Our Opinion

Athens is steeped in history. The skyline is dominated by the Acropolis where it would be possible to spend many days exploring if you had the time but a full day is the minimum.
The jewel in the crown of the Acropolis is obviously the Parthenon situated at the top of the hill but there are several other temples and other artefacts to explore as well as a very informative museum.
Away from the Acropolis there’s plenty of other sights to see. Syntagma Square, the heart of modern Athens, Monastiraki for its flea markets and the new Olympic Stadium to name but a few.
We had a very pleasant afternoon sitting out side a café in Omonoia Square drinking beer and eating Gyros (small kebabs) whilst watching the world go by. This experience was made even better by the arrival of a policeman who attempted to resolve the developing traffic jam. After many minutes of whistle blowing and lots of gesticulation and pointing (which caused us much amusement) he decided that he couldn’t resolve the situation any more and left – with the traffic now totally gridlocked!

Further Details

Travel
Manchester – Geneva – Athens with Swissair
We were delayed leaving Manchester but were pleasantly surprised that our connecting flight in Geneva had been held for us. Overall we found the service from Swissair to be superb. Just a shame that the airline didn’t last too long thereafter.
Athens – Piraeus with Greek Railways
A rather uninspiring journey on clapped out stock didn't set our expectations too high.
Piraeus is the port of Athens and the departure point for many wanting to visit the many Greek. Islands. Our opinion of Piraeus was that it wasn’t really somewhere you’d want to visit, there’s not a lot to see an do other than watching the boats.

Accommodation
Hotel Attalos, Athens
From the outside this looks like a typical small hotel. The rooms are fairly basic in terms of décor but comfortable nonetheless. It’s when you visit the bar that you discover the attraction of the Attalos Hotel – it’s on the roof and affords a stunning view of the Acropolis, especially at night.
At the back of the hotel there's a maze of small streets containing some fantastic tavernas. They’re pretty well hidden (we were directed there by the hotel receptionist) but because of this they tend to be frequented by locals and not too many tourists.