ATHENS | martiniaktravel

ATHENS - Cradle of Western Civilization

Athens, home of the Acropolis and the Parthenon, is an exciting walkable city rich in ancient history wherever you walk and on display in the Acropolis Museum, and providing a multitude of charming restaurants with wonderful Greek cuisine, thousands of cute boutiques on its labyrinth of streets, lanes and byways, many galleries and open markets, and lots of performance art - music, song and plays - at venues including the Pantheon Theater and on the Acropolis itself, as well on at other stages and on the street. Come explore with us, this fascinating city.

You can stay at any of a number of hotels very close to the Acropolis. We ate a midnight dinner at the rooftop restaurant of one, with the Parthenon looming over us.

In the morning we strolled up the street to visit the Acropolis, with the Parthenon and the Erechtheion.

And the Theatre which is still used as a breathtaking venue for perfromances. One of which we attended.

We descended from the Acropolis to the ruins of Hadrian’s Library and the Roman Forum.

Continuing down from the Acropolis we reach the bustling Plaka area. and wandered the streets. There are many opportunities to buy Greek sandals, including this big sandal shop.

We also found a couple of very old, very small churches with the city built around them.

We strolled though the most charming neighborhood in town – the Anafiotika area. Many pretty lanes, plazas, shops and restaurants. We stopped for some wine at a shaded terrace. Later we had a bite at “God’s Restaurant” - a very popular, good and fun restaurant (the waiters very entertaining).

Almost everywhere you walk you encounter remnants of ancient history that Socrates walked by so long ago. And almost everywhere you dine you have vistas of ancient monuments or are in or next to one.

LYCABETTUS HILL

We climbed this tallest hill in Athens, seen here from our hotel. You reach it by walking through a pretty neighborhood in one of the posher parts of town. The climb is rewarded with great views. There is a tiny church and monastery at the top. And a restaurant with spectacular evening views of the lit-up Acropolis and the city.

GRANDE BRETAGNE HOTEL

We stayed at the Grande Bretagne in the heart of Athens, a truly grand hotel. The rooftop breakfast looking at the Acropolis was a delight.

That’s our report on our visit to Athens Greece. You may also like to see other reports on Greek destinations such as our Paros report, our Windstar Aegean Islands Cruise report and our Kefalonia Greece report.