Traveling: Unlocking Athena, Greece

The last trip for 2019 had to be in the place I love most, Greece. This time it was to Athena and it was just a short city break to chase the summer. For what we did in the short time we got there, along with costs and tips read along. 

Once again we took the WizzAir flight from Cluj-Napoca to Athena at a bargain price of 100euros for 2 persons round trip at the beginning of October. For the accommodation we used Booking and went for a decent hotel near the subway entrance, it wasn’t very far from Plaka (the beautiful and animated neighborhood), around 20-25 minutes, yet the area that we needed to cross was an ugly and filthy one, after doing this once we started using the metro. The price of the hotel that included breakfast was 150 euros.

We arrived at 8am and we decided we wanted to see Acropolis in the morning before the cruises arrive and it was a smart move. To get from the airport to the city center you can take the metro, it’s a special ticket that costs 10 euros. If you want to go to Acropolis you will have to change the lines, but it was pretty well connected and with a map, you can find your way around the city easily.

The ticket for Acropolis can be either brought from an automated machine using the credit/debit card or from the entrance where you have an option to use cash as well. Don’t know if you can buy them online, but I do know that even if you purchase anything online, you need to go to the office and exchange it with a physical ticket since the mobile or printed version is not accepted. I think we spend around 20 minutes in the line and we ended up taking only the ticket for Acropolis for 20 euro per person. The 30 euro one includes other attractions, but we decided not to go to those. In the end, it was a wise decision since most of them are visible from the outside, but again we only had a day to spend in the center.

Even in October, the temperatures can be high, so appropriate clothing is required, also the fact that the rock is very slippery should be on your mind when you pick your shoes. Pregnant women should be extra careful, while we were there many tourists slipped and fell down. As for an advise, make sure you get there in the morning, once the clock hit 12 it was so full that people stayed in line to climb, so plan it accordingly.

After visiting the most important item from our list, we spent the rest of the day walking around the Acropolis mountain, doing some shopping in Plaka and enjoying some amazing food. Make sure you try the famous gyros, souvlaki and tzatziki, for me it is the best food in the entire world.

The second day was dedicated to seeing the Aegina island, we took the regular ferry (8 euros) from the docs and in 2 hours we were on the small island. Here we were a bit disappointed that the beach wasn’t as pretty as we would have hoped and to get to the “nice” side you had to rent a scooter or a car. We ended up renting some sunbeds and enjoying the last bath in the sea for 2019, but if I were to recommend something, it would be renting that scooter and driving to see the island, next time we know this is what we should do. Getting back to my favorite part, here we had some amazing octopus and pasta with shrimps, and for dessert waffles and icecream. Let me tell you that my mouth is watering as I describe this to you, leaving the poof below. :-p

On the third day, we stayed in the city and visited the remaining items from our list: Zeus Temple, the park from the city center, Parlament building, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and changing of the guard. We also climbed to Lycabettus Hill using the cable car and the view from above was amazing, we stayed for coffee and enjoyed the view over the city and Acropolis.

We also tried going to one of the beaches near Athena, but unfortunately, the weather was not on our side. We spend half of the day riding the bus and staying in the rain, so I cannot say that I recommend doing this if the weather is bad. If you are lucky and it’s sunny, I would say that it’s pretty nice there and the beaches look cared for.

All in all, the 4 days that we spend in Athena were amazing, as always I am in love with everything that is related to Greece and this wasn’t a disappointment either. The city is a bit dirty if you get out of the touristic area, but I would recommend it for a once in a lifetime experience. I don’t plan on returning here to visit the city, but then I do intend to return here to take the plane to one of the islands near it (Santorini, Mikonos, Paros, Naxos). The total cost of the trip for 2 persons 4 days, was around 800 euros.