fourfortravel

Dear Fodorites,

Late in October we (I, DH, and 16 year-old DD) will have 3 nights/2.75 days to enjoy Athens. Topping our list is eating and, naturally, sightseeing. This is the first visit for DH and myself; DD visited a few years ago for a sports tournament but only visited the Parthenon.

We will have no jet lag. Our lodging is in Plaka; and are we morning people willing to get an early head start on tourist crush. Food is rarely an issue, as we eat just about everything and at all budgets. The one caveat is that DH is working through ankle and knee therapy so we can not proceed at a breakneck pace.

So...
1. Would hiking poles for the climb to the Acropolis be a good idea for DH? I think so?
2. What would be your top 3 (or 4) museums we might most appreciate for their broad appeal? We have visited and thoroughly enjoyed The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. Might Benaki be too similar?
3. Any recommendations for memorable seafood meals?
4. Should we even contemplate a day trip? To where?

kja, should you be reading, I reviewed your Greece trip report and took notes. I do not think we can achieve your itinerary!

Thank you, everyone, in advance.

FuryFluffy

3 nights/2.75 days, certainly you shouldn't take day trips. Athens is more than enough. Acropolis museum is the top choice museum. I don't know which state your DH's ankle and knee are at, the climb to Acropolis is not too difficult but it takes time. There's some metro station nearby I think.

crazyh

Walking poles may help. The climb can be steep in places but if you take your time you'll be OK. There are steps including stone steps which may be a little slick in places but doable. Once you get to the top it will be flat and easy walking but there are places where you may have to walk over stones/rock. If you go down the south slope it's mostly a gravel path, something to consider if you want to go to the New Acropolis Museum opposite the Acropolis' south slope.

The New Acropolis Museum and the National Museum are a must. If you can't do both I would go to the New Acropolis since you'll be next door at the Acropolis. Don't overlook Kerimikos Cemetery/Museum a bit of a walk from the Acropolis but mostly flat along the way.

There are numerous tavernas serving all kinds of food including seafood, but I can't think of one at the moment to recommend.

While a day trip would be nice you don't have the time. Spend it all in Athens which deserves a minimum of two days (3 would be better).

Check out Matts' Athens Guide for more info:
http://www.athensguide.com/

cherie2125

I would spend all 3 days in Athens. In addition to the other museums listed, the Benaki Museum and the Byzantine Museum on Sofias Avenue are very interesting. I can't compare the Doha Museum to the Benaki Islamic but I enjoyed my visit and it is near the Keramikos Cemetery so you could do both.
You could take a taxi to the entrance to the Acropolis if you are in recovery. The metro stop is several blocks away. I also like going to the Central Market and surrounding streets which have all sorts of meat, produce, spices, etc.

greg

>>> 1. Would hiking poles for the climb to the Acropolis be a good idea for DH? I think so?

You can get to the ticket window of the Acropolis with a taxi, perhaps half way up. However, that covers the easy part. The remaining path to Parthenon requires further hiking up a path(the easier part) followed by long sequence of steep steps up through the entrance at Propylaea. Just take a look yourself what you are up against:

http://www.athenskey.com/uploads/1/8...ylaea_orig.jpg

The final entry through the Propylaea onto the lower part of plateau further narrows down to path wide enough for perhaps two people. From Propylaea entrance to the Parthenon is a gentle slope uphill, but the gotcha here are the slippery marble rocks. The walking gets easier once you reach the Parthenon. The rocks are slippery even when dry.

kja

My itinerary was ambitious! I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but hope you found some information of value in my report.

My top 3 or 4 museums in Athens were the Museum of the Acropolis, the National Archeological Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art, and … oh, tough call! … probably the Museum of Byzantine and Christian Art, but perhaps the Benaki if textiles, traditional garments, and traditional jewelry are of particular interest to you. (I’m referring to the main Binaki, not the Baniki Museum of Islamic Art – which is wonderful, but wouldn’t make my top 4 list for Athens.)

I, personally, would not plan on a day trip with the time you have – but it really depends on what YOU want to see and experience.

Hope that helps!

fourfortravel

Thank you, everyone, for the insightful comments. Hiking poles will be packed; and we will (literally) take it one step at a time. We'll also plan to arrive just before opening. I understand there are handrails for the stairs, another plus.

The day trip will be saved for another time, too.

Yes, the cemetery and the Central Market are on the draft itinerary; I am anticipating returning home with epicurean treats. As we will be there on a Sunday, might the Flea Market in Monasitraki be a fun diversion?

Thank you, again.

crazyh

The Flea Market isn't what it use to be. Lots of "stuff" (junk some might say) but worth wandering around if you have the time just to gawk.

You can get to it from Monistiraki Sq. Facing the square take the street on the right which tends to have more contemporary shops for younger people. Keep walking and you'll find the Flea Market on the right. Can't miss it because of all the stuff laying around outside.

Maybe some good buys but a lot of it isn't.

FuryFluffy

I walked around the Flea Market at Monistiraki Sq last year, and it has nothing interesting. Normally I'm an avid buyer but I found nothing worth purchasing there. Skip it.

massimop

I love Athens and am a museum hound but will say that the only museum that really thrilled me --and it really thrilled me -- was the museum of the Acropolis. Otherwise, touring the historic sites of Antiquity in Athens is tops, as well as enjoying contemporary Athens & its unique personality. I think that's best appreciated in the Kolonaki district (at least for me) but have never been there in late October.

Will echo the advice to take a taxi to the entrance to the Acropolis but also say to be very careful walking around the Acropolis grounds. There are lots of slipping and tripping hazards. I've seen people take spills. Don't wear narrow shoes or shoes without good traction (running shoes can be remarkably slippery). Obviously goes triple if there has been rain or morning dampness.

I think you should play it by ear with a day trip. If you find it energising to see the ancient sights, there are more available a quick jog out of town and you might find them more appealing than a museum if the weather is nice.

massimop

Also, regarding food: I have often wondered why, outside of Greece, most Greek restaurants are specialising in seafood, since within Greece, good seafood has not been easy for me to find unless I was in actual toe-dipping reach of the sea. (Athens is not.) If you don't like meat, then Athens has terrific classic vegetable dishes and autumn salads. Which reminds me that the new museum of the Acropolis has a wonderful restaurant/cafeteria at very affordable prices & with a lovely view, so recommend planning it for a lunch stop.

Yoghurt, figs & nuts are so good in Greece that I could easily eat them for every meal myself. I also like Greek sweets of all sorts, and many street foods are delicious -- but perhaps its best to get some guidance because I imagine there are some lousy vendors too.

jelopez33

Hi Fourfortravel!

If you need to leave central Athens for a few hours , check for any private transfer or group tour to Cape Sounion. Beautiful remains of a temple and one of the best sunsets you can see in your life.

Maybe on return, you can stop at Pireus port for a good seafood diner and return to your hotel via metro.

Enjoy!

travelerjan

massimop, there are historical reasons (cruel ones) why seafood isn't a big greek menu item ... the Aegean, and even the Mediterranean is largely "fished out" -- and WW II is the reason. When Nazis overwhelmed Greece they couldn't loot factories, power plants & mines as they did in Poland etc...Greece had none! Not yet an industrialized country, quite poor. So the Nazis took what was there -- ALL the crops, the goats, sheep, cows -- even the chickens out of the coop! All sent back to GErman via rail at gunpoint. Greeks were literally left to start. Check the record; in Athens 250,000 people died of Starvation in 2 yrs... on the farms they survived on hidden vegetables. After the war, much of the Med, all around the coastes, African coast as well, people were starved for protein. And piled all around, surplus explosives like hand grenades. Toss them in the water and -- Fish harvest! Greece was also in a civil war, so it was a few years before the practice could be stopped (not just in Greece, all countries did it, but most not as starved as Greece). the Fish "stock" (breeding population) never really recovered. Now there is ample supply of smaller seafood - shrimp, sardines, whitebait, and of course octopi and squid - but larger fin fish are scarce & costly. Furthermore, of Necessity, for generations Greeks could eat meat only on holidays. Thus the wonderful vegetable dishes either meatless, or using meat mainly for flavor. A boon for us.

travelerjan

Typo uncorrectable. Greeks were literally left to starve.

HappyTrvlr

Museums- I recommend Acropolis Museum, National Archeological Museum, Cycladic Museum, and Benaki. The last two are smaller and very near each other, nor far from Syntagma Square.

crazyh

Again Janet is right on. Don't expect the "usual" fish you may find back home. There is a wonderful supply of smaller, lesser known fish/seafood available all over Athens and the rest of the Greek Islands and prepared so wonderfully that you'll think you are in fish heaven!

Octopi and squid are great if they are prepared properly. I've had some of the best of those types of seafood in Greece and at very affordable prices.

Pork is the most eaten "meat" in Greece followed by chicken. Sheep and Goats are more valued for their milk than meat but there'll always be a sheep/goat dish available which is a nice alternative to the "beef eaters" of the world.

Vegetables, grains, legumes, fruit and all the wonderful other foods of the Mediterranean Diet are available all over Greece and at prices that can't be beat.

One of the best things about travel to other countries is the food . . . be an adventurous eater . . . eat what the Greeks eat . . . not what the tourists eat!

massimop

Thanks for that history, travelerjan. I did know about the cruelty of the Nazi occupation and how it decimated the Greek population -- who managed to fight back with extraordinary bravery -- but didn't know about the war's aftermath. I had just assumed the Med was "fished out" through unregulated industrial practices (still happening in Italy -- although it is possible many parts of the Italian coast also blew fish out of the water with unused ordinance in desperation after the war. Most Italians too ate meat very rarely until the "miracles" of the 70s.

But I will also say that even decades ago in NYC, if you knew where to go & weren't fancy, you could find restaurants run by Greek immigrants that were not selling themselves as seafood palaces but instead were serving up incredible cheap stews of artichokes & lamb, eggplant moussaka, skordalia (I could eat it 'til I die). I think it might be true of a lot of "immigrant" cuisines that what they sell to the world as "Greek food" or "Mexican food" or all the Asian foods is -- at least at the beginning -- really far from their own daily diet. It takes a couple of decades for people to ferret out the real local cooking.

The last time I was in Greece a friend (native born to Athens) insisted I go to a Michelin restaurant for a seafood meal. I don't remember a bite of it, but I do remember a dish of yellow lentils with olive oil I ate at the museum of the Acropolis that again, I would eat until I did, except I am 100 percent certain I cannot get the ingredients, simple as they were, outside of Greece, they were so fresh and pure. Hope Greeks continue to fight like hell to hang onto that against the pressures of globalisation.

I once read a history of Greek antiquity that said the main diet really was yoghurt, nuts, fruits. That's how they built those temples, created democracy. I also once read a study of the Mediterranean diet in Greece, in a Greek town where people live to be over 100, and the researchers concluded that the people lived so long not only because of the healthy diet but because pretty much the entire town ate lunch together every day. Every day. Hope at least some corners of the world hang on to that wisdom too.

travelerjan

One May, I discovered a small beach in Serifos with only 2 places to stay on it, and one had a taverna. you'd have to stop by at noon to see what was cooking, & "reserve" a portion for dinner (off-season they didn't want to have stuff left over). In 2013 I went back with some "newbies" (lovely retired teachers) & took them there. As a treat, that night they were offering the "signature dish" of Serifos & Sifnos... baked chickpeas in oil & spices. It was soooo divine we licked our plates. Seeing our delight, the owner brought out his chef to explain how he did it. Chef had no English, so he "mimed" the prep, and the owner translated. When we looked back on the trip, my friends chose this as a magical moment.

Massimop, I know exactly what you mean about the wonders of the diet .. it is more than the food. On my first trip, I wondered why all the "meze" and the "side dishes" were so large (i'll never forget my €2 order of olives -- there were 38 of them!). Greek friends explained that they were for sharing because no Greek would consider dining alone ... meals are meant to be communal affairs. Remember what the word "company" means?? "Bread together." A lesson for us all.

kja

If Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon call to you, I'm pretty sure you can get there by public transportation.

clausar

Being Greek i know that fish got less and less over the years due to the way they it was fished even during periods when fishing should not be permitted.

I honestly have never heard of Nazis and WW2 being responsible for that !!!

There are great fish restaurants and tavernas in Athens as long as you know where to find them.

In the Athens center i would recommend a newer fish restaurant with excellent food. it's name is Ψ ΑΡΤ ..(PSART) a combination of psari = fish and art. They don't have a website but they do have a facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/fishart68/
It is not within walking distance from Syntagma Square but easily reachable by taxi.

Fresh fish of AAA quality in Athens comes on daily basis from the open sea in the Aegean, not the Saronic Gulf and is rather expensive but of great taste

massimop i think you are referring to the island of Ikaria, where people have a very long live expectations and live almost without stress.....