Tips for Athens/Corfu/Santorini?
 

Hello All~we initially thought we would skip europe this year because of the poor exchange rate for the US$......but we finally broke down and decided to go to Greece anyway! This will be our first visit to Greece, and we are mixing our vacation with a week-long conference that I'm attending on Corfu. We already have a fixed itinerary, with purchased airline tickets. First we land in Athens for 3 nights and are staying at the Grande Bretagne. Then off to Corfu for a week, although most of our itinerary is planned for us at the conference. Even so, any tips on restaurants, sights or beaches, in case we get a chance to break away from the group (if it is a "Must-see" then we will make it a point to play hooky!). Our last 5 days we are spending on Santorini at the Astra Apartments. We are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary. Any tips/"Must-sees" for Santorini, especially for our anniversary dinner. I already read the posts on this forum, but just trying to see if there's more out there (isn't there always more?!). I already checked with that nice looking restaurant, Katikies, but they have informed me that their lovely dining areas are only open to hotel guests....... Please share your advice, experiences and comments on these places :-)

There are so many good restaurants on Santorini now it's difficult to know which to recommend. I've always stayed in the village of Oia, so my knowledge is mostly of what's there. "1800", "Ambrosia" and "Oia Cafe-Restaurant" are all excellent choices. Of these 3 I'd say "1800" probably has the most widely-recognized reputation for excellence.

A recent Corfu post by me:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34495991

Do try and check out the beaches on the western side of the island, they are much nicer that the east side, especially those below Corfu Town- it's an overdeveloped nightmare!

brotherleelove2004: Thanks for the restaurant suggestions!

AP6380: Sounds like the western shore beaches are worth playing hooky for!

Anyone have any restaurant suggestions for Athens?

Kukumavlos in Fira with its prime view on the Caldera is the most awarded by the Greek culinary experts restaurant in Santorini.

Selene is an other otion as well with a great view.

Some other favourite places include the restaurant(used to be Ntomata but maybe changed the name) of an renown chef Karamolegos .(specialized in the new greek and fusion cuisine)

CanTuccio's for pizzas and pastas (Firostefani).

Dihtia for lunch and beach leisure

Finikas at the entrance,on your right of Oia a greek-belgian couple are gracious hosts at min -prices.

And do not miss one of the best bars in the world ,Franco's (Fira) incredible snaks and drinks and superb music with a view....

On our last night in Athens, May 24th, we took the funicular railway up to the top of Mt. Leviticcus (I know I spelled it wrong but you'll know it when you get there) It was about half an hour before sunset and the view was superb!!! We watched the lights come on all over Athens, you could see the whole city then we had dinner at the open air cafe at the top. The food and drinks were overpriced but the food was very good and the view and atmosphere were worth it. It was a wonderful way to end our trip and I would highly recommend it. We celebrated our 30th anniversary in Santorini, staying in Oia and that night we ate at C(K)andouni's in Oia. The food was very good, I would highly recommend their Candouni house salad and the restaurant is lovely. You can dine inside or out in the courtyard. It is not on the caldera so there is no view but it was lovely, nonetheless. The owner and waiter, his son, live half the year in Montreal, Canada so speak English, French and Greek. We checked out 1800, the menu looked very interesting but nothing "jumped out at us" so we were happy with Candouni for our anniversay dinner. Enjoy!!

Just returned from Santorini. Had dinner at Vanillas in Firostephani, Selene in Fira, and 1800 and Oia's Café Restaurant in Oia. I'd rate them as follows: Vanillas, Selene, Oia Café Restaurant - all very good. 1800 was O.K. My wife would rate as follows: Oia Café, Selene, Vanillas, very good and 1800 as O.K. She really liked Oia Café.

We were both disappointed in 1800. It came highly recommended, and was the most expensive (not including wine or liquor). Location is beautiful, romantic, and service excellent, but food was only so-so on the one night we ate there.

I found Vanillas to be the most romantic spot. We had a candle light dinner in the cave-like round room in the back; sounds dark but the colors and contour felt very warm and Moroccan. It has but 2 tables (but we had the room to ourselves for most of the dinner) and you sit side-by-side on cushions along the contour of the walls. I had the flower-pot chicken. It was excellent.

We just returned from Greece. We had a very delicious and memorable meal at Selene in Fira. You might have trouble finding it but it's worth it. Go south on the path past the Atlantis Hotel as far as you can down the steps. You won't be sorry.

Another recommendation for Selene; I don't remember it being hard to find, though!

Wow~

thanks for all the great tips!

Michelle :-)