Travel

Athens, Greece offers its visitors a wide range of monuments and world class attractions to visit. In order to ensure that you have optimal fun in your trip to Athens, this article offers you some of the top activities and sights that will leave you with life-long memories of your visit to Athens, Greece.

The Acropolis and the Parthenon

The Acropolis and the Parthenon form the most dominant tourist attraction sites in Athens. Any traveller with a passion for sightseeing will always have the Acropolis and the Parthenon as their preferred first place to visit in Athens. In addition to the Acropolis and the Parthenon, a new Acropolis Museum has been built nearby to offer an added viewing of historical artifacts. A discounted ticket is offered to visitors for both places.

Mount Lycabettus

Mount Lycabettus offers a beautiful view of a green mountain rearing from the center of Athens. Tourists love climbing the mountain to enjoy the luxury of the amazing view of Athens from the mountain top. In addition to the marvelous sight, you will also be treated to a great café and an amphitheater on the mountain top. The famous amphitheater hosts renowned actors such as James Brown, Leonard Cohen, and Peter Gabriel among many other actors. You should not worry about climbing the mountain because a special train takes people almost to the top.

The Temple of Poseidon at Sounion

Visiting this site is common among tourists in Athens not only for its historical importance. Although it serves as an ancient worship site, the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion the site offers classical scenery at any time. Apart from seeing the graffiti of Lord Byron, you will experience on of the best sunsets. The sea and beaches below the temple also offer tourists an opportunity to have an afternoon swim before calling it a day.

Boating and Water Sports

The breathtaking beautiful beaches of Greece provide a Mediterranean aquatic paradise. The water is great for swimming and sailing and water skiing is popular too. Boats can be rented. For a spectacular marine audio experience you can choose a ski boat with a powerful marine stereo system and waterproof marine speakers. Or maybe sailing is more to your fancy. It is all available here.

Walking along the streets in Athens at night

Athens, Greece is ranked among the safest cities across the globe. As a matter of fact, the city is safer than London, Tokyo, and Paris. Its high safety standards enable tourists to walk along the streets at night and enjoy the opportunity to shop late at night. Most shops selling special items for tourists remain open for most part of the night. The experience of walking along the streets and mingling with sellers and other tourists in the streets is an experience that any tourist has to have before leaving Athens.

The Agora-Athens Central Market

This market is commonly known as the Central market where you could not miss on any meat, fish or vegetables. Regardless of whether you are shopping or not, the experience of the busy shoppers in the market makes a walk around the large market a worthwhile experience. You just have to take care of your personal items while in the market.

The National Archeological Museum

The National Archeological Museum is ranked among the top museums in the world. It offers its visitors a chance to find the best collection in ancient Greek sculpture, and pottery among other items. Visiting the museum offers you a chance to learn many aspects about Greek and share in the country’s history.

Athens is the 4th most populous capital city in the European Union, given its population of over 4 million people. This Greece capital has extensive and inexpensive modern mass public transit system to not only serve the needs of its residents, but also visitors. This article narrows down to providing the basis of Public Transportation in Athens, Greece though it does not contain pricing, this is because of the variations in prices.

Once in Athens, you can get around by the integrated public transport network, this includes Buses and Electric trolley-buses, Athens Metro, Athens Tram and Athens Suburban Railway.

1. Buses
There are modern and air conditioned Express buses operating between the airport and and the city centre, KTEL and Piraeus bus terminals. This includes:
Bus X92- This operates from the airport to the suburb of Kifisia, which is about 55 minutes travel, and departs on intervals of 45 minutes to 1 hour on daily basis.
Bus X93- This operates from the airport to Terminal B (Kifisos), which is about 35 minutes travel, and departs every 30 minutes the whole day.
Bus X94- This operates from the airport to Ethniki Amyna metro station, which is about 25 minutes travel, and departs every 10 minutes on daily basis, between 7.30am and 11.30pm
Bus X95- This operates from the airport to Syntagma, which is about an hour travel, and departs every 30 minutes on daily basis.
Bus X96- This operates from the airport to Plateia Karaiskaki, in Piraeus. It is operational 24 hours on intervals of 20 minutes.
Bus X97- This operates from the airport to Dafni metro station, which is about 25 minutes travel, and departs every 30 minutes the whole day.
Additionally, the blue and white local express trolleybus and the other regular buses do operate at intervals of 15 minutes from 5am until midnight.

2. Athens Metro
Travel around central Athens has been gradually transformed with the expanding metro. This has really eased public transit in Athens because journeys that used to take more than one hour initially, are now a matter of minutes. The Athens Metro has three lines. It is worth noting that all stations are fitted with elevators to provide the disabled full access. The Athens Metro lines include Line 1 (green line) which is from Kifisia to Piraeus. Then there is Line 2 (red line) which connects Anthoupoli and Eliniko. Lastly, there is the Line 3 (blue line) and connects the Airport with Douk. It also provides accessibility between Plakentias and Aghia Marina. All trains operate on daily basis from 5.30am all through to half past midnight, with an exception of Friday and Saturday nights where both lines 2 and 3 are kept open until 2.30am.

3. Athens Tram
The Athens Tram connects the city center with the southern seaside. This also has three lines and includes Line 1 (Syntagma-SEF) and it links the Athens downtown with Peace and Friendship Stadium. On the same note, there is Line 2 (Syntagma-Voula) and this one runs through the city center to the southern suburb. Lastly on the lies is Line 3 (Voula-SEF) and this one runs along the coastal zone. Notably, their operating hours are 5.30am all through to 1.00am on daily basis with an exception of Fridays and Saturdays nights where the lines are open until 2.30am.

4. Suburban Railway
The Suburban Railway is a part to the national railway network. Hence, it has its main route as Athens Airport to Kiato. Alternatively, there are other routes that travel up to Ano Liosia. This operates on a 24 hour basis.

Finally, the above modes of public transport leaves visitors and residents with a wide choice of options. All the above modes compete to offer transport services efficiently. Th tram is relatively fascinating because it passes some good shops, markets and the beach among other things. Athens is arguably one of the amazing cities in the world.

Athens is the capital city of Greece and the history of Athens which has been recorded dates back more than 3000 years. Apart from being the capital city, it is the largest as well as one of the oldest cities of the country and it has been occupied by human population for about 7000 years.

Cave Of Schist is the place which witnessed the oldest human inhabitation of Athens. The Acropolis of Athens has a very popular Mycenaean fortress as the place was centered with the Mycenaean civilization around 1400 BC. It is said that Athens was invaded by the Dorians in 1200 BC which lead to the city’s destruction, but it has not been confirmed due to the refusal about the authenticity of the Dorian invasion by the people of Athens. Athens suffered a huge economic downfall, for about 150 years after the believed invasion. But, Athens became one of the leading trade centers of the region beginning in 900 BC.

In the Greco-Persian wars, Athens with Sparta helped the Greek states against Persia and won over them in Marathon and Salamis in 490 BC and 480 BC respectively. These events marked the Golden Age Of Athenian Democracy for decades, and Athens went through a number of reforms and cultural as well as social achievements. Some of the world’s most inspirational people thrived during this period. Some of them were the philosopher Socrates, famous playwrights including Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the historians like Herodotus and Thucydides as well as the world renowned physician Hippocrates. Delian League was an association of the Greek city and states and was headed by Athens with the main purpose of fighting against the Persians. Under this league, The Empire-building and the Acropolis of Athens were also established during this time. The Western Civilisation derives its foundations from the Golden Age Of Athenian Democracy.

Athens was defeated by Sparta which was its rival in the Peloponnesian War which continued from 431 BC to 404 BC and rose because of some clashes and tensions building up among the members of the Delian League. Macedon, northern Greek kingdom, became quite dominant in the affairs concerning Athens by the mid-4th century BC. Athens lost its independence in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC because of being defeated by Philip II and his army. But later, Rome gave Athens its independence back because of the wonderfully admired schools and education the city had at the time. In the 2nd Century Ad, the Temple of Olympian Zeus was completed by the Roman emperor Hadrian. Along with the temple’s completion, he also constructed various structures for Athen’s development.

The city went through a number of declines and recoveries beginning from the end of Late Antiquity till 1458 when the Ottoman Empire conquered Athens which marked the city’s decline for centuries. Athens was declared the capital of the independent Greek state in 1834 after the Greek War of Independence and setting up of the Greek Kingdom. The architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert designed a city plan which was modern to suit the capital as ordered by King Otto, the first king of Greece.In 1896 the first modern Olympic Games were hosted by Athens. The population of the city grew largely and Athens experienced an eventual expansion following the World War II.

Athens, Greece is one of the most interesting places to be during your holidays. If you are heading to Athens this vacation then you should know a little about the city. Your vacationing time in this capital city of Greece will truly be a fabulous and wonderful experience. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and gulf on one side, Athens is truly a traveler’s delight as it offers an amazing view into the classical birthplace of Western Civilization. Some of the interesting places to visit in Athens are The Acropolis, Kolonaki, Agora, Plaka, Monastiraki and Thissio. If you are an art and culture lover then you might consider visiting The Municipal Gallery in Metaxourgeio. It is a haven and bohemian enclave for art and culture.

There is a multitude of options for travelers to stay in Athens, Greece. There are various 3-star, 4-star and 5-star hotels in this Greek capital city that you can stay in depending upon your preference and budget. Usually, the cost of the rooms depends upon its proximity to the places of tourist interest. It is understandable that the hotels that are located in convenient locations cost higher than the ones that are located in inconvenient ones. It is a good idea to stay in a convenient location, close to the city’s attraction, by paying a little extra instead of staying deep inside a congested area in hope of saving some money. It is also important for you to know that the inexpensive hotels are usually full as many people are aware and looking for cheap hotels to stay in Athens.

After you have decided where to stay in Athens, Greece you will have to make an advance booking in order to ensure the rooms are not full when you reach there. It is fairly easy to book rooms in one of the hotels in Athens as most of them have a website of their own. You can simply visit the website of the hotel you are considering staying in and make an online booking for the number of days you are going to stay there. If you are too busy or unable to book rooms online then you can consider getting the help of a travel agent. He will help to get you a room in Athens depending upon your preferences and budget.

It is very important to book rooms in advance in Athens, Greece as the hotels get full by the high number of foreign tourists. Most of them are travelers who are out for vacationing; you should keep on mind to make sure that the hotel you are going to stay in is easily accessible by public transport or else it will be difficult for you to reach there. If you are visiting Athens for business purpose, and not for leisure purpose, plan not to stay there for more than a couple of days then you might consider staying in airport hotels. The hotels at the airport are best for short stays.