Europe 2.2 - Athens









Arrived at Athens at 11 PM and took the Metro (line 3) to Syntagma Square where the Hotel Grande Bretagne is located. It's a historic property that has hosted many politicians and celebs (such as Sean Connery). We were upgraded to a junior suite with amenities (fruit bowl, water and Molton Brown toiletries) that were replenished daily. Also provided with some Greek desserts (very nice looking desserts made to look like fruit, but WAY TOO sweet).

Spent 4 days in Athens, including Christmas and Boxing Day. Most of the attractions were within walking distance, and highlights include:

  • Hadrian's Arch and Temple of Olympian Zeus (amazing in scale; only 15 of the 104 Corinthian columns still stand, but you can imagine how big the temple really was)
  • The slight hike up the Acropolis to the Panthenon, Temple of Athena Nike and the Theatre of Dionysus
  • Ancient Agora (market) at the foot of the Acropolis (hard to find, but worth the look). It was the commercial and political center of ancient Athens
  • Old Olympic Stadium (host of the first modern Olympics in 1896; it is also on the same site where the ancient Greeks had a stadium built for the ancient Olympics)
Tours were not operating on 12/25 and 12/26, so we rented a car and drove out of the city along the Saronic Gulf to Cape Sounion where the ruins of Temple of Poseidon sits on a cliff face. Unfortunately we couldn't get very close to the temple as the admission gate was closed. The drive passed the pretty areas of Glyfada, Vouliagmeni and Varkiza. It would be a nicer drive during summer.

Admission fees to the attractions/ruins are really cheap (about 4 euros).

Also checked out the Monastiraki flea market (nothing special) and Plaka where a bunch of taverns serving Greek cusine at reasonable prices are located.

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