Athens

Greece

Things to do in Athens:

View the Gallery The Erechtheum

Athens Restaurants

Affordable (68)

yiasemi

Gem of a cafe-bistrot just dripping with local colour, with its mismatched junk shop furniture and homecooked food, a rooftop terrace and tables on one of the stairs leading up to the Acropolis in... read more
Fine dining (41)

Galazia Hytra

An upmarket restaurant specialising in Greek cuisine, with a charming view and exceptionally high standards that have earned it one of the few and much-coveted Michelin stars awarded in Athens. read more

Athens Nightlife

Chilled (54)

Santa Botella

A funky street bar situated right in the middle of a row of bars and clubs at the lower end of Panormou. read more
Clubbing (61)

Nipiagogeio

This bar has two stages: one mellow and laid-back in an open courtyard at the back, and one that can pretty quickly turn electric. read more

This Month in Athens:

By Eva Webster

Shopping: If you've never tried super-healthy saffron tea, you can't go wrong with the pricey but perfect Krocus Kozanis Products range that you can find in most Greek supermarkets. At nearly �3.50 for 10 teabags, they don't come cheap but the aroma is wonderful.

Sightseeing: Don't miss the temporary exhibition on the AntiKythera Shipwreck, at the National Archaeological Museum. This was the first major underwater archaeological expedition that led to a wealth of unique archaeological finds and was conducted in two stages, once using sponge divers in 1900-1901 and again in 1976 by Jacques Cousteau with his craft Calypso.

Key areas: If the sunny weather makes you hanker for a swim but the cold sea puts you off, try visiting Lake Vouliagmeni, where the water is a comfortable 24 degrees centigrade all year round.

Athens News & Gossip

The Classic Marathon in Athens

ATHENS

It's always a reason to celebrate when a long-running festival or event has a significant birthday. Five years and it's doing pretty well, 100 years and it's become a legend. But 2,500 years? This is an entirely different league. This year marks the colossal anniversary of the marathon, when in 490BC Philippides ran the 42.2km route from Marathon to Athens to victory in the Battle of Marathon. On 31 October, 13,500 runners will recreate the tough run. www.athensclassicmarathon.gr

Athens Trivia

May: While digging the Athens metro station at Monastiraki, contractors rediscovered the lost Eridanos River, which had been bricked over and converted into a sewer during the time of the Emperor Hadrian. The river and other archaeological finds nearby have now been incorporated into the design of the new station.
April: In two tumultuous years, Greece's protestors have definitely had their share of the limelight but none more so than the iconic protest dog Loukanikos, the stray that was suddenly launched to superstar celebrity status as the runner-up for Time's "person" of the year.
March: March gets pretty poor press in Greece, and not just because it's the tourism low season. Many Greeks call March the "skinner and stake-burner", and tradition holds that children must be protected from the treacherously biting sun by wearing bracelets of red and white twine called "martis".