different agencies and then make a choice to use the one best suited for our needs.

I just wanted to let you know Fantasy, and Vasillis in particular, were the best organization/agent we have ever used. They were easy to work with, listened to us to determine what our goals were and then helped us realize them.

By chance and unfortunately, we were scheduled to be in Athens on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 28th and 29TH the two days of violent protests and the national strike. Fantasy worked with us to allow us to see the Plaka and Acropolis while relocating our hotel accommodations from the square to a safer environment. While I personally was upset and angry at the situation, once my wife settled me down, I realized that Vassilis efforts really worked in our favor to finish our trip both safely and enjoyably.

We've got to thank you for an incredible vacation in Greece, just completed. We took your advice and signed on with Fantasy Travel for a customized vacation in Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, and Athens. We handled the whole trip over the internet with Litsa from Fantasy Travel.

From the moment we stepped off the plane in Athens, we were met by representatives each step of the way. I can't tell you how reassuring it was to see a happy face, waiting to help us on every island. All the transfers were provided, to and from each hotel, airport, and port, and they even helped us just before we left change our travel plans from Rhodes to Santorini (the ferries weren't running that day due to a country wide strike!) so that we could fly to our next destination instead. They helped us arrange tours and even rent cars while we were on the various islands.

We also used your suggestions for taxi services on Rhodes (Michael - Nicholas's brother took us all over the island) and in Athens Dionysos (George's son) took us and some friends on a customized all day tour of Athens and Sounio. It was fabulous and they were exquisite hosts. We observed some protestors gathering in front of the Parliament in Syntagma square during the day, but never felt worried or concerned. We felt some of the concern and worry the Greeks have for their country and their future and we certainly hope all will work out for the good. Thanks so much for the great service you provide!

I stumbled across your site on our first night in Athens, and it was a great help! Most of our other travel guides focused on the islands, and the Acropolis, with nothing in between- but your site helped us discover more of this amazing city. It also led me to the poet sandal-maker of Athens- and the best pair of sandals I have ever owned!

Thank you!
Beth Gall
1/17/12

I just wanted to thank you for all the great information you've provided us about travel in Greece. We went there for the first time for our honeymoon this past October for 2 weeks. We did a mix of the popular stuff (Athens, Santorini, Delphi) and the more out of the way (Lesvos, Nafplio, the Peloponnese). Everywhere we went you never steered us wrong. My favorites were everything in Lesvos, especially Sigri and and Molyvos, where we spent a night with Vangelis and his bouzouki and drank too much Ouzo (and the awesome hot springs at Eftalou, true luxury is when your cold plunge is the Aegean with a view of Turkey, for 2 Euro!). Driving in the Peloponnese was also an unforgettable experience. We also got to see the protests in Syntagma up close and personal as we our flight back home (San Francisco) was canceled due to the strike, it reminded me of growing up in Brazil during the military dictatorship in the 70's and 80's.

We are already talking about going back and next time we'll attempt to travel less and stay in a single place for longer. We are going to to Kyparissi (I am from Brazil and so have been well trained in sketchy roads), I'll bring my spear gun and I am looking forward to catching fish in the morning, taking naps in the afternoon and having a glass or two of Ouzo in the evening (I brought a couple of bottles of Karoni with me that I sip while doing a radio show that I host with some friends here in San Francisco)

Kiko A
1/26/12

Hi Matt, I e-mailed you last year. We went to Athens during all the turmoil there but it was perfectly fine. We spent a week in Mykonos which was the perfect Greek island. My daughters and I loved it stayed at Petinos Beach and my idea of a perfect place. We are going to Greece again and am looking for another island in the cyclades. Thinking about Paros but it seems a bit too organized and americanized for me although the beaches look lovely. Do you think its a good choice. Santorini does not appear to have beaches where the water is shallow. Do you have any recommendations. Brenda G
1/27/12

Dear Matt,

We have just returned from nine days in Greece that started with a Google search last September for 'Greece in Winter'. That brought up your site and further research made us book up five nights at the Red Tractor farm in Kea. Many thanks for that and many other tips. We had a really great time there and in Athens. We ate in many of your recommended restaurants but, in fact, the best meal we had was in Sounio where we went to the taverna on the beach as it looked more lively than the one higher up. Most of the people turned out to be extended family of the owners but the food and service was tremendous. We especially liked being invited to choose our own Dorada from the fridge and being shown how much it would cost. Their octopus was perfect too. Far better than Psaras in the Plaka which was disappointing.

So, thanks for all your invaluable advice. The walks in Kea were beautiful and the children even swam at Karthea.

Yours

Rod Fricker
1/30/12

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Travel During the Crisis

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