Destination Guide : Athens, Greece

After spending almost two months in Eastern Europe, we found ourselves traveling into Athens by taxi with a Greek driver who talked enthusiastically with his hands and only occasionally looked at the road. We were both terrified and exhilarated! We were in Greece! The whole family was excited to travel to such an historic and important destination. Trent is a huge history buff and, naturally, Greece has been on his must-visit list. T had just finished the Magic Tree House book set in Athens and couldn’t wait to see the Acropolis. And Liv and I love some Greek food.

We only spent 3 days in Athens, but it was the perfect amount. Especially since we had 19 more days to follow on the Greek islands! Truthfully, it made us sad to look around Athens. There was so much graffiti, so many rundown buildings. It felt like the city was falling apart. When we left I said to Trent “well that’s one place we will never travel back to.” But our time there stayed with us. We thought about it often and after only being away for a couple of weeks, we were talking about someday revisiting Athens. Greece has been unstable for many years and it’s palpable in Athens that there is a lot of discontentment. I hope someday to revisit Athens to find a revitalized city.

STAY : While we didn’t love the apartment that we stayed in, we did love the neighborhood! Koukaki is full of great restaurants and bakeries and is walking distance to the Acropolis. This New York Times’ 36 Hour article on Athens was our main guide and it gave some great recommendations for the area.

GETTING AROUND : During our 3 day stay, we walked almost everywhere. Not that the city is all that walkable. I think it helps that we were centrally located. And after months of traveling, we were all happy to travel on foot. We did take the metro once to the Archeological Museum and the experience was easy and enjoyable.

EAT : We ate some great good in Athens! A mix of local food and modern spots. A perfect balance in my book.

KINONO : Delicious avocado toast in a clean, modern setting. I would come back just for the design of the restaurant.

O THANASIS : Our taxi driver gave us two restaurant recommendations and this was one. Souvlaki and kebabs enjoyed on the streets in Plaka. Warning: this is the most touristy area and people will try to sell you trinkets throughout your meal. But the meal will still be worth it. I promise!

TAKI’S BAKERY : The other recommendation from our taxi driver (and mentioned in the 36 Hours column), Trent brought us back delicious pastries from here one morning. You must try the Koulouri (sesame bread ring). My only regret is that we waited too long to go back and when we did we found out that they were closed on Sundays. (Many places in Greece are!)

BEL RAY : Super hipster place - great design and vegan, Mexican breakfast tacos. We ate here after our early morning trip to the Acropolis. Even when we’re in Greece with great food, we needed to mix it up and enjoy places like this. It was like a little piece of California in Greece.

CAFE DIOGENES : We didn’t love the food here but the setting was enjoyable. It was our first night in Athens and we wandered through Plaka. This restaurant sits a bit higher up from the street and we enjoyed people watching from our table under the beautiful patio overhang.

DO : Safe to say, the Acropolis is at the top of most travelers’ list for Athens. We all loved our time there. The kids enjoy any sightseeing that involves exploring a big space with things to see interspersed throughout (Angkor Wat, temples in Japan, Mount St. Michel). We didn’t go with a guide. In hindsight, it would have been a great way to experience this important sight. But we did have T, who recited everything he knew about the Acropolis and we eavesdropped on a few English speaking guides. We spent about 2 hours walking throughout the Acropolis. There is such much more to see than just the Parthenon (In case you don’t know, we didn’t!: Acropolis is the hill, Parthenon is just one of the structures.) Book a guide, bring a guide book, download a resource on your phone, or just follow the plaques, like we did. It feels like almost every step you take something historic happened there!

Important visitor tip: go early! We woke up late, but still arrived on the earlier side. (Maybe 15 minutes after opening.) There was still no line for tickets, but already a lot of visitors. But it was nothing like how many visitors were rolling in two hours later as we exited. Also, we skipped the museum to spend our time instead at the Archeological Museum. But if you have more time, and money, the Acropolis Museum has recently been renovated and is modern and gorgeous.

SEE : Rivaled with the Acropolis, the National Archeological Museum was our other favorite activity that we experienced in Athens. Our kids adored this museum. It was actually moving to see them get so interested in the artifacts around them. Tools and art from the Mycenaean civilization, Greek sculptures and vases of gods and historical figures, Egyptian antiquities. It’s all of the best parts of a museum visit rolled into one. We also loved the exhibit where you could smell oils that were re-created to smell like popular, ancient fragrances.

Another must-see is the Panathenaic Stadium. It’s the sight of the first modern Olympic Games, held in 1896.

Also! You must just wander through Athens’ neighborhoods. Beyond the graffiti and rundown buildings, there is just so much history. I’m not sure that we ever walked down a street that didn’t have some historically significant landmark. And it may be touristy, but walking around Plaka is still pretty great! It’s a rare moment when the most visited area still has charm!

PLAY : The best playground in Athens that we visited is located near the corner of Apostolou Pavlou and Akamantos. It’s not only a great park, but it overlooks the Acropolis. Incredible! Our children visited a few other parks during our time in Athens. One was located a couple of blocks from our apartment in Koukaki. But none of them were worth writing home about. Finding great playgrounds in Croatia, Greece, and Turkey was not an easy feat! When in doubt, climbing on ancient ruins (legally) is a pretty great way to spend time while you wait for dinner.

TREAT : Plaka is full of ice cream shops. Kayak Ice Cream, across from Cafe Diogenes, was just ok. But Arte Athens was much better (and “so fancy” as our daughter would describe it), also located in Plaka.

DRINK : While I sit out on most ice cream visits, I’m happy to test out any and all local beers! Greek beers are not my favorite (the best in our opinion was Mamoe). Lots of lagers which don’t have much flavor but were great on a hot day. I did find my favorite beer that I enjoyed in the UK, Brew Dog’s Elvis Juice at the Bel Ray. (I would find it again in Japan!)

We did surprisingly enjoy time at a bar, kids-free in Athens! Trent and I loved sitting at our local bar, enjoying a beer, and whatever snacks the servers would put in front of us. Luckily, our apartment bedroom window faced the bar across a tiny, side street. So the kids could watch the iPad on our bed and we could see them from our table. Our servers got a kick out of seeing the kids come out to say hello many times throughout our time at the bar. But without babysitters for a year, it was still so enjoyable to have a few moments alone.

RUN : Trent and I enjoyed running up Filopappou Hill which overlooks the Acropolis. Trent also spent runs sprinting from mountaintop to mountaintop! Between Mount Lycabettus, running around the Acropolis, to Filopappou, your hill days are never-ending! It would also be a bucket list moment to run the historical marathon course from Marathon to Athens. I’m sure if we were in Athens longer than 3 days, Trent would have completed the route!

Have you been to Athens? If so, thoughts on the city? What did you love?