Athens, Greece
 

Any suggestions, recommendations for tours, sites, restaurants, galleries, museums, in the city of Athens. Hoping to go first week of Sept.

nanabee; You will get plenty of suggestions for questions asked.

But have you booked a hotel?

I'm beginning to compile information for a trip to Greece next spring (hope it works out and I get to go). There's lots of information on this board if you search for it. Here are some threads to get you going.

Many guide books put sightseeing information on their web sites. The most informative sites for Athens are Fodors and Frommers with Let's Go in third place. Lonely planet doesn't have much on their site. You can read and copy to a Word file. Fodors highlights their suggested top sights and hotels.

Since I've already compiled Athens information I would be happy to share my 60 pages. Click on my name for my email address.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...y-461862-2.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ase-advise.cfm

In addition to the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, and Agora down tne hill etc you should visit the National Archeology Museum and the Benake Museum. Visit the 1896 modern Olympic stadium on the other side of the National Gardens. See Hadrian's Arch.
Go to the Sunday flea/ antiques market in Monasteraki and have lunch in one of cafes that overlook the market. It's quite a happening.
September will be warm and crowded so be prepared.

Here are some very useful websites :

The official Athens website :

http://www.breathtakingathens.com/

The official website of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture
with all monuments, Museums, and archaeological sites of Greece
( search for Athens)

http://odysseus.culture.gr/index_en.html

A fantastic website with a virtual tour of Athens :

http://www.greecevirtual.gr/panorami.../hrodio_enter/

( Google's Street View was not allowed to take pictures in Athens )

As for Museums, there will be free entrance to 4 of the Benaki Museum buildings every Thursday, from 15/7/13 and for one year.

Most people know the Benaki Museum opposite the National Garden, but there are more buildings that are worth a visit.

http://www.benaki.gr/index.asp?lang=en

There are plenty of resources for sights to see in Athens, so I won't add my comments on them. My suggestion would be to get away from the tourist trail at least part of the time to see where Athenians shop, dine, and go out for entertainment. It will give you a whole different perspective of Athens. Clausar will be able to help you with that more than me.

If you want a slightly different tour experience, try the food tour operated by http://www.athens-walks.com. Kostas, the owner, is a former Evzone (presidential guard) and his tour guides are Athenians with an intimate knowledge of the city.

O&B Athens Boutique Hotel
7 Leokoriou Street, Athens, Attiki 10554 Greece

Thank you everyone for such great advice. :)
The above is the hotel my husband has narrowed it down to. We have not booked it yet.

We are still in the very early stages as you can tell.

ttt on the hotel advice?

This is a good hotel, next to Monastiraki, Thisseion, and Gazi..
I think it's a good choice. :)

So glad to hear that clausar! We weren't sure - but it seemed to have good reviews. Thanks!

Is there one or two islands close to Athens that would make a short ferry or boat ride over for a weekend getaway.

Islands that can be easily reached from Athens are :

Aegina, Angistri, Hydra, Spetses and Poros.

Hydra is the most spectacular, no cars are allowed there.

There is also a one day cruise to 3 islands ( Aegina, Hydra and Poros usually), i wouldn't recommend it though, unless you only have 1 day at disposal.

<A weekend getaway> Mykonos is only a 35 minute flight. Would make for a lovely weekend.

All Greek islands with an airport can be reached within a 50 minutes flight.....

This information has been so helpful - thanks so much!!

Just got a Greece travel book (Fodors!) from DD & SIL and since it's current can't wait to check on recommended islands.

the hotel got great reviews in fodor's - so that's a good thing! :)

Loads of info on Athens:

http://www.athensguide.com/

I'd add the Museum of Cycladic Art and the Folk Art Museum to the list, and don't miss sunset at the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.

Definitely Hydra rather than Spetses. How much time do you have? There are plenty of good sights on the mainland, too.

We are gradually forming an itinerary. We have about 14 days. So far we'd like to see the following - Athens, Hydra, Delphi.

I've not heard anything to indicate Greece is not generally safe but another thread (about scams against tourists) got me thinking about safety. I've never been to Greece. Are there any areas or scams that we should be aware of?

Hi nanabee,

Athens (and Greece in general) is as safe as anywhere in Europe, and much safer than most cities in the US. There is a problem with pickpocketing, especially on the metro and around bus stops. This isn't really a safety issue, as the pickpockets are so good you don't even know it's happening. You can avoid being a victim by not carrying wallets in pockets and keeping an eye on your belongings. A money belt is a good idea.

This summer there have been demonstrations in several European cities, but Athens has been very quiet. Greece has a tradition of peaceful protest, especially at Syntagma Square and around government buildings. Even when there is a large protest at Syntagma Square, a few blocks away in Plaka everything carries on normally. I usually stay near Syntagma Square, and have never even seen a demonstration. :-)

Thanks heimdall.

Also, I was thinking about Crete. But we don't have a lot of time (and we also want to spend some time with our grandkids & our DD & SIL which in Athens). Any suggestions as to whether we should definitely not miss it or if there is much to see in and around Athens & environs.

Within easy reach of Athens (and still on the mainland) are Nafplio and Delphi. There are many historic sites around Nafplio, so that would be worth at least a couple of days. Delphi is simply spectacular, and can be done as a day trip, but overnight is better.

Since you are there visiting family, I can understand why you don't want to stray too far from Athens. If you prefer joining a tour group, there are Athens-based companies that offer tours outside the city ranging anywhere from half a day (e.g. Ancient Corinth) to several days. Do a Google search for Chat, Key, and G.O. Include 'athens' in the search string to filter out companies with similar names.

Thanks heimdall.
So far we have Delphi, Hydra on our must see list. We are now looking at places to see on the Peloponnese Island. But, I wasn't sure if we should also include Crete. We live in So. Cal. so if the main attraction is the beautiful beaches - we would prefer visiting historic places in other areas.

Napflion is a beautiful waterfront small city surrounded by incredible antiquities. It was an easy drive from Athens, many hotels and BnBs in all price ranges.
We also did a day trip from there to the very green island of Spetses which is near Hydra. They had organized tours in Napflion that included both islands.
You can spend several days visiting visiting the Mycenae(Agememnon), the ancient theater Epidavros, Tyrons, Corinth.
There is lots more on the Peloponnesean of course , depending on how much time you have to explore. We also enjoyed seeing Mystras and Olympia.

Crete is a large island, so you would need a car (and plenty of time) to do it justice. Point taken about the islands — I agree they are mostly about beaches with a few antiquities mixed in. You will get more bang for the buck in the Peloponnese (which, btw, has great beaches too).

If you were to hire a car there are many more places to see in the Peloponnese, including Olympia and Monemvasia. I was especially taken with a visit to the southern coast of the Peloponese (Messinia), where I saw Ancient Messini and several beautiful seaside villages, including Pylos, Methoni, and Koroni. You can see a few photos of that area in http://www.flickr.com/photos/heimdal...7627739427148/.

I'll admit to being a beach lover, and for that reason most of my trips are to the islands. However, for a sightseeing holiday I would much prefer the mainland. If you do want to include a short visit to an island, though, an obvious choice would be Santorini. The views there are like nothing else on earth! :-)

If you choose the Nafplio area of the Peloponnese (the Argolid), here is an absolutely splendid noncommercial website which gives wonderful details about the entire area, WITH photos ... http://www.visitnafplio.com/visitnafplio.com/Home.html
... if u are interested in the ancient Games, but don't have the time/inclination for the long drive or bus ride to Olympia, way on the other side of the Peloponnese, there is a little-known GEM, just over the Corinth canal, just 4-5 miles off main road on RH side ... Ancient NEMEA. It's the "runner-up" site for ancient games. It's been excavated and much of it authentically and carefully restored ... has stadium, theatre, a temple with towering columns, a great small museum -- everything but crowds! What's the secret?? $$$ Site "sponsor" is U of California Berkeley, which drew in many big donors to help. Every 4 years (2016 is next), Nemea stages a Games event in June, hundreds compete, thousands attend, from all over Greece and 150 countries. We visited this june, loooved it; easy to enjoy in under 1 hour. A plus is that the area is the Heart of Greece's best wine country... in village of Nemea there's a winery righ on the main street where u can watch the bottles being capped, and sample their wares. Nemea Red is Famous.

That sounds like a great solution to the long drive and extra time to see Olympia, thanks travelerjan.

Will check out that site as well.

Nemea is on the way to Napflioand we visited it on our way there. UC had a padlock on the gate though.