Athens Travel Information

Sit right on air arrival for good coastline view. Airport is small and only 10 gates when I last visited in 1994; great for changing planes but only one runway. $10 taxi to city. Can hire a taxi for $25 a hour for sightseeing. Did so for 3 hours to hit the various city squares and it was enough. Acropolis is the big site and needs half an hour. Best view of the city and Acropolis is from a mountain on the other side of the city. Also see the original olympic stadium. La Plaka is a walk-around district good for lunch, a flea market and nightlife. Port area is a half hour from city center and its stores are discounted. Sidetrips would be a 1.5 hour drive to Sounoun on the Greek coast or take a day to ferry to islands. District near the airport is pretty. Plenty of cafes in center city with locals taking coffee breaks during siesta. Crowded and congested for cars especially in center city. Get a telecard — 100 units for $6. Needed for calls from airport phones. Not a lot of English on signs or menus though names of businesses are often using English sounding names. Recommended hotel: 3 star Herodian for $60 a night with breakfast (room was booked for me by a local) near the Acropolis. Prices not as cheap overall as i had hoped. Clothing sales in Europe in February and Athens prices were what I was quoted in Italy in September. Overall, Athens is more EEC than Middle East and was a pleasant surprise.